Five Samburu Community (Kenya) Medicinal Plants Show In Vitro Antibacterial Activity Against Selected Human Pathogenic Bacteria

With the rise in antimicrobial resistances globally, the urge of getting new lead compounds that can inhibit microbial growth and virulence factors production is becoming a reality. In this study Samburu (Kenya) anti-diarrhoeal medicinal plants were bio-assayed against selected bacterial strains (S. aureus ? ATCC 20591, B. subtillis ? (Local isolate), S. typhi?ATCC 2202, E. coli? STD. 25922 and P. aeruginosa ? ATCC 25852). Both disc diffusion and microdilution methods were applied to ascertain the antibacterial ability of 80% methanol extracts of 5 anti-diarhorreal plants in vitro. Results showed that both isolates were moderately susceptible with P. aeruginosa being the most susceptible. Acacia horrida was also found to be the most active extract whose activity was comparable to the positive control (Cefrodoxima) against most isolates. The MICs of the most active plants ranged from 9.375mg ml-1 to 37.5mg ml-1 while the MBCs ranged between 9.375mg ml-1 to 75mg ml-1. These extracts were found to be rich in various phytochemicals with tannins being the most abundant. These findings therefore demonstrate that some of the bioassayed Samburu anti-diarrhoeal plants have antibacterial properties and compounds. Most of the Samburu bioassayed medicinal plants can offer alternative medicare to conditions caused by the test isolates.