Antimicrobial Activity Assessment of Eriobotrya japonica Leaf Extracts from Libya: An In Vitro Study

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among bacterial and fungal pathogenic strains poses a significant global health challenge, emphasizing the urgent need for alternative therapies. The use of natural products derived from plants has gained attention as a potential solution. This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of the leaf extracts of the Eriobotrya japonica plant cultivated in different regions in Libya. Crude extracts were prepared using four solvents (water, 70% ethanol, chloroform, and hexane) and evaluated against four pathogenic bacterial strains (Escherichia coli ATCC® 25922, Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC®12344, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC®10031, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC®6538) and one fungal strain (Candida albicans ATCC®10231) using the disc diffusion method. The antimicrobial activity of Eriobotrya japonica varied with different solvent types. Ethanol extract showed the highest activity, with inhibition zones of 44.5 mm against S. aureus, 39 mm against S. pyogenes, 25 mm against E. coli, 23 mm against K. pneumoniae, and 20.6 mm against C. albicans. Chloroform extract exhibited moderate activity, hexane showed lower effectiveness, and the aqueous extract displayed minimal or no activity. These findings emphasize the critical role of solvent polarity in extracting bioactive compounds, with ethanol and chloroform being the most effective for E. japonica. Gram-positive bacteria were generally more susceptible than Gram-negative bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first report of the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of these plant extracts grown in Libya, suggesting their promising application in new drug discovery and pharmaceutical fields.