Comparative study of the phytochemicals andin vitroantimicrobial potential of six medicinal plants

This study sought to investigate the antimicrobial activity of sixBackground: plants used in traditional medicine in Africa.The antimicrobial activity of the six medicinal plant extracts (aqueousMethods: and ethanol) were evaluated against (ATCC 21784), Proteus mirabilis (ATCC27856) were using thePseudomonas aeruginosa Aspergillus fumigatus agar-well diffusion protocol. The activities of these extracts were compared withthe positive controls chloramphenicol and griseofulvin. Similarly, thephytochemicals from the extracts were qualitatively assayed and theirpercentage yield calculated by standard methods. The bacterial organisms used, and , wereResults:P. mirabilisP. aeruginosaslightly-to-highly susceptible to aqueous and ethanolic extracts from the varioustest plants, while was insensitive to the treatments. The ethanolicA. fumigatusextracts of the sampled plants showed superior inhibitory performance on thetarget bacteria to the aqueous extracts. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of , and showed inhibitoryAframomum meleguetaMoringa oleiferaCola nitida consistency against the target bacteria. Superior inhibitory activity wasobserved for ethanol extracts of seed and pod againstA. melegueta M. oleiferaand . Variations in phytochemicals were noticedP. mirabilis P. aeruginosaacross solvents and plant parts for all plants. Phenols were detected in theaqueous and ethanolic extracts of and, but relativelyC. nitida Cola acuminateappeared denser in extracts of seed and A. melegueta Chrysophyllum albidiumfruits. The extracts of , and tested positiveC. nitidaC. acuminate A. melegueta for the presence of flavonoids, which were undetected in and C. albidium M.seed and pod extracts. None of the extracts showed the presence ofoleifera every phytochemical assayed during the study. Extracts of the medicinal plants assessed in this study showedConclusions:antibacterial potential. Developing new methodologies that preserve thebioactive potency of phyto-extracts for optimal microbicidal activity is promisingfor development of safe, non-reactive pharmaceutical