Antimicrobial activity of Centella asiatica and Gigantochloa apus

Antibiotic treatments can create multi-drug resistance among several pathogens. There is a need for an antibiotic alternative to overcome this problem. In Indonesia, Centella asiatica (Asiatic pennywort) and Gigantochloa apus (string bamboo) are two common medicinal plants used to treat tuberculosis, diarrhea, and other symptoms. This study was done to compare the antimicrobial activity of C. asiatica and G. apus against five pathogenic bacteria, i.e., Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Salmonella typhi.

The ethanol extracts of C. asiatica, and G. apus shoot were obtained by using speed extractor, pressure, and temperature extraction. The phytochemical contents of each extract were screened. The ethanol extract's antimycobacterial activity was determined using Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium and antibacterial activity was determined using Kirby-Bauer methods on Mueller Hinton agar (MHA).

The phytochemical analysis showed that G. apus extract contains alkaloids and tannins, whereas C. asiatica extract contains flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, and tannins. This study showed that G. apus inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain and S. typhi. C. asiatica showed antimicrobial activity against all pathogenic bacteria tested, except B. subtilis.

Both medicinal plants extract can inhibit the growth of five pathogenic bacteria tested, thus, have the potential as an alternative treatment, or complementary, to treat the pathogenic bacterial infection.