THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF BETEL (Piper battle L.) AND BASIL (Ocimum sanctum L.) LEAVES INFUSION AS ANTISEPTIC PREPARATIONS AGAINST SOME BACTERIA IN VITRO

Abstract

Betel leaves (Piper battle L.) and basil leaves (Ocimum sanctum L.) are parts of the plant that can be made as antiseptic preparations because they contain antibacterial compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, and saponins. Antiseptic activity can be observed based on its effect in inhibiting the colonization of standard test bacteria of the laboratory, namely Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi as well as the magnitude of the phenol coefficient value. The study aimed to analyze the infusion activity of betel and basil leaves as antiseptic preparations against some test bacteria. This study in vitro used a posttest-only control group design. The infusion treatment of betel and basil leaves is tested in the form of a single preparation and a combination with concentrations of 50%, 75%, and 100% (w/v). The results showed there was a difference in the infusion activity of betel leaves and basil leaves in a single stock and a combination of the number of bacterial colonies tested; the effect of the treatment produces a small number of bacterial colonies in Gram-positive bacteria; 100% combination treatment (b/v) provides an inhibitory effect that is not significantly different from 70% alcohol control against all test bacteria except S.typhi: and obtained the phenol coefficient value from the combination treatment of betel and basil leaves infusion higher against Gram-positive bacteria. The conclusion of this study, the combination of betel and basil leaves infusion has antibacterial activity as an antiseptic preparation that can inhibit the growth of some test bacteria.   Keywords: antiseptic preparations, infusion leaves, Piper battle L, Ocimum sanctum L, number of colonies, phenol coefficient