Abstract
Water disinfection is a critical issue for maintaining a healthy life, especially in developing countries. Disinfection of water also demands destruction or removal/inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms from drinking water/raw water/groundwater to prevent recontamination of water in the distribution system and maintain the safest quality of water. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most commonly reported bacteria in disinfection studies. In the next century, the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has raised concerns worldwide. Sludge from the cattle wastewater is a source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this study, the antibiotic-resistant bacteria were isolated from sludge, which is reported. Next, these antibiotic-resistant bacteria were exposed to the plant extract. The results showed that these bacterial strains were killed by the plant extract, and the water quality was then rechecked. The developed approach emphasises the importance of returning to natural methods not only for traditional water disinfection but also for eliminating hazardous antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria. Additionally, this method may be useful in various other applications aimed at removing antimicrobial bacteria. In this research, plant extract was collected from the Cratoxylum sp. species using the maceration method. The effectiveness of the plant extract against antibiotic-resistant bacteria was evaluated through the diffusion method. The water quality was evaluated for the absence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which was verified using the spreading method. The study successfully extracted Cratoxylum pruniflorum D. with an efficiency of 50.01 %. It also established the optimal conditions for obtaining this extract to test its effectiveness against MRSA and Staphylococcus sp. isolated from livestock wastewater. When applied in a laboratory wastewater treatment model, the extract significantly reduced bacterial cell density 5 x 106 times. Additionally, the Sulforhodamine B (SRB) test indicated that the Cratoxylum pruniflorum D. extract was not toxic to the two tested cell lines, highlighting its potential for use in wastewater treatment.
