DOI: 10.4103/mjbl.mjbl_1440_23 ISSN: 1812-156X
The Biological Activity of Cymbopogon nardus Oil against Antibiotic-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Yazi Abdullah Jassim, Anmar M.K. Al-Maamori, Noor Mahommoud Naji Abstract
Background:
Antibiotic resistance increases the pathogenicity of
Staphylococcus aureus
, which is thought to be responsible for a number of threats.
Objectives:
To solve the problem of
Staphylococcus
resistance to various antibiotics, we resorted to using the oils of one of the medicinal plants to eliminate the bacteria that contaminate burns.
Materials and Methods:
200 samples of burn injuries from the Specialized Burns Hospital in Baghdad and from Imam Al-Sadiq Hospital in Babylon were used for this study. The samples were then grown on various specialized media and the diagnosis was confirmed using the VITEK-2 compact, microscopy, and biochemical assays. The test for antibiotic sensitivity was done. Additionally, the efficiency of citronella oil extract from the
Cymbopogon nardus
(Poaceae) plant was assessed in the struggle against this kind of bacterium. The characteristics of the active components in citronella oil were determined using unique techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and UV-visible spectra analysis.
Results:
S. aureus
was found in 30 (15%) of the samples. The test for antibiotic sensitivity revealed that it was resistant to a number of them, including ceftazidime (25/30; 83.3%), aztreonam (8/30; 26.6%), imipenem (4/30; 13.3%), gentamicin (3/30; 20%), tobramycin (14/30; 46.6%), amikacin (12/30; 40%), ciprofloxacin (9/30; 30%), and piperacillin 17/30 (56.6%). Citronella oil extract has been demonstrated to have antibacterial activity against antibiotic-resistant
S. aureus
with inhibition diameter range from 23.04 to 44.5 mm.
Conclusions:
Citronella oil extract has a major role in reducing and inhibiting the resistance of
S. aureus
to antibiotics.