Comparative study of sodium hypochlorite and ethanolic extracts of lawsonia inermis as surface disinfectants / Atika Liana Idemin

Lawsonia inermis (Henna) is a plant belongs to family Lythraceae. The presence of anthraquinones as major constituents to sustain antimicrobial activities has been revealed in phytochemical analysis of plant leaves extract. In this study, a simple quantitative suspension method employed to determine the efficacy of L. inermis extract and sodium hypochlorite as surface disinfectants. Both of them were tested against four most common nosocomial pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Sodium hypochlorite showed high efficacy of disinfectant against S. aureus and S. epidermidis as the log reduction factor was more than 5 at all dilution (1:10, 1:100, and 1:1000). L. inermis extracts at 1:10 dilution (0.56 g/mL) was not efficient because the number of log reduction factor was less than 5. But, it was efficient against S. aureus and S. epidermidis at 1:100 (0.056 g/mL) and 1:1000 dilution (0.0056 g/mL). The Mean (SEM) for sodium hypochlorite and L. inermis extracts against S. aureus and S. epidermidis were 1.1 ± 0.55 (p = 0.083) and 1.3 ± 0.67 (p = 0.081), respectively. Sodium hypochlorite was efficient at dilution 1:100 (0.056 g/mL) and 1:1000 (0.0056 g/mL) and L. inermis extracts was efficient at dilution 1:1000 (0.0056 g/mL) against E. coli. The Mean (SEM) for sodium hypochlorite and L. inermis extracts against E.coli was 3.6 ± 0.69 (p = 0.001). Sodium hypochlorite and L. inermis extracts were efficient at all dilutions (1:10, 1:100, and 1:1000) against P. aeruginosa. The Mean (SEM) for sodium hypochlorite and L. inermis extracts against P. aeruginosa was 0.3 ± 0.33 (p = 0.347). In conclusion, both sodium hypochlorite and L. inermis extracts showed antimicrobial activities towards S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa. Sodium hypochlorite worked best at the recommended concentration (0.56 g/mL). L. inermis showed minimum concentration at 0.0056 g/mL to eliminate all tested bacteria efficiently. Therefore, molecular studies should be conducted as confirmation for the effectiveness of each disinfectant against microorganisms. L.inermis extracts can be used as an optional to commercial disinfectant as it may give a negative effect to nature and also human health.