Antimicrobial efficacy of Terminalia arjuna, Vitex negunda and Cynodon dactylon against Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from broiler chicken

Abstract

Globally, traditional medicine has been gaining popularity to combat ailments including emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial screening of Terminalia arjuna (Arjun; Fruit), Vitex negundo (Nishinda; Leaf), Cynodon dactylon (Durba; Whole plant) along with some commercially available antibiotics was performed against Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from commercial broiler chicken. Methanolic extract of plants were used to test their antimicrobial activity against these bacteria. Three different concentrations of 1mg/µl, 0.5 mg/µl and 0.25 mg/µl methanolic plant extracts were treated against E. coli and Salmonella spp. cultured in commercial media to observe the level of sensitivity. Terminalia arjuna was more sensitive for both E. coli with the highest zone of inhibition 17 mm and Salmonella spp. with the highest zone of inhibition 14 mm than the other two. Within commercial antibiotics, Ciprofloxacin and Enrofloxacin were 100% sensitive to both E. coli and Salmonella spp., whereas Tetracycline against E. coli and Trimethoprim against Salmonella spp. were found to be 100% resistant. In conclusion, plant derived antimicrobials from Terminalia arjuna and commercial antibiotics including Ciprofloxacin and Enrofloxacin might be used for treating Colibacillosis and Salmonellosis in chicken. As the herbal drugs have fewer side effects, further study is warranted to detect the effects in vivo for the proper establishment of the medicinal plants in modern medicine along with pharmaceutically driven antibiotics.