Valorisation of Algerian Medicinal Plants: Inula viscosa L. A Future Source of Antibacterial Drugs

Z. Chekroud, A. Kheffif and R. Bassout

Background and Objective: During this last century we observed the diminution of antibiotics efficacy. For this reason the development of new molecules is becoming a necessity to address with the threats of bacterial infections. In this study, we tried to evaluate the antibacterial effect of Inula viscosa L. on 5 clinical strains: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia and Morganella morganii in addition to 2 reference strains: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC29213 and Escherichia coli ATCC25922. Materials and Methods: The polyphenolic compounds were extracted from the leaves by maceration in methanol and hexane fractionation. The antibacterial activity was determined by the solid-state disk diffusion method and the minimal inhibitory concentration by dilution in solid medium. Results: All the tested strains were sensitive to the polyphenolic extract with inhibition zones 10.8-21 mm. Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus proved to be more sensitive to the polyphenolic extract in comparison with the tested antibiotics. The lowest minimal inhibitory concentration was recorded with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (0.39 mg mL^–1). The highest minimal inhibitory concentration was found in both strains of Escherichia coli. The polyphenolic extract showed a bacteriostatic effect on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC29213. It had however, a bactericidal effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Morganella morganii and Escherichia coli ATCC25922. Conclusion: Inula viscosa L. represents a natural and a promising source of chemical molecules which have important antibacterial activities on Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.

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