"In vitro” antimicrobial activity of extracts from the leafy stems of Momordica charantia Linné (Cucurbitaceae) on some multi-resistant microbial strains

Objective. This study aimed to explore the "In Vitro" antimicrobial activity of extracts of leafy stems of M. charantia on a few multi-resistant germs. Methods: Phytochemical screening of M. charantia leafy stem powder was carried out by the methods of colorimetry and thin layer chromatography followed by the search for larval cytotoxicity. The sensitivity test by the solid medium diffusion method and the search for resistance genes were carried out on E. coli ATCC25922 then on K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca, and E. coli isolated from hospital samples. Flavonoids, alkaloids, stetol-terpenes and saponosides were identified in the powder of the leafy stems of M. charantia. Results: No cytotoxic effects were observed in Artemia salina at the LC 50 of 6.25 mg/ml. With the exception of Ciprofloxacin, Ertapenem and Ceftriaxone which showed respective resistance rates of 60%, 90% and 90%, absolute resistance, i.e. 100%, was observed against Ampicillin, Aztreonam, and Augmentin. The resistance genes present in the bacterial strains studied were SHV, TEM, CTX-M1 and CTX-M15. The sensitivity tests carried out indicate that the aqueous and ethanolic extracts were active on the strains tested with respectively average inhibition diameters of between 9 ±1 and 14 ±1 mM then between 9 ±1 and 12 ±1 mM. Conclusion: This study revealed antimicrobial activity of each of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leafy stems of M. charantia of the multidrug-resistant bacterial strains studied.