Bacterial biofilm inhibition activity of ethanolic extract of Hemidesmus indicus

Abstract

Multi-drug resistance is one of the biggest nightmares in the field of healthcare today. Adding on to this, some bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have the ability to form biofilms. These essentially are large colonies of bacteria that are held together by polysaccharides and other biomolecules which in turn facilitate in their adherence to solid substrate – both natural and synthetic. This further creates a life-threatening implication leading to nosocomial infections like pneumonia, Urinary tract infections (UTI), etc. increasing the co-morbidities and mortality of critically-ill patients. The combination of antimicrobial resistance, ability to form biofilms and threat of nosocomial infections calls for a need to investigate newer, safer alternatives.

Plant based medicaments have been used for centuries and they are a great alternative to synthetic drugs. In the present study, ethanolic extracts of Hemidesmus indicus was evaluated against clinically-important multi-drug resistant organisms. Percentage biofilm inhibition of plant extracts of Hemidesmus indicus by crystal violet assay method. Triplicate analysis was done and data obtained was statistically interpreted using Microsoft Excel. Alcoholic extracts of Hemidesmus indicus exhibited significant biofilm inhibitory activity against the common bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. Further, isolation of the chief active constituent responsible for Anti-biofilm activity is in process.