Assessment of antimicrobial activity of ethnoveterinary anti-mastitis herbal formulation on field isolated pathogens using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

This is the study on the anti-bacterial activity from the extracts obtained from different solvents (Aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate) of an anti-mastitis ethno-veterinary herbal fresh formulation containing Aloe vera, Curcuma longa and calcium hydroxide, tested against field isolates of three types of microbes obtained from the clinical samples collected by the VUTRC, Thanjavur. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of essential secondary metabolites such as flavanoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids etc. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using agar well diffusion method was observed for the three extracts with the support of image representation (fig 1) by scanning electron microscopic technique (SEM). The scanning electron microscopy determined the morphology of the bacteria with and without using anti-mastitis herbal fresh formulation. After 24h SEM images of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa not treated with extract, showed normal morphology with a multi-layered surface consisting of the outer membrane. But the organisms, after 24 hrs of the addition of the herbal preparation, showed various phases of the process in cell death. The above SEM images shows cell disruption, partial disappearance of the cytoplasmic membrane and plasmolysis [1,2]. This suggest that the fresh herbal preparation validated and used successfully in clinical situations across India, owes its action partially to its antimicrobial activity.

[1] Pandey A, Jagtap JV, Patil AA, Joshi RN, Kuchekar BS. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research2010, 2: 182 – 186.

[2] Gupta A, Mahajan S, Sharma R. Biotechnology Report, 2015;6:51 – 55