ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF VITEX AGNUS-CASTUS L. AGAINST MASTITIS PATHOGENS

Abstract

It is now widely reported that mastitis agents have developed resistance to antibiotics, due to the widespread use of antibiotics. In total, seven mastitis-causing bacteria were used in the study two are Staphylococcus aureus strains and five are Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CNS) strains. The plant material of Vitex agnus-castus was collected from Mugla-Turkey. Kirby-Bauer assay was used to screen for the antibacterial activities of the extracts. Antioxidant activities were assayed using the 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) technique. Results indicated that the extracts of V. agnus-castus had antibacterial activity against mastitis pathogens, and the range of inhibition zone was 8-10 mm. The largest inhibition zone was obtained from the methanol extract of V. agnus-castus. In MIC assays, no inhibition was observed in any of the tested concentrations. Among the extracts, the water extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (78.95%). In summary, it was found that the extracts of V. agnus-castus exhibit antibacterial activity against mastitis causing Staphylococcus aureus and CNS pathogens, and thus, the plant extracts can be used to treat mastitis caused by these test bacteria.