IN-VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIAL OF GINGER (ZINGIBER OFFICINALE) AND HENNA (LAWSONIA INERMIS) AGAINST BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS WOUNDS

Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease that produces chronic ulcerative skin lesions, which may become colonized or secondarily infected by bacteria and consequently complicate wound healing. The present study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of Lawsonia inermis (henna) and Zingiber officinale (ginger) against bacterial isolates recovered from CL lesions in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Fresh plant materials were collected locally, authenticated, and processed for ethanolic extraction. Wound swab samples were collected from CL patients and cultured using standard microbiological procedures. The bacterial isolates were identified on the basis of colony morphology, Gram staining, microscopic characteristics, and biochemical tests. The antibacterial activity of the plant extracts was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method at concentrations of 250, 500, 750, and 1000 µl/ml, using penicillin as a positive control and ethanol as a negative control. Two bacterial species, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, were recovered from the examined CL lesions. Both plant extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against the tested isolates, with inhibition increasing generally with increasing extract concentration. L. inermis produced mean inhibition zones of 12.67 ± 1.15 to 21.77 ± 2.89 mm against E. coli and 16.53 ± 0.81 to 22.00 ± 1.00 mm against S. aureus across the tested concentrations. Z. officinale produced mean inhibition zones of 17.90 ± 2.53 to 21.53 ± 0.68 mm against E. coli and 22.83 ± 0.38 to 27.60 ± 0.87 mm against S. aureus. Overall, Z. officinale demonstrated stronger inhibitory activity, particularly against S. aureus, while both extracts showed substantial in vitro antibacterial activity against the selected wound-associated bacteria. These findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the antibacterial potential of L. inermis and Z. officinale against bacterial isolates associated with CL lesions. Further studies involving phytochemical characterization, MIC and MBC determination, toxicity assessment, formulation development, and in vivo and clinical evaluation are required to determine their potential application in the management of secondary bacterial infections associated with CL wounds