The therapeutic potential of cherry mahogany in treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Côte d’Ivoire researchers tested cherry mahogany (Tieghemella heckelii) for its antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). They reported that extracts from the stem bark of the African medicinal plant were able to inhibit the growth of different strains of the drug-resistant pathogenic microbe.

The study was supported by the Institut Pasteur Côte d’Ivoire. Its findings were published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• Cherry mahogany is a medicinal tree found in certain African countries. It is used to treat different kinds of diseases, including infectious ones caused by bacteria.
• The stem bark of the tree was processed into six different extracts: chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, hexane, methanol, and sterile distilled water.
• Each extract was tested on six different strains of MRSA. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of every extract were determined. The concentrations determined if the extract had bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects.
• The ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol, and sterile distilled water extracts displayed significant potential as antibacterials. They effectively inhibited the MRSA strains when administered in MIC values that ranged from 45 micrograms per milliliter (mcg/mL) to 97 mcg/mL.
• Based on the MBC values, the extracts demonstrated bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on different strains of MRSA.

The results of the experiment validated the medicinal value of the cherry mahogany in Côte d’Ivoire ethnomedicine. It also identified the stem bark of the plant as a potential source of new antibacterials that will work on drug-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria like MRSA.

For the full text of the study, you can visit this page.

To learn more about the antimicrobial potential of cherry mahogany, visit Herbs.news.

Journal Reference:

Kipre BG, Guessennd N, Koné M, Gbonon V, Coulibaly JK, Dosso M. ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF THE STEM BARK OF TIEGHEMELLA HECKELII PIERRE EX. A CHEV AGAINST METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2017;17(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-017-1681-8.