Antibacterial Effect of Pleurotus ostreatus on Selected Bacterial Isolates

Pleurotus ostreatus, commonly known as oyster mushrooms, are edible fungi with a long history of culinary and medicinal use. This study was carried out to determine the anti-bacterial effect of Pleurotus ostreatus against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. The bacterial isolates were collected from the Microbiology Laboratory of Caleb University, Lagos, Nigeria. The isolates were confirmed using biochemical tests. The antibacterial susceptibility pattern of the isolates to different antibiotics was determined using the disc diffusion technique. Extraction was carried out on dried and finely ground Pleurotus ostreatus using methanol and water as solvents. Susceptibility of the isolates to Pleurotus ostreatus was done using the agar well diffusion technique. The disc diffusion technique showed susceptibility and resistance of the bacterial isolates to different antibiotics. Methanol extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus showed higher anti-bacterial activity against the selected bacteria judging by the longer diameter of zones of inhibition. More studies should be carried out on Pleurotus ostreatus to extract and purify the individual bioactive components which could form the basis for the development of antimicrobial agents.