In vitro Antimicrobial Screening on Anchomanes difformis (Blume) Engl. Leaves and Rhizomes Against Selected Pathogens of Public Health Importance

There is a need to establish scientific findings to many ethnobotanical uses of plants as phytotherapy which could find application in the pharmaceutical industry. Antimicrobial activity of Anchomanes difformis which is locally used in the treatment of diarrhea was investigated in this research. A. difformis leaf and rhizome were exhaustively extracted using ethanol, methanol and water as solvent in the ratio of 70:20:10. The antimicrobial activities were tested against pathogens of public health importance majorly the enterobacteriaceae and Candida albican. The zones of inhibitions ranged from 3-5 for rhizome extracts and 1-5 for leaf extracts at 100 l (0.1g/ml) MIC. The rhizome extracts contained phlebotannins, terpenoids and glycosides not found in leaf extracts while the leaf extracts contained steroids not found in rhizomes extracts among other phytochemicals present. Pseudomonas aeruginosa conferred resistance against the rhizome extract while Shigella flexneri conferred resistance against leaf extract. Differences in these observed susceptibility and resistance could be due to differences in their bioactive components. The rest of the organisms were found to be susceptible to both extracts showing that A. difformis had antimicrobial activity