Healing power of medicinal plants against drug resistant S. aureus

Staphylococcal infection has twisted into a rigorous health problem worldwide due to unavailability of precise treatment. These circumstances require an urgent progress in search for proficient and effective treatment to deal with Staphylococcus aureus infections. Therefore the aim of the present study was to determine resistance patterns of methicillin resistant S. aureus strains isolated from clinical and sub-clinical samples. Twenty five medicinal plants were collected from different areas of Pakistan, air dried and extracted in methanol. These plant extracts were then screened for their potential against oxacillin resistant S. aureus. In addition, half maximal inhibitory concentration of efficient medicinal plant extracts was measured through micro-dilution method. Our results revealed that methanolic extracts of five plants (Centratherum anthelminticum, Eucalyptus globulus, Lawsonia inermis, Punica granatum and Rubia cordifolia) exhibited antibacterial activity against clinically isolated oxacillin resistant strains of S. aureus. Our results propose that various medicinal plants can be helpful in the development of more potent drugs against multidrug resistant S. aureus.