Objective: To evaluate antibacterial activity of the Indonesian water soluble green tea extract, Camellia sinensis, against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (MRSA) and multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR-P. aeruginosa).
Methods: Antimicrobial activity of green tea extract was determined by the disc diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the twofold serial broth dilutions method. The tested bacteria using in this study were the standard strains and multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, obtained from Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia.
Results: The results showed that the inhibition zone diameter of green tea extracts for S. aureus ATCC 25923 and MRSA were (18.970 ± 0.287) mm, and (19.130 ± 0.250) mm respectively. While the inhibition zone diameter for P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and MDR-P. aeruginosa were (17.550 ± 0.393) mm and (17.670 ± 0.398) mm respectively. The MIC of green tea extracts against S. aureus ATCC 25923 and MRSA were 400 µg/mL and 400 µg/mL, respectively, whereas the MIC for P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and MDR-P. aeruginosa were 800 µg/mL, and 800 µg/mL, respectively.
Conclusions: Camellia sinensis leaves extract could be useful in combating emerging drug-resistance caused by MRSA and P. aeruginosa.
Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Camellia sinensis; Green tea; MIC; Multi-drug resistant bacteria.