ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF LEPTADENIA HASTATA (PERS) DECNE LEAVES EXTRACT

Objective: This study was carried out with an objective to investigate the antibacterial potential of five leaf extract of Leptadenia hastata plant on some bacteria.Methods: Leptadenia hastata extracts were evaluated for potential antimicrobial properties. The leaves of the plant were extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, chloroform and methanol and then vaporized to give respective extracts. Antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, salmonella typhi, staphylococcus aureus and Klebsielia pneumonia, was determined by an agar well diffusion method. The optical density of the broth using UV mini spectrophotometer and zone of inhibition by the crude extract were determined.Results: The results showed that of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane and methanol extracts of Leptadenia hastata, methanolic and chloroform extracts displayed more activity with 1.10±0.10 mmab and 0.97±0.06 mmab where aSignificantly (p<0.05) higher compared to different extract at the same concentration bSignificantly (p<0.05) lower compared to the control, than others at 25-1000 ppm per well of the extracts tested.Conclusion: The present results showed the potential of the medicinal plant used by traditional herbal medical practitioners as natural antimicrobial agents, thus can be further used to determine the bioactive products that may provide as leads in the development of new drugs