Antibacterial activities of medicinal plants used for the treatment of diarrhoea in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

The ethnobotanical survey conducted in this study showed that 21 plant species belonging to 14 families are used in traditional medical practice in Limpopo Province, South Africa, for the treatment of diarrhoea. Methanol, ethanol, acetone and hot water extract from different plant parts (leaves, roots, bark and stem rhizome), of several of these plants (Indigofera daleoides, Punica granatum, Syzygium cordatum, Gymnosporia senegalensis, Ozoroa insignis, Elephantorrhiza elephantina, Elephantorrhiza burkei, Ximenia caffra, Schotia brachypetala and Spirostachys africana), were screened for antibacterial activity against Vibro cholera, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella spp., Salmonella typhi. The antibacterial activity was determined by agar-well diffusion method and expressed as the average diameter of the zone of inhibition of bacterial growth around the wells. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of active extracts was determined by using the micro-plate dilution assay. Most of the extracts showed relatively high antibacterial activity against most of the tested microorganisms with the diameter of inhibition zones ranging between 10 and 31 mm. Of the plants studied, the most active extracts were those obtained from Punica granatum and Indigofera daleoides. All extracts from two plants, namely, Punica granatum and Ozoroa insignis, were active against all bacterial strains while only organic extracts of Indigofera daleoides inhibited the growth of all tested microorganisms. Water extract of Punica granatum were equally active as organic extracts against bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri. All extracts of Elephantorrhiza elephantina, Elephantorrhiza burkei and Ximenia caffra and Schotia brachypetala were not active against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi. The MIC values for active extracts ranged between 0.039 and 0.6 mg/ml. The results obtained appeared to confirm the antibacterial potential of the plants investigated, and their usefulness in the treatment of diarrhoea.