Research Article Open Access
Med Aromat Plants
ISSN: 2167-0412 MAP, an open access journal
Open Access Research Article
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants
ISSN: 2167-0412
M
e
d
i
c
i
n
a
l
&
A
r
o
m
a
t
i
c
P
l
a
n
t
s
Deressa et al., Med Aromat Plants 2015, 4:4
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2167-0412.1000208
Volume 4 • Issue 4 • 1000208
*Corresponding author: Deressa T, School of Biomedical and Laboratory
Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O.Box.
196, Gondar, Ethiopia. Tel: 251911738270; E-mail: tekalign09@gmail.com
Received August 10, 2015; Accepted September 07, 2015; Published September
10, 2015
Citation: Deressa T, Tamiru T, Biadgo B, Belete D, Zewdu S, et al. (2015)
Antimicrobial Potentials of Apis Multilora Honey in Combination with Coffee and
Cinnamon Extracts against Common Human Pathogenic Bacteria. Med Aromat
Plants 4: 208. doi:10.4172/2167-0412.1000208
Copyright: © 2015 Deressa T, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Antimicrobial Potentials of Apis Multiflora Honey in Combination with
Coffee and Cinnamon Extracts against Common Human Pathogenic
Bacteria
Deressa T
1
*, Tamiru T
2
, Biadgo B
1
, Belete D
1
, Zewdu S
1
, Mengistie S
1
, Endris M
1
and Tessema B
1
1
School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O.Box. 196, Gondar, Ethiopia
2
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural and Computational Science, University of Gondar, P.O.Box. 196, Gondar, Ethiopia
Keywords: Honey, Cinnamon, Cofee, Antimicrobial activity
Introduction
Infectious diseases represent an important cause of morbidity and
mortality worldwide [1,2]. Chemotherapy of infected individuals with
antimicrobial drugs is one of the widely used strategies for the control of
infectious diseases [3-5]. However, the recent upsurge of antimicrobial
drug resistance and its spread has posed a unique challenge to the
global infectious diseases control program [3-5]. Further, afordability
and accessibility of newer pharmaceutical antimicrobials are issues
of major concern in developing countries, especially in rural areas.
herefore, a search for safe, cheaper and efective antimicrobial agents
is of urgent necessity to cope with this global challenge. With this
regard, traditional medicinal plants are one of the potential sources
of alternative antimicrobial agents that can be used for treatment of
various ailments [6,7].
Medicinal plants have played crucial roles in traditional health
care system since the origin of mankind. here has been a worldwide
increase in public interest toward traditional remedies, involving
natural products, in the past decades [8]. Presently, it is estimated
that up to 80% of population in developing countries rely on herbal
medicines to meet their primary health care needs [9] and herbal
remedies are being available in drug stores and supermarkets [8].
In Ethiopia, traditional medicines continue to be an important
segment of primary health care to the majorities of rural population
[10]. his wide usage of traditional remedies among the population
of Ethiopia could be in part attributed to their probable eicacies
against some diseases, cultural acceptability, and their accessibility
and afordability compared to allopathic medicines. Despite the wide
usage, information regarding the safety and in vivo or in vitro eicacies
of Ethiopian traditional medicines are very limited. hus, careful
screening of the safety and eicacies of these traditional medicines is of
paramount importance.
Honey has been used as a medicine since ancient times and is
still being used in many traditions. A number of studies revealed the
antimicrobial potential of honey for treatment of ulcers, bed sores,
wound infecting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and
bacterial gastroenteritis in infants [11,12]. In Ethiopia, honey has been
and being used traditionally for treatments of respiratory infections,
coughs and gastrointestinal complaints either singly or in combination
with other beverages like cofee. Similarly, cofee is used for treatment
of respiratory infections and stomach pain in combination with honey
and/or Cinnamon barks. Extracts of cofee have been reported to
Abstract
Background: Traditional medicines have been used widely by the people of Ethiopia for treatment of various
ailments. However, scientiic evidences regarding their antibacterial potential are scarce. The present study aim
to assess an in vitro antibacterial activity of Apis multilora honey in combination with coffee and cinnamon bark
extracts against the standard and clinical isolates of human pathogenic bacteria.
Methods: Antimicrobial activities of honey and the extracts were tested against Escherichia coli, Citrobacter
species, Staphylococcus epdermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and
Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 2923). Agar well diffusion and micro-well broth dilution techniques were used to
determine the antibacterial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration.
Result: Honey exerted a maximum bacterial inhibition against Citrobacter species and E. coli (29 mm). Coffee
extracts displayed best antibacterial activity against S. aureus (25-26 mm) and cinnamon extract exhibited the
maximum inhibitory effect against S. epidermidis (31 mm). The combination of honey with cinnamon was most
effective against P. aeruginosa (27 mm), whereas the combination of honey with coffee and cinnamon extracts
was most effective against S. aureus ATCC 2923 (35 mm). The antibacterial activity exerted by a reference
antibiotic ceftraxone against different test strains ranged from 24-37 mm.
Conclusion: Coffee and cinnamon extracts, and honey have demonstrated a broad spectrum antibacterial
effect. Our data indicating that these natural products have potential to be used as alternative antimicrobials
for treatment of pathogenic bacteria. Thus, we recommend further investigations of each extract to elucidate
bioactive compounds responsible for the observed antibacterial activity.