EVALUATION OF PHYTOCHEMICAL, IN VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL AND CYTOTOXIC PROPERTIES OF ETHANOL EXTRACT OF ACACIA NILOTICA (L) LEAVES

Acacia nilotica L. commonly has been used in folk medicine to treat different diseases. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the presence of nutrients and demonstrate the antibacterial and cytotoxic properties of the correspondence plant leaves extract. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of ethanol extract of leaves of A. nilotica was carried out by using simple chemical tests. Antimicrobial activity of the extract against diarrheal bacteria was performed by disc diffusion method. The cytotoxicity was determined by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinone, steroid, triterpenes, terpenoid, gum, amino acids and proteins but fixed oils and fat was absent. It exhibited potent activity against all bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the extract was 128µg/ml against both Shigella boydii and Vibrio cholerae. The extract showed significant toxicity to the brine shrimp nauplii giving LC50 was 395.581 ppm. The plant leaves extract might be used as a good source of nutrient. It also could be used as antibacterial agent in the future as herbal medicine. Further study on different solvent extracts would be carried out to elucidate the active principles for its outmost activity. Keywords: Phytochemical, Acacia nilotica, antibacterial, cytotoxicity, MIC