African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (8), pp. 823-828, August 2005          
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2005 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of polyphenols from ethnomedicinal plants of Burkina Faso

Damintoti Karou¹, Mamoudou H. Dicko^{1, 2*}, Jacques Simpore³, and Alfred S. Traore¹

¹Université de Ouagadougou, UFR-SVT, CRSBAN, Laboratoire de Biochimie, 03 BP 7131 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.

²Wageningen University, AVT, Laboratory for Biochemistry, Dreijenlaan 3, 6703 HA, Wageningen, P.O Box 8128, 6700 ET Wageningen, Netherlands.

³Laboratoire de Biologie Médicale saint Camille de Ouagadougou, 01 BP 364 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.

*Corresponding Author E-mail: mdicko@univ-ouaga.bf. Tel: +226 70 272643, Fax: +22 650 33 73 73,

Accepted 23 March, 2005

Polyphenols from four medicinal plants of Burkina Faso, Combretum micranthum, Khaya senegalensis, Pterocarpus erinaceus and Sida acuta, were screened for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities against pathogenic bacteria. The medicinal plants displayed different polyphenols contents and antioxidant activities. The bark of P. erinaceus had the highest antioxidant activity. Some microorganisms were susceptible to polyphenol extracts with minimal bactericidal concentration values between 20 and 2000 mg/ml while other microorganisms appeared to be resistant to the extracts. Microbicide and microbiostatic activities of the extracts were dependent on the type of strains. Results suggest that these plants are not only interesting sources for antimicrobial activities but also potential sources of phenolic antioxidants.

Key words: Antioxidants, polyphenols, antimicrobials, medicinal plants.