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Acinetobacter species are emerging as important pathogens of ventilator
associatedpneumonia (VAP) and are often associated with increased morbidity and mortality.
This study was done to determine the antimicrobial activity of selected herbals and chemical
disinfectant solutions against clinical isolates of Acinetobacter species.
Aqueous extracts of dried fruit of Garciniazeylanica (Elagoraka), dried stem bark of
Cinnamomum verrnum (Cinnamon),dried flowers of Syzygium aromaiicum (Clove), dried
stem bark of Ficus benghalensis (Nuga), dried stem bark of Ficus racemosa (Attikka), young
bulbs of Allium sativum (Sudulunu),dried stem bark of Garcinia zeylanica (Elagoraka) and
Tripala decoction (Aralu, Bulu and Nelli) was prepared following the traditional Ayurvedic
practice. Fresh juice of young bulbs of Allium sativum was prepared by crushing.
Commercial oral disinfectants 0.2% Chlorhexidine, 1% Betadine, 0.044% Sodium Fluoride
and Listerine were purchased for testing. Nine clinical isolates of Acinetobacter species were
tested in triplicates using the well diffusion method for antimicrobial activity. Minimum
inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the aqueous extracts and chemical disinfectants were
determined using the pOur plate method.
The zones of inhibition were observed for the 9 clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumcmnii
by the well diffusion method included Garcinia zeylanica (15.1 mm),Tripala decoction (13.1
mm) and fresh juice of Allium sativum (34.55 mm). For the oral disinfectants tested, 0.2%
Chlorhexidine and 1% Betadine gave inhibition zones of 19.17 mm and 13.53 mm,
respectively. Aqueous extracts of other plant extracts and oral disinfectants 0.044% Sodium
Fluoride and Listerine did not give a zone of inhibition. The MIC of Acinetobacter isolates
included Garciniazeylanica of 15.6 mg/mL, Tripala decoction of 31.5 mg/mL, Allium
sativum of 19.53 mg/mL, 0.2% Chlorhexidine of 0.031 mg/mL and 1% Betadine of 5 mg/mL.
Aqueous extract of Garciniazeylanica, Tripala decoction and fresh juice of Allium sativum
had antimicrobial activity against clinical Acinetobacter isolates. Further studies should be
carried out to determine the cell cytotoxicity and in vivo activity of these extracts.
