Antimicrobial Activity of Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) Seed for Household Domestic Water Treatment in Buhera District, Zimbabwe

Caston Mahamba and Lobina G. Palamuleni
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Caston Mahamba: Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0003, South Africa
Lobina G. Palamuleni: Unit of Environmental Science and Management, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North West University, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Various plants have been used by humans for a very long time, and the uses vary, including food, medicine, toothpaste, dyes, food preservatives, water treatment, and beer brewing, among others. For food preservation and water treatment, the plant must have antimicrobial properties which are biocidal. For this research, extracts were obtained from sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) seeds. The extracts were assessed for the presence of antimicrobial properties against three groups of bacteria, including faecal coliforms, total coliforms, and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ). Dosages of ground sunflower seeds ranging from 0.5 g to 4 g were administered to the three bacterial species and their susceptibilities to the antimicrobial agents were measured and recorded. The results indicate the presence of antimicrobial properties in sunflower. The antimicrobial activities were more effective on E. coli , with an average zone of inhibition of 12 mm with a 3 g dosage of sunflower seed extract. This was followed by total coliforms (11 mm) and lastly faecal coliforms (11 mm). These findings suggested that sunflower seeds proved to be potentially effective in treating water against microbial contaminants.

Keywords: antimicrobial; bacteriological; Helianthus annuus; seed extract; water treatment; zone of inhibition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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