The Antimicrobial Activity of Some Honey Bee Products and some Saudi Folkloric Plant Extracts

Alcoholic and aqueous extracts from 17 Saudi Arabia folkloric plants and some honey bee products were screened for antimicrobial activity against some tested pathogenic microorganisms by zone of inhibition assay and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Compared to honey and bee wax, ethanolic extract of propolis showed the highest zone of inhibition (23mm) against S. aureus ATCC255923. Aqueous extract of Alum (Ming Fan) was highly effective against all tested strains with inhibition zones ranging from 25 to 29 mm followed by Juglans regia (28mm) with S. epidermidis ATCC12228, Rhazya stricta (24mm) with Str. pyogenes ATCC19615, and Commiphora myrrha (24mm) with S. aureus ATCC255923. The combined effect of equimixture of ethanolic extracts of propolis and Bee wax was more effective than a single extract showing 1.5 fold increase of inhibition zone against S. aureus ATCC255923 and C. albicans NCTC2708. Extracts with the most potent action against microorganisms were tested to determine their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Alum (Ming Fan) was found to have the greatest activity with MIC mean value of 0.29% (w/v) followed by Rhazya stricta, Juglans regia and propolis with mean MIC values of 0.4, 2.66, and 3.75, respectively.