Comparing the antimicrobial activities of emblica officinalis, terminalia chebula and terminalia bellerica against pathogenic bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance has been deemed as one of the biggest upcoming catastrophes. Yet, there are rarely new antibiotics available to treat new and resistant infections. This creates a void that can be filled by alternatives to antibiotics developed from cheaper and more readily available sources. Plants have been a source of medication and plant extracts have shown potential to serve as alternatives to or sources of antibiotics and antimicrobials. Medicinal fruits such as Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Bahera (Terminalia bellerica) and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) have long been used in combination or separately to treat various diseases. Thus, the alcohol extracts of these fruits were tested against eight pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, EAEC, ETEC, Enterobacter cloacae, Shigella flexneri, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The procedure involved extraction with Soxhlet apparatus followed by testing the antimicrobial potential of the obtained crude extract against the bacteria using agar well diffusion method. All the extracts produced significant activity against all the bacteria. The highest zone of inhibition was found in E.officinalis ethanol extract on EAEC (31.67mm). The highest activity index was found for T.chebula ethanol extract on S.flexneri(2.20). The results depict a possibility of developing antimicrobial drugs from these medicinal plants.