The antibacterial activity of four Saudi medicinal plants against clinical isolates of Propionibacterium acnes

This study reports the high susceptibility of Propionibacterium acnes to four medicinal plants collected from western regions of Saudi Arabia. Plant extracts were obtained by using methanol and acetone. The susceptibility was tested by agar well diffusion method. Plants of interest, namely, Rhazya stricta, Azadirachta indica, Camellia sinensis and Ocimum basilicum, exhibited good antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 50 mg/mL, 25 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL and 100 mg/mL respectively. The maximum antibacterial effect was observed by A. indica followed by R. stricta. In addition, C. sinensis, and O. basilicum had moderate activities. The results show that these plants could be tested for use in skin care products to prevent or improve acne.