Experimental Investigation of the Antimicrobial Effects of Terminalia avicennioides Extracts on Staphylococcus aureus Strains Resistant to Multiple Drugs

Abstract

As the prevalence of antibiotic resistance rises, fewer effective treatments are available for infections caused by
MRSA and other multidrug-resistant bacteria. As a result, there was a surge in interest in medicinal plant extracts as a potential
source of novel phytochemicals for the treatment of infectious disorders. The purpose of this research was to identify the in
vitro antibacterial activity of Terminalia avicennioides extracts against MRSA strains that have developed resistance to many
drugs used in wound infections. Patients from Nigeria's Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna provided the wound swab
samples. We used conventional phenotypic and genotypic identification techniques to isolate and characterize Staphylococcus
aureus. Following established protocols, we determined the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the Staphylococcus aureus
isolates. Standard protocols were also followed to synthesize Terminalia avicennioides extracts and test them for antibacterial
activity against MRSA in vitro. Staphylococcus aureus isolates exhibited resistance to a wide range of conventional antibiotics,
from 8.18% to 100%, according to the susceptibility profile. Nevertheless, imipenem was effective against all of the isolates.
Phytochemical studies conducted on the extracts, both qualitative and quantitative, have shown that they include tannin,
alkaloids, flavonoids, cardiac glycoside, phenols, saponins, and terpenoids, but no anthraquinones. Terminalia avicennioides
extracts shown a strong antimicrobial effect against MRSA isolates, with growth inhibition zones ranging from 16.28±10.45 -
23.81±6.69 mm and a p-value less than 0.05. The range of the extracts' minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) was 56.2500
± 29.1241 - 31.2500 + 22.16013 gm/ml, and there was no significant difference (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference
(p > 0.05) in the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts, which varied from 175,000 ± 64.2910 to 68.7500
± 45.8063 mg/ml. Surprisingly, the antimicrobial properties of Terminalia avicennioides extracts show stronger inhibitory
effects against MRSA strains, suggesting they might be developed and studied further for the treatment of wound infections.