Antibacterial Potential of Traditionally Prepared Aqueous Extract of White Galangal (Alpinia galanga L. Willd) Against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31941/benzena.v5i01.7810Keywords:
Antibacterial, White Galangal, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coliAbstract
The growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance, compounded by the adverse effects of prolonged antibiotic regimens and surging healthcare costs, has driven the search for naturally derived alternative therapeutics. Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd., locally recognized as white galangal, occupies a central role in Indonesian ethnomedicine and culinary practices, making it a highly relevant subject for pharmacological screening. This study sought to evaluate the inhibitory capacity of A. galanga rhizome aqueous extracts against the clinical pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Disk diffusion assays performed at four concentration gradients (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) demonstrated a clear dose-dependent antibacterial profile. For S. aureus, the resulting inhibition zone diameters were 7.36, 8.31, 8.93, and 9.94 mm, respectively. Parallel testing against E. coli yielded corresponding inhibition zones of 7.35, 8.07, 8.73, and 9.80 mm across the same concentrations. This investigation highlights the practical relevance of aqueous-based extraction, which accurately reflects traditional preparation methods, thereby validating its ethnopharmacological application. The empirical evidence confirms the extract's efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Such robust inhibitory activity not only reinforces its potential as a natural therapeutic agent but also establishes a scientific basis for its sustained use within traditional medicine frameworks.
Downloads
References
Aziman, N., Abdullah, N., Noor, Z. M., Kamarudin, W. S. S. W., & Zulkifli, K. S. (2014). Phytochemical Profiles and Antimicrobial Activity of Aromatic Malaysian Herb Extracts against Food-Borne Pathogenic and Food Spoilage Microorganisms. Journal of Food Science, 79(4), M583–M592. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.12419
Aziz, I. M., Alfuraydi, A. A., Almarfadi, O. M., Aboul-Soud, M. A. M., Alshememry, A. K., Alsaleh, A. N., & Almajhdi, F. N. (2024). Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant, anticancer, and antibacterial potential of Alpinia galanga (L.) rhizome. Heliyon, 10(17). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37196
Badriyah, L., Mutripah, S., & Vifta, R. L. (2024). Skrining Senyawa Metabolit Sekunder dan Hasil Rendemen Ekstrak Rimpang Lengkuas Putih (Alpinia galanga L.) Melalui Empat Metode Ekstraksi. Jurnal Wiyata: Penelitian Sains Dan Kesehatan, 11(2), 204. https://doi.org/10.56710/wiyata.v11i2.935
Blair, J. M. A., Webber, M. A., Baylay, A. J., Ogbolu, D. O., & Piddock, L. J. V. (2015). Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 13(1), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3380
Boonkusol, D., Sawasdee, S., Detraksa, J., Duangsrikaew, K., & Watcharabundit, P. (2024). Evaluation of Anti-Escherichia coli K88 from Diarrhea Piglets and Phytochemicals of Galangal Rhizome Extracts. Trends in Sciences, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.48048/tis.2024.7112
CLSI. (2022). M100 Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing A CLSI supplement for global application. 32nd Edition. www.clsi.org.
Dai, C., Lin, J., Li, H., Shen, J., Shen, Z., Wang, Y., & Velkov, T. (2022). The Natural Product Curcumin as an Antibacterial Agent: Current Achievements and Problems. In Antioxidants (Vol. 11, Number 3). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11030459
Das, G., Patra, J. K., Gonçalves, S., Romano, A., Gutiérrez-Grijalva, E. P., Heredia, J. B., Talukdar, A. Das, Shome, S., & Shin, H.-S. (2020). Galangal, the multipotent super spices: A comprehensive review. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 101, 50–62. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2020.04.032
Dermawan, A. M., Julianti, E., Putra, M. Y., & Karim, F. (2019). Identification and Evaluation of Antibacterial Compounds from the Vibrio sp. associated with the Ascidian Pycnoclavella diminuta. Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.7454/psr.v6i3.4673
Dwisari, F., Dermawan, A. M., Amalia, P., Tjoadri, T. N., & Rahma, N. A. (2025). Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Antiperspirant Preparations Against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Indonesian Journal of Chemical Research, 13(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.30598/ijcr.2025.13-fat
Eram, S., Mujahid, M., Bagga, P., Ansari, V. A., Ahmad, M. A., Kumar, A., Ahsan, F., & Akhter, M. S. (2019). A Review on Phytopharmacological Activity of Alpinia Galanga. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 6–11. https://doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2019v11i3.31352
Fransiska, A., Oenzil, F., & Dharma Rafke, H. (2017). Perbandingan Efektivitas Antibakteri Infusum Lengkuas Putih dan Merah Terhadap Staphylococcus aureus. Cakradonya Dent J, 9(2), 101–106.
