Abstract
In the present study, leaves and berries of healthy and diseased (dieback) of Juniperus procera plants have been collected from four different elevations site in Al Soda Mountains, Saudi Arabia to study their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella oxytoca and Candida albicans. Also, the synthesized silver nanoparticles from healthy and diseased leaves and berries of J. procera have been tested against the same microbes using well agar diffusion methods. All extracts showed effective inhibiting properties against tested microbes at different rates depending on the type of microbe itself, type of solvent and plant location. C. albicans recorded the highest inhibition zone gained from ethyl alcohol extract of diseased leaves (3.16 +/- 0.11cm) compared to other extracts and microbes, followed by water extract of healthy berries with a zone of inhibition (3.13 +/- 0.15cm) against K. oxytoca. Chloroform extract obtained from diseased berries recorded antibacterial activity with an inhibition zone of (2.74 +/- 0.11cm) against S. aureus. The synthesized silver nanoparticles showed potent inhibition activity against all microbes in the range between (3.52 +/- 0.05cm) against S. aureus, (3.46 +/- 0.05cm) against K. oxytoca and (3.42 +/- 0.11cm) against C. albicans. Our findings proved that leaves and berries of J. procera from all locations whether healthy or diseased had antimicrobial activity against tested human pathogenic microbes which it may be used as a safe, economical, and powerful natural medicine better than synthetic chemicals.