Abstract

In Vitro Evaluation of Medicinal Plant Extracts Against Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis: A Potential Remedy for Caseous Lymphadenitis in Small Ruminants

Authors: Fatima Naeem, Rais Ahmed, Momina Malik, Duaa Hayat, Zainab Saeed, Alishba Zahid, Muhammad Adnan, Abdur Rauf, Maria Nazir and Amir Haneef

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.71081/cvj/2025.057

Abstract
Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, is a chronic infectious disease of sheep and goats that causes substantial economic losses in Pakistan’s livestock sector, which contributes 63.60% to agriculture and 14.97% to the national GDP. This study evaluated the antibacterial potential of three medicinal plants Azadirachta indica (Neem), Moringa oleifera (Sohanjana), and Citrullus colocynthis (Kortumma) against C. pseudotuberculosis. Leaves, bark, seeds, and fruit pulp were extracted using ethanol, distilled water, and acetone. Antibacterial activity was determined by well and disc diffusion methods on Mueller Hinton agar, following standard antibiotic protocols. Ethanol extracts exhibited the highest antibacterial activity, with A. indica showing the strongest inhibition, followed by M. oleifera and C. colocynthis. Statistical analysis (SPSS version 26.0) confirmed significant differences among treatments (p< 0.05). The results suggest that these plants contain potent bioactive compounds with promising antimicrobial efficacy. Overall, the findings support the potential of plant-derived remedies as natural and sustainable alternatives to conventional antibiotics for controlling C. pseudotuberculosis infections in livestock.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; C.pseudotuberculosis; Caseous Lymphadenitis; Medicinal plants; Sheep & Goats