Antibacterial Activity Studies on Papaya Leaves and Orange Peels Against Common Bacterial Species

The present study is aimed to observe and describe in detail the synergy between natural plant extracts and standard antibiotics combating bacterial infections. Bacterial resistance is now a very common problem caused due to the resistance developed by the bacterial strains to a particular antibiotic. This study was done to improve the effectiveness of such antibiotics which have or in near future will develop resistance towards various bacteria. The antibacterial activity of Citrus sinensis (orange) and Carica papaya (papaya) was studied against five bacterial strains: Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibiotics used in this study were Gentamicin and Amikacin. The combination of papaya leaf extract and orange peel extract showed inhibitory activity against all the bacterial strains. Both of these extracts were combined along with the antibiotics and tested against the bacterial strains. Most effective response was shown by the combination with antibiotic gentamycin.