Abstract
Microbial infections due to opportunistic bacteria and fungi in hospitals are becoming serious health problems, particularly in immune-compromised individuals. Moreover, microbes are becoming resistant to presently available drugs. Therefore, there is a need to develop new drugs to treat microbial infections. Salvia officinalis (S. officinalis) has been widely used in Middle East countries and Europe as a food preservative and for treatment of infections. Present study was aimed to investigate activity of S. officinalis against resistant and opportunistic microorganisms. ATCC strains of some bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were purchased from Micromaster, Saudi Arabia. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and some fungi (Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus), commonly causing serious infections in hospitals and opportunistic infections, were obtained from the Microbiology Department, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Musaad Hospital, Arar, Saudi Arabia. Agar dilution method was used to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations of methanolic extract of S. officinalis against test organisms as recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The extract showed great activity against Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and the multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumanni (MICs 5-10 mg/ml), moderate activity against Candida albicans (MIC 10-20 mg/ml) and weak activity against Gram negative bacilli and Aspergillus flavus (MICs 20-40 mg/ml). To conclude, methanolic extract of S. officinalis possesses good activity against resistant and opportunistic infections: Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, multidrug resistant Acinrtobacter baumannii and Candida albicans. Further investigations are needed to isolate active components from S. officinalis and develop new drugs.