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The South Pacific Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences The South Pacific Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Society
Research and review papers in the area of science, engineering and mathematics
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Antimicrobial effect of essential oils of some Fijian medicinal plant leaves on pathogenic bacteria

Prayna P. P. Maharaj, Riteshma Devi and Surendra Prasad

The South Pacific Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences 34(2) 35 - 39
Published: 28 March 2017

Abstract

Fiji is highly populated with plants containing essential oils (EO). The essential oils extracted from the leaves of the selected Fijian leafy plants were screened against two Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and three Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus subtilis). The agar diffusion method was used to examine the antimicrobial activities of the extracted EO. All the EO tested showed antibacterial properties against one or more strains while none of the EO was active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Viburnum lantana (Wayfaring tree), Annona muricata (Soursop), Coleus amboinicus (Spanish thyme) and Cinnamomum zeylancium (Cinnamon) showed good inhibition against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and proved as worthy source of antimicrobial agent. These findings will help the Pacific population to use the studied plants leaves as antimicrobial agent.

https://doi.org/10.1071/SP16005

© The University of the South Pacific 2017

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