Abstract

SENSITIVITY STUDIES AND THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF EUCALYPTUS OIL AND CIPROFLOXACIN AGAINST SOME CLINICAL PATHOGENS

Ogbuanya .C, Adonu, C.C,* Attama A.A, Okore V.C

ABSTRACT

Tradomedically, many essential oils are administered both inside and outside the body of plants and animals to treat many ailments. The study was done to evaluate the sensitivity of some clinical pathogens to the essential oil of Eucalyptus globulus oil and ciprofloxacin and their interactions. The clinical isolates used were Salmonella typhi (15 isolates), Escherichia coli (11 isolates), Klebsiella pneumoniae (14 isolates), Proteus mirabilis (12 isolates), Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( 10 isolates), and Staphylococcus aureus (10 isolates).The in vitro evaluation was done using standard methods.The result of sensitivity tests indicated that with the exception of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, other bacteria used in the test were appreciably sensitive to the different concentrations of the essential oil. Moreso, Salmonella typhi was very susceptible to ciprofloxacin while Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to ciprofloxacin. The result of the interaction study showed that Eucalyptus globulus oil and ciprofloxacin were predominantly synergistic and additive.

Keywords: Sensitivity, Eucalyptus globulus oil, Ciprofloxacin, Bacteria.