Galangal leaf (Kaempferia galanga L.) is a plant that is not widely known
by people, it has many benefits, besides being useful as a vegetable, kencur leaf
contains flavonoid chemical compounds and essential oil of kencur leaf which
has antimicrobial properties to either inhibit or kill microbial growth. The purpose
of this study was to determine that the ethanol extract of kencur (Kaempferia
galanga L.) leaves had antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes and
to determine how much activity it had.
The ethanol extract of the leaves of kencur (Kaempferia galanga L.) was
extracted using 96% ethanol as a solvent using the Remaceration method, the
extract was then screened for phytochemicals and then strengthened by the TLC
test. The next step was to test the antibacterial activity using the disk diffusion
method with concentrations of 0.3%, 0.6%, 1.2%, and 2.4%. The clear zone
obtained was then measured and analyzed using One way ANOVA.
The results showed that the ethanol extract of kencur leaves had
antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes at a concentration of 0.3;
0.6; 1,2; and 2.4% with each inhibition zone of 6.86; 8.4; 9.8; and 10.96 mm. The
extract contains secondary metabolites of tannins, saponins and flavonoids with
Rf of 0.925; 0.825; and 0.8125. Statistical analysis showed that the data were
normally distributed and homogeneous, while the results of the One way ANOVA
test stated that there was a significant difference between concentrations of 0.3%
and 1.2%.
Keywords: Kaempferia galanga L., Disk Diffusion, antibacterial,
Propionibacterium acnes.