Title : Microbiological and phytochemical analysis of curcuma longa, and evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the phytochemical components

Abstract:

The inefficiency of current drugs in the treatment of diseases orchestrated by bacterial resistance has been a global public health challenge. This work was therefore conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality, phytochemical and antibacterial potentials of three different Curcuma longa samples- fresh (rhizoid) and powdered (refined and locally processed) C. longa. The mean bacterial count in the samples ranged from 3.4x10⁶ CFU/g for refined C. longa, 5.1x10⁶ CFU/g for locally processed C. longa to 9.6x10⁶ CFU/g for fresh C. longa, while the result of the mean fungal count was 5.3x10? CFU/g for fresh C. longa, 1.4x10? CFU/g and 1.2x10⁶ CFU/g for locally processed and refined C. longa samples respectively. The bacterial isolates from the three samples were of the genera Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Listeria, Pseudomonas, Escherichia and Salmonella, while the fungal isolates enumerated were of the genera Candida, Fusarium, Aspergillus and Rhizopus. Out of the four phytochemical constituents (steroids, alkaloids, phenols and flavonoids) qualitatively analyzed for in the fresh and the two powdered C. longa samples, three (steroids, flavonoids and alkaloids) were present while phenol was absent in all the samples. Ony the alkaloid constituent from all samples exhibited antibacterial activity against clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella Pneumoniae and Escherichia coli isolates at 100% concentration, whereas Staphylococcus aureus was resistant to the same alkaloid isolated from all samples at 100% concentration. However, the antibacterial activity of the alkaloid from fresh C. longa was slightly increased based on its higher zones of inhibition compared to the results from the powdered samples.

Benefits of Presentation:

1. The presentation highlights the major phytochemical constituents of Curcuma longa and their antibacterial potential against important disease pathogens.
2. The antibacterial activity property of the evaluated component emphasizes the importance of alkaloids in the treatment of disease and its incorporation during drug discovery especially in synergism with available antibiotics.
3. Researchers can leverage from this presentation and explore other pathogens that would be susceptible to the other phytochemical components of C. longa to which the clinical isolates in this study were resistant to.
4. This study proffers solution to antibiotic resistance as patients can easily incorporate powdered C. longa that are of microbiological standard into their diets for a quick relief through the synergistic effect of all the phytochemical constituents of C. longa.

Biography:

Mmuoegbulam, Augusta Oluchi is a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Microbiology with specialization in Pathogenic Microbiology and Public Health. She did her Ph.D research internship in CPQBA, University of Campinas, Brazil. She is an adjunct Faculty in Texila American University and currently a Research Scholar in Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Queensland- Australia.