Investigation of in Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Aloe Vera Juice

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the antimicrobial activity of the Aloe vera juice against Gram-positive bacteria (Mycobacterium smegmatis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus sphericus), Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium) and Candida albicans as in vitro. The disc diffusion method was used to test the antimicrobial activity. The study showed that Aloe vera juice has antimicrobial activity against M. smegmatis, K. pneumoniae, E. faecalis, M. luteus, C albicans and B. sphericus, but has no inhibitory effect against the other bacterial strains. The least inhibitory effect was found against M. luteus, while C albicans was detected to be the most sensitive strain. As a result; the antibacterial activity of the tested plant juice was found effective mainly against the Gram-positive bacteria. This is important to use of Aloe vera for medication, cosmetic and food purposes.