Antimicrobial potential of the plant Anchusa officinalis L.

Abstract

The use of plants in the prevention and treatment of various diseases dates back to ancient civilizations. Knowledge about the medicinal properties of certain plant species has been passed down from generation to generation, and numerous literary sources have confirmed the historical use of plants in healing practices, both locally and globally. Due to the increasingly prevalent occurrence of bacterial resistance to a large number of antibiotics and the ability of plants to synthesize biologically active substances, the use of natural antimicrobial preparations of plant origin in the biological control of pathogenic bacteria is gaining significant importance. Numerous literary sources mention the use of plants from the Boraginaceae family in the treatment of various diseases. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate a series of extracts from the plant Anchusa officinalis L. in terms of assessing its antimicrobial potential. The results of our study confirmed that the tested extracts of Anchusa officinalis L. exhibited good antimicrobial potential compared to standard antibiotics such as amracin (for bacteria) and ketoconazole (for fungi).