Comparative In Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Ethanolic Extracts of Dorema aucheri, Allium rotundum, and Flacaria vulgaris Collected from Kermanshah Province, Iran

Ehsan Abolfathi; Seyed Mehdi Joghataei; Nour  Amirmozafari; Ezzat Allah Ghaemi

doi:10.18502/jmb.v13i4.20519

Ehsan Abolfathi Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Seyed Mehdi Joghataei Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Nour Amirmozafari Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ezzat Allah Ghaemi Department of Medical Microbiology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jmb.v13i4.20519

Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Dorema aucheri, Allium rotundum, Falcaria vulgaris, Iranian medicinal plants.

Abstract

Background: Antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria has become a global health concern, prompting the search for alternative antimicrobial agents. Native medicinal plants such as Dorema aucheri, Allium rotundum, and Falcaria vulgaris, long used in traditional Iranian medicine, are underexplored despite their potential bioactivity. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the antibacterial effects of ethanolic extracts from these plants, collected from Kermanshah Province (Dallahoo mountains), Iran, against five clinically relevant bacterial strains.

Methods: Ethanolic extracts of tree native medicinal plants were prepared via percolation and concentrated using rotary evaporation. Antibacterial activity against five standard strains (S. aureus, E. faecalis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae) was assessed using two complementary in vitro techniques: the well diffusion assay to evaluate inhibition zones, and broth microdilution to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Statistical analyses including Kruskal-Wallis and ANOVA were applied to identify significant differences among plant extracts and bacterial responses.

Results: D. aucheri exhibited the most potent MIC values against Gram-positive bacteria, particularly E. faecalis (0.46 mg/mL), while A. rotundum demonstrated broad-spectrum activity in the well diffusion assay, effectively inhibiting all five bacteria, including K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. F. vulgaris showed selective activity, most notably against S. aureus (20 mm zone; MIC = 2.87 mg/mL). Notably, E. faecalis was the most susceptible strain overall, with significantly larger inhibition zones across extracts compared to K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: This study offers novel comparative data on the antibacterial properties of three ethnobotanically significant Iranian plants. The promising activity, especially of extracts from D. aucheri and A. rotundum, underscores the potential of Iran’s phytodiversity in addressing antibiotic resistance. Future studies should further explore regional phytochemical variability and isolate active constituents for therapeutic development.