Antibacterial Activity of Lepidium Sativum and Allium Porrum Extracts and Juices against Some Gram Positive and Gram Negative Bacteria

The antibacterial effect of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of medicinal plants Lepidium sativum (cress garden) and Allium porrum (leek), in addition to their juices, was investigated on Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus mutans). All bacteria under this study were obtained from human infections from Hawlery Ferkary Hospital in Erbil City – Iraq, by using the well diffusion technique. It was observed that the extracts of both plants had an inhibitory effect on all the bacteria under study, except Klebsiella pneumoniae, whereas the juices of both plants did not have any effect on these bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of L. sativum extracts was determined and it was 3% for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus, whereas other bacterial species were sensitive to all concentrations of the extracts. The MIC of ethanolic extract of A. porrum was 8% for S. aureus and 9% for P. aeruginosa, whereas K. pneumoniae and Proteus were insensitive to all concentrations in contrast to S. mutans that was sensitive to all concentrations. The MIC of aqueous extract of Alllium porrum did not affect K. pneumoniae and Proteus in contrast to other bacteria.