In-vitro Investigation of Antimicrobial Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) against some Pathogenic Microorganisms

Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) contain various phenolic compounds with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the in-vitro antimicrobial effect of ethanolic extract of sumac on some pathogenic microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus cereus, and Candida albicans).

The ethanolic extract of sumac was obtained by the maceration method and its antimicrobial effect was then investigated by the antimicrobial methods disc diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum bactericidal/fungal concentration. SPSS software and Duncan test (p< 0.05) were used to analyze the data.

The sumac ethanolic extract had a considerable antimicrobial effect on the microorganisms tested. According to the disc and well diffusion agar methods, the most sensitive and resistant bacterial species to the extract were S. epidermidis and E. aerogenes, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration for the microorganisms was in the range of 8-32 mg/ml.

The sumac ethanolic extract shows a considerable antimicrobial effect on the pathogenic microorganisms and high antioxidant activity. Therefore, the ethanolic extract of sumac could be used as a natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agent.