In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Citrus limon Peel Extracts against Several Bacterial Strains

Rim M Harfouch, Hadeel Janoudi

Abstract

We aimed in this study to evaluate the antibacterial properties of Citrus limon peels extract against several bacterial strains. Thus, ethanolic, methanolic and acetone extracts of Citrus limon were prepared. Then we tested these extracts on five strains of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumonia, Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli), using pore method on Muller Hinton Agar. As we observed, the testes bacteria showed variant susceptibility and the most effective extract was acetone extract with the highest susceptibility against Staphylococcus epidermidis, then ethanolic extract against Streptococcus pneumonia. However, the least affected bacteria were E. coli and Klebsiella. We can conclude that lemon peel extracts are more affective against gram positive bacteria, so they can be used as food preservatives and in dermal disinfectants to inhibit their growth.