THE ANTIM ICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF COMMIPHORA MOLM OL (MYRRHA) EXTRACT

Abstract

The Commiphoramolmol (myrrha) has been used as a traditional medicine for centuries in different cultures. An ethanol extract o f myrrha was evaporated under vacuum to obtain an oil. A 20% solution o f this oil in ethanol was used to determine antimicrobial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus, the Gram-negative bacteria, E. coli, MVlONal, and fungi, (yeast), Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The MIC forÆ’. coli and S. aureus were determined on phosphate buffer since the oil did not show antibiotic activity on growing cells. The MIC o f myrrha oil in phosphate buffer for E. coli was 0.56% (5.6 mg/ml) and for S. aureus was 0.1% (1 mg/ml). However, the oil could be used to kill cells in a nutrient-rich medium provided growth o f the bacteria is first stopped using a bacteriostatic antibiotic such as Chloramphenicol. The results show that chloramphenicol enhanced the antimicrobial activity o f myrrha oil. Zone o f inhibition test shows myrrha extract has antibacterial property against S. aureus. Furthermore, the antifungal activity of myrrha extract was prodigious since most o f the cells were killed in 10 minutes at a dose o f 0.05% (0.5 mg/ml) o f myrrha extract. Repeated attempts to obtain an E. coli or S. aureus strain that is resistant to myrrha oil were unsuccessful. A possible explanation o f this can be that myrrha oil is a membrane acting antibiotic. In conclusion, the results o f this study suggest that myrrha extract could be a prom ising antibacterial and antifungal drug.