Antibacterial activity of Striga asiatica cultures

Abstract

Finding the new sources of antibacteria is crucial in pharmaceutical field. In this study, the potential of Striga asiatica as antibacterial was investigated. Various age of in vitro culture of S. asiatica or witchweed was used as the research material. The methanol extracts of S. asiatica were tested against Streptococcus agalactiae, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli using disk diffusion method. The crude extract shown antibacterial activity against all tested strains except E. coli. The MIC of S. asiatica extract was 1 Omg/ml against S. agalactiae, 30mg/ml against B. cereus and 80mg/ml against S. aureus. This study revealed that the S. asiatica extract has a potential as antibacterial agent against selected strains of bacteria.