Bioactivity of Cymbopogon Citratus aqueous extract against measles virus and some bacterial isolates.

This study was designed to evaluated the anti- cancerous, antiviral and antibacterial effects of Cymbopogon citratus aqueous leave extracts. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) staining assay has been applied to detect the cytotoxicity and the antiviral properties against measles virus (MV) using cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). The antibacterial potency of the extract against Staphylococcus aureus (staph. aureus) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kleb. pneumoniae) was determined using disc diffusion method by means of agar overlay assay. The results showed that C. Citratus extract effectively destroyed Hela cell line after 72 h of exposure. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value for the extract was found to be 500 µg mL^-1 which exhibited the concentration of 600 µg mL^-1 potent antivirus activity. The extract demonstrated antibacterial potency against Staph. aureus with mean inhibition zone 16.4 mm which was higher than that produced by Kleb. pneumoniae with mean inhibition zone of 10.7 mm. C. citratus was a favourable candidate as a natural herb to treat cervical cancers in vitro, restricted the MV replication and has potent antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and negative bacteria isolated from the respiratory tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]