Khairullah, A. R., Solikhah, T. I., Nur, A., Ansori, M., Fadholly, A., Ramandinianto, S. C., Ansharieta, R., Widodo, A., Hendriana, K., Riwu, P.,
Putri, N., Proboningrat, A., Khaliim, M., Kusala, J., Rendragraha, B. W., Rozaqi, A., Putra, S., & Anshori, A. (2020). A Review of an Important Medicinal Plant: Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd. In Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy (Vol. 11, Number 10).
Miryala, S. K., & Ramaiah, S. (2019). Exploring the multi-drug resistance in Escherichia coli O157:H7 by gene interaction network: A systems biology approach. Genomics, 111(4), 958–965. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.06.002
Nadya, S., Yuniarti & Rosidah. (2022). Uji Fitokimia Terhadap Tanaman Obat Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) di KHDTK ULM. Jurnal Sylva Scienteae, 05(2), 218–224.
Othman, L., Sleiman, A., & Abdel-Massih, R. M. (2019). Antimicrobial activity of polyphenols and alkaloids in middle eastern plants. In Frontiers in Microbiology (Vol. 10, Number MAY). Frontiers Media S.A. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00911
Priyono, Q. A. P., Yusniasari, P. A., Alifiansyah, M. R. T., Suryanto, G. Y., Widyowati, R., Herdiansyah, M. A., Ansori, A. N. M., Purnobasuki, H.,
Pratiwi, I. A., Makhmudov, F., Azimova, S., Kizatova, M., Rebezov, M., Jakhmola, V., Sahadewa, S., & Durry, F. D. (2024). Ethnomedical Potentials, Phytochemicals, and Medicinal Profile of Alpinia galanga L.: A Comprehensive Review. In BIO Integration (Vol. 5, Number 1). Compuscript Ltd. https://doi.org/10.15212/bioi-2024-0032
Raja Johnley, I. I., Somasundaram, G., J Salwe, K., & Manimekalai, K. (2020). Anti Ulcerogenic and Anti-Oxidant Activity of Alpinia Galanga Rhizomes Aqueous Extract in Indomethacin Induced Gastric Mucosal Damage in Wistar Albino Rats. Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal, 13(1), 55–60. https://doi.org/10.13005/bpj/1860
Rossiter, S. E., Fletcher, M. H., & Wuest, W. M. (2017). Natural Products as Platforms To Overcome Antibiotic Resistance. Chemical Reviews, 117(19), 12415–12474. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00283
Suciati, A., & Maryati. (2023). Systematic Review: Anticancer Potential of Active Compounds from Galangal ( Alpinia galanga ) . Proceedings of the 4th International Conference Current Breakthrough in Pharmacy (ICB-Pharma 2022), 3. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-050-3_23
Theuretzbacher, U., Outterson, K., Engel, A., & Karlén, A. (2020). The global preclinical antibacterial pipeline. In Nature Reviews Microbiology (Vol. 18, Number 5, pp. 275–285). Nature Research. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0288-0
Trimanto, T., Hapsari, L., & Dwiyanti, D. (2021). Alpinia galanga (L.) willd: Plant morphological characteristic, histochemical analysis and review on pharmacological. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2353. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0052687
Verma, R. K., & Sharma, N. (2022). Phytochemical and Pharmacological activities of Alpinia galangal: A review. Asian Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 8(3), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.31024/ajpp.2022.8.3.3
Yuan, G., Guan, Y., Yi, H., Lai, S., Sun, Y., & Cao, S. (2021). Antibacterial activity and mechanism of plant flavonoids to gram-positive bacteria predicted from their lipophilicities. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 10471. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90035-7
Zhou, C., Li, C., Siva, S., Cui, H., & Lin, L. (2021). Chemical composition, antibacterial activity and study of the interaction mechanisms of the main compounds present in the Alpinia galanga rhizomes essential oil. Industrial Crops and Products, 165, 113441. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113441
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Abdurraafi' Maududi Dermawan, Fakih Maulana Hasbullah, Khoirul Rista Abidin, Fath Dwisari
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
uthors who publish with BENZENA Pharmaceutical Scientific Journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the BENZENA Pharmaceutical Scientific Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or edit it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
