Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the antibacterial effect of Cyperus species as an important medicine plant in the study area. Methods: The agar disk diffusion method was used to study the antibacterial activity of Cyperus extracts against 2 Gram-positive and 4 Gram-negative bacteria at concentration 400 and 600 mg/mL of methanol and the aqueous extract. Then minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations were determined by micro-dilution method. Results: The results showed that the methanol extract of longus species presented the highest zone of inhibition against tested pathogens (15 mm inhibition zone). Other plants did not show significant inhibition zone. The methanol extracts of the plant against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PTTC 1707) strains showed the best activities, with the lowest minimal inhibitory concentration of 3.125 mg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration was 166.50 and 83.25 mg/mL, respectively for Staphylococcus aureus (PTTC 1431) and Escherichia coli (PTTC 1399). Conclusions: The results showed that the methanol extract of the herb has antibacterial activity and therefore it could be used as a natural preservative ingredient in food and/or pharmaceutical industries.

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