Antibacterial Effects of Calendula officinalis Preparation on South African ESKAPE Pathogens

Medicinal plants possess considerable potential for discovering new phytochemicals that could be considered as a solution to fight against multidrug-resistant pathogens. Calendula officinalis (C. officinalis) is used worldwide due to its antimicrobial properties. This pilot study assessed the antibacterial activity of herbal extract and homeopathic preparation of C. officinalis flowers against South African ESKAPE pathogens.. Materials & Methods: Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method (with a 6.0 mm disk diameter) was employed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of herbal extract and homeopathic preparation against South African ESKAPE pathogens. Various ethanol concentrations of herbal extract (50, 60, and 90%) and 62% ethanol concentration of homeopathic preparation were tested. Findings: The inhibitory effect of C. officinalis did not surpass that of antibiotics. However, the ethanol herbal extract of C. officinalis showed some antibacterial activity against ESKAPE pathogens compared to its homeopathic preparation. Moreover, 50% ethanol extract of C. officinalis (20 gL) showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus species compared to its homeopathic preparation. Conclusion: The rapid spread of antibiotic resistance necessitates the search for plant-based antibacterials. Due to their wealth in phytochemicals, medicinal plants provide a rich resource for producing novel antibacterial drugs. The current study attempted to demonstrate the inhibitory activities of ethanol herbal extract (HEs) and homeopathic mother tincture (MT) of C. officinalis flowers against ESKAPE pathogens and Escherichia coli species.