A preliminary study on antibacterial efficacy of the methanolic extract of acalypha wilkesiana leaves against selected clinical isolates.

The methanolic leaves extract of A. wilkesiana was investigated for antibacterial activities and preliminary phytochemical screening. The phytochemical screening was carried out using standard procedures while the antibacterial susceptibility was done using the agar well diffusion method. The phytochemical screening result showed the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, alkaloids, steroids as well as terpenoids. The antibacterial susceptibility showed zones of inhibition that ranged between 4mm and 13mm. The MIC ranged between 10mg/ml and 30mg/ml while the MBC range between 30mg/ml and 50mg/ml, for all the organisms used. The results obtained from this research gave scientific support to the use of A. wilkesiana leaves for bacterial chemotherapy and it is suggested that the plant extract could be a promising lead compound for the synthesis of effective chemotherapeutics against the diseases caused by the test organisms used. Keywords: Antibacterial, methanolic,, phytochemical, extract.