Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Efficacy of Commiphora swynnertonii (Burtt) Extracts

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of extracts from leaves, stem bark and root bark of Commiphora swynnertonii was assessed using ten microbes of human health importance namely Vibrio chorellae (clinical isolate), Shigella flexineri (clinical isolate), Klebsiella oxytoca (clinical isolate), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603), Salmonella kisarawe (clinical isolate), Proteus mirabilis (NCTC 1075), Streptococcus pyogens (clinical isolate), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Cryptococcus neoformans (clinical isolate) and Candida albicans (ATCC 90028). Extracts were also evaluated for cytotoxicity activity against brine shrimps larvae. The antimicrobial bioassay was conducted using broth microdilution technique. Chloroform leaf extract demonstrated the highest antimicrobial activity with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) range of 0.1953 1.5625 mg/mL against bacteria and 0.1953 0.7812 mg/mL against fungal species. All extracts exhibited low cytotoxicity activity against brine shrimp larvae with the exception of chloroform root extract which had LC50 of 4.5642g/mL. Commiphora swynnertonii is therefore a potential source of antimicrobial agents with relatively low cytotoxicity.