Antibacterial Potential of Essential Oils of the Leaves of Artemisia Annua and Aloe Vera Against Staphylococcus Aureus
Abstract
Loice Naswa Wechuli, Stephen S. Barasa and David Ndiro Ochieng
Artemisia annua and Aloe Vera have historically been used as medicinal plants through its extracts. Essential oils from Artemisia annua for decades have been used as mosquito repellants They have as well shown their potential to disrupt the biofilm formation of gram-positive pathogens; staphylococcus aureus being one of deadly pathogen of focus in this study. Thus, the study seeks to evaluate the activity of the essential oils present in both Artemisia annua and aloe vera against Staphylococcus aureus bacterium through extraction of essential oils obtained using steam distillation method. Antimicrobial effectiveness of the plant oils was assessed using the agar well diffusion test, and their Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was determined by the serial dilution procedure. The study identifies that the essential oils of both Aloe Vera and Artemisia annua possess substantial antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. Artemisia annua essential oil demonstrated a zone of inhibition of 18.50 ± 0.50 mm at 100% concentration (MIC: 0.625 mg/ml), while Aloe vera essential oil – 13.40 ± 0.40 mm (MIC: 2.5 mg/ml). The results obtained indicate the high potential of these two plant oils as natural and affordable antibiotic substitutes for combating bacterial infections.