Antimicrobial activity of Cymbopogonschoenantus(L.) Spreng essentialoil and aqueous extract on microorganisms commonly associated tothe contamination of liquid dosage forms

Abstract

In the context of current distrust of synthetic antimicrobial preservatives, the potential of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng essential oil and/or aqueous extract in the protection of medicines was evaluated. In this work, the antimicrobial activity of these extracts has been studied in vitro with respect to six bacterial and two fungal strains commonly associated to the contamination of pharmaceutical products. The method of diffusion in agar and solid medium was used to assess the susceptibility of the strains to plant extracts. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by the method of micro-dilution in liquid medium. All microbial strains tested were found to be insensitive to the aqueous extract of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng. However, the essential oil has proven antibacterial and antifungal activities at low concentrations. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values obtained with the essential oil were in the range of 0.312 to 1.250 % (v/v). These results show that the essential oil of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng could be used for the preservation of medicines.