[Anti-microbial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis and Zingiber officinale extracts on the species of the genus Candida and on Streptococcus pneumonia].

OBJECTIVE

Identifying plant extracts that could be used as new treatments for candidiasis and Streptococcus pneumoniae infections.

METHODS

In this work, we tested the activity of the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis and Zingiber officinale on Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The anti-microbial activity was first tested in vitro, then in vivo on mice and rats.

RESULTS

The results showed that the methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis and the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale were the most active on all the tested micro-organisms. The most sensitive species were Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The in vivo anti-microbial activity reported that the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale was the most active on the three species. On the contrary, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis were more sensitive to the methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis, but these species were considered as the most resistant yeasts.

CONCLUSION

The ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale was more active than fluconazole and amoxicillin on Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Streptococcus pneumoniae, so, it could be considered for treating infections by these species. Similarly, the methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis could be effective for treating candidiasis by Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis.