Formulation of Herbal Tea and in Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity Against Drug-Resistant Uropathogens

Abstract

The present study aims to formulate herbal tea and examine antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against uropathogens. Total phenolics content and radical scavenging activity of herbs (Hibiscus, Lemongrass, and Tinospora) and optimized tea were determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method and percent of DPPH inhibition, respectively.The antibacterial activity of selected herbs and optimized tea were tested against three clinical isolates, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the modified agar disc diffusion method. The highest phenolic content and radical scavenging activity were observed in lemongrass, followed by hibiscus flower and tinospora stem. Although, the highest antibacterial activity was recorded by hibiscus flower against all tested pathogens, followed by lemongrass and tinospora. The sensory score of different treatments of herbal tea was analyzed by the Hedonic scale and treatment T₂ (55:20:25) is found to be best followed by T_1, T_0, T₃. The radical scavenging activity and antibacterial activity of herbal tea were found to be higher than in green tea. The herbal tea also exhibit significant antibacterial activity against common uropathogens E.coli (0.73mm),K.pneumoniae(0.5 mm) and P.aeruginosa (0.4 cm).  Therefore, the prepared herbal tea could be recommended for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infection.