Abstract :
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a bacterium that can cause infections in humans.
Kersen bark (Muntingia calabura) can be used as an antibacterial. Kersen bark contains
flavonoids, tannins, and saponins. The purpose of this study was to determine the
antibacterial effectiveness of ethanol extract of Kersen bark on the growth of Klebsiella
pneumoniae and to find out at what concentration of Kersen bark extract (Muntingia
calabura) which has the most potential in inhibiting the growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae
bacteria. The method used is disc diffusion (Kirby & Bauer) with a series of
concentrations of 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The inhibition zone results
obtained were analyzed using descriptive methods. The inhibition zone results shown
from the extracts at concentrations of 12.4%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of ethanol extract of
Kersen's bark were 6.00 mm; 8.80 mm; 11.60 mm; 14.40 mm and 15.30 mm. The
greatest inhibitory ability of ethanol extract of Kersen bark at a concentration of 100%,
and not yet equivalent to the ciprofloxacin antibiotic which has a inhibition zone diameter
of 27.85 mm.