Antibacterial Activity and Phytochemical Screening of Linum Usitatissimum L. on Bacteria Isolated from Wound Infections

Amis: Wound infections are one of the most important problems in human life. Continued use of antimicrobial agents against wound infections leads to the appearance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains. Flaxseed has important pharmacological properties against various diseases. This study aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of flaxseed extracts against different bacteria isolated from wound infections. Materials Methods: This experimental study used phytochemical screening for flaxseed extracts. Also, the agar well diffusion method was used to examine the antibacterial activity of aqueous, ethanolic extract, and flaxseed oil (200, 100, 50, and 25mg/ml) against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Findings: Phytochemical screening for the crude aqueous and ethyl extracts of flaxseeds revealed alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, steroids, phenolic compounds proteins, and carbohydrates. Aqueous extract showed inhibition zones only for Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis at 50, 100, and 200mg/ml. All the concentrations of the ethanolic extract showed inhibitory effects against all tested bacteria. The maximum antibacterial effect of ethanol extract on aqueous extract was 200mg/ml. Also, 200mg/ml of flaxseed oil had the most powerful inhibitory effects on all tested bacteria Conclusion: Flaxseed ethanolic extract and flaxseed oil have an inhibitory effect against different species of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria isolated from wound infections.