The Effect of Senna alata (Daun Gelenggang) Extract on Propionibacterium acnes

Abstract

Propionibacterium acnes is widely recognized as one of the agents that implicated in inflammatory acne. In order to treat acne, antibiotics have been extensively used for more than 30 years and are still widely prescribed. However, frequent use of antibiotics may increase the risk of antibiotic resistance. Hence, many countries use medicinal plants as complementary to modern medicine. Senna alata is one of the medicinal plants that have been used as traditional medicine due to various antimicrobial properties. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness in antimicrobial properties of S. alata extract against P. acnes (ATCC 6919). S. alata leaves were extracted with three different solvents which are n-Hexane (non-polar), DCM (semi-polar) and ethanol (polar) before antibacterial sensitivity was tested. These were carried out by performed MIC and MBC, and the bacteria were observed under SEM and TEM for microscopic analysis. Phytochemical analysis was done using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the active compounds. Results showed S. alata crude extract exhibited antibacterial activities against P. acnes. S. alata extracted with DCM showed the most potent antibacterial against P. acnes with MIC and MBC were 31.25 µg/ml for both. In addition, microscopic observation revealed that the treated P. acnes with leaf extracts were disrupted and lost normal cell wall structure. Phytochemical analysis showed 37 active compounds were isolated. The present study suggests the crude extract of S. alata possess antimicrobial activity against P. acnes.