المجلة الدولية للعلوم والتقنية

Escherichia coli (E.coli) are considered a natural inhabitant of the intestine, but they are opportunistic bacteria that can be pathogenic if the appropriate conditions are available. These bacteria are characterized by their high ability to resist many antibiotics. Therefore, the aim of this research was to find natural alternatives to antibiotics to treat diseases caused by these bacteria. Many plants were found to have inhibitory activity against pathogenic germs due to the compounds and active elements they contain after extraction and purification, in addition to their few side effects and the inability of germs to develop resistance to them. In addition, treatment with medicinal plants is an economical and highly efficient treatment. This research was designed to study the effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Colocynthis and chamomile on Escherichia coli bacteria. The pathological samples of the bacteria was isolated from urine samples at Gharyan Teaching Hospital. The bacteria sensitivity test was conducted to determine whether they had any inhibitory effect and then compared to the effect of some antibiotics. The results showed that the antibiotic Ceftriaxone (CRO) was the strongest among the antibiotics used with an inhibition zone of 27mm, followed by the antibiotic Nalidixic acid (NA) with an inhibition zone of 19mm, then the antibiotic Cefoxitin (FOX) with an inhibition zone of 17mm, while the antibiotics Ampicillin (AM) and Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole (SXT) did not show any inhibitory effect against the growth of the bacteria. Also through this research it was found that the aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Colocynthis and chamomile did not show any inhibitory effect against the growth of E.Coli. At the end of this research, it is recommended to use higher concentrations of aqueous and alcoholic solutions of colocynth and chamomile, as well as to use other organic solvents such as hexane. It is also recommended to conduct a study on the effect of colocynth and chamomile against other microbes (bacteria and fungi)......... Keywords for research:....... Colocynthis, chamomile, Escherichia coli (E. coli).