Biomedical Research

Objective: Matricaria chmomilla is one of the most important medical plants use in both developed and developing countries to treat many infections. The main aim of this study was to investigate the ability of an aqueous extracts of Matricaria chmomilla flowers to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria isolated from pregnant women with urinary tract infection.

Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was carried out at the laboratory of microbiology in Al-Najaf central hospital in Al-Najaf Governorate, Iraq during March to December 2017. A total of 600 urine samples were collected from 600 pregnant women (age range 25-35 y old) infected with urinary tract infection. Kirby-Bauer method was performed for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Agar well diffusion method was used for the antibacterial activity of cold and boiling water extracts of M. chmomilla flowers in three concentrations (50, 100 and 150) mg/ml.

Results: Out of 600 urine samples, 654 bacterial strains were isolated. Escherichia coli was the most predominant bacteria (278 isolates, 42.5%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (201 isolates, 30.7%), Acinetobacter baumannii (112 isolates, 17.1%), Enterobacter aerogenes (23 isolates, 3.5%), Citrobacter freundii (18 isolates, 2.8%), Proteus mirabilis (12 isolates, 1.8%) and Staphylococcus saprophyticus (10 isolates, 1.6%). Imipenem 10 μg was the best antimicrobial against all bacterial isolates. Hot water extract (150 mg/ml) has excellent anti-bacterial activity against all bacterial isolates, the inhibition zone diameters of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, A. baumannii, E. aerogenes, C. freundii, P. mirabilis and S. saprophyticus were 29.3 ± 0.2, 26.3 ± 0.4, 26.3 ± 0.2, 28.3 ± 0.3, 29.3 ± 0.1, 29.3 ± 0.5 and 28.3 ± 0.2, respectively and there was non-significant differences (P-value>0.05) between imipenem 10 μg (positive control) and 150 mg/ml of hot-water extracts.

Conclusion: Matricaria chmomilla flowers may be considered as a raw material for the manufacture of new drug for treatment of urinary tract infection in human.

Author(s): Ahmed Abduljabbar Jaloob Aljanaby
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