African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (15), pp. 1785-1787, 6 August 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Short Communication

Evaluation of antibacterial properties of tannins isolated from Dichrostachys cinerea

Banso, A.* and Adeyemo, S.O

Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Bida, P.M.B 55 Bida, Niger State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: drbanrot@yahoo.co.uk. Tel: +234 08066085587.

Accepted 2 February, 2007

Compounds of pharmacological interest (tannins) were isolated from Dichrostachys cinerea and assayed against Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella boydii, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar diffusion method. Tannins exhibited antibacterial activities against all the test microorganisms. Sh. flexneri was the most resistant to tannins isolated from the plant material followed by Sh. boydii, E. coli, Staