Characterization of Salvadora persica and Salvadora oleoides Extracts Against Multidrug Resistant Bacterial Strains

Abstract

The rapid emergence of drug-resistant bacteria is occurring worldwide, presenting urgent, serious, and concerning threats, many of which are already responsible for placing a substantial clinical and financial burden on the global healthcare system, patients, and their families. The use of plant-derived drug substances has a long tradition in medicine. Owing to the low cost and less toxicity, synthetic compounds and their derivatives are strong candidates to be used as potential drugs against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. The current study aims to determine the potential antibacterial activity of two selected plant extracts. Two plants Salvadora persica and Salvadora oleoides, of Pakistani origin, were collected locally. The leaves and roots of both plants were dried, and extracts were prepared in four different solvents. The antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi was evaluated by disc diffusion assay. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was tested by MTT assay. The plant extracts have shown varying antimicrobial activity against MDR bacterial strains with a zone of inhibition ranging from 16 mm ± to 6 mm ±. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation showed that these extracts are non-toxic to cells even at high concentrations. The tested plant extracts have shown potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains and thus can be further evaluated for extracting potent antibacterial compounds with broad therapeutic potentials.