Vol. 4, Issue 2, Part B (2022)

The effect of some commonly used medicinal plants in Southeast Nigeria namely Carica papaya, Psidium guajava and Citrus sinensis against quorum sensing regulated virulence factor such as twitching motility, proteolytic activity and cell adhesion in Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated in this study using spectrophotometric methods. Result showed that Carica papaya and Psidium guajava plant extract revealed the best inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus for twitching motility. Psidium guajava plant extract showed greater inhibition on cell adhesion while the inhibition of proteolytic activity was lowest in Carica papaya and highest in Psidium guajava. Overall, the plant extract showed variable effects with Psidium guajava plant extract showing the best effect against quorum sensing regulated virulence factors in Staphylococcus aureus. This study shows the potential use of these plant extracts in the treatment of microbial infections by inhibiting bacterial virulent factors and its associated antibiotics resistance capabilities.