Full Length Research

Acacia saligna and Cordia sinensis were used traditionally as medicine and food additives in Saudi Arabia. The antimicrobial activities of leaves ethanol extracts of both species were investigated against 7 medically important bacterial strains, namely: Bacillus subtilius, MRSA, Micrococcus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsella pneumoniae, and four fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans). The antibacterial activity was determined by agar well diffusion method. The most pronounced effect was shown by that of A. saligna. The most susceptible bacteria was K. pneumoniae, followed by Micrococcus, while the most resistant bacteria was MRSA followed by B. subtilius. The most pronounced effect on fungi was shown by that of Acacia cyanophylla. The most susceptible fungi was A. fumigatus, while the most resistant fungi was A. niger. The HPLC analysis indicated the presence of 8 phenolic compounds as major active constituents (gallic, protocatioic, chlorogenic, syringic, p.Hydroxy Benzoic, p-Coumaric, vanillic and salicylic acid). The result obtained indicated variable differences in compounds concentration of A. saligna leaves extract. Results of HPLC showed gallic, p-Coumaric and syringic in high concentrations of 54.31, 8.27 and 3.71 μg/g respectively. The concentrations of other phenolic compounds ranged from 0.44 - 2.01 μg/g. However, the least concentration was chlorogenic with a range of 0.44 μg/g