ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF TOPICAL FORMULATION CONTAINING EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLATA L. (KRUNFUD) AND MYRITUS COMMUNIS L. (ADES) ESSENTIAL OILS ON SELECTED SKIN DISEASE CAUSING MICROORGANISMS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Aromatic plants are usually used in traditional medicine as antimicrobial agents. Theiressential oils, isolated by hydro-steam distillation, have been known since antiquity to posses’ antimicrobialproperty. The objective of this study was to formulate topical antimicrobial agents for the treatment of human skindiseases from myrtle and clove essential oils.METHODS: The plant were collected from Bale Zone, North Shewa Zone and Botanical Garden of Department ofDrug Research, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute on Augest to October, 2007. Eessential oils ofboth plants were collected by hydro-steam distillation in the Formulation Research Laboratory of Department ofDrug Research. After the preparation of 1% Eugenia caryophyllus and 4% Myritus communis essential oilformulation in five different formulation bases; the antimicrobial activity were detected in the MicrobiologyLaboratory by using diffusion assay methods.RESULTS: In the assayed antimicrobial activity topical formulation of 1% Eugenia caryophyllus and 4% Myrituscommunis essential oils have shown significantly high antimicrobial activity against: Staphylococcus aureus,Streptococcus pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Trachophytonmentagraphyte, Trachophyton vericusom, Microsporum cannis, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans thancommonly used drugs. Both topical formulations were more effective in the hydrophilic bases than the lipophilicbases used in the study.CONCLUSION: Our results of topical formulation in hydrophiic ointment or macrogol blend base support theconcept that essential oil may be useful for the treatment of microbial infection. Therefore, we suggest that thetopical formulation of these oils can be used as alternative drugs for the treatment of skin disease. However, skinsensitivity study of the topical formulations must be performed to ensure their safety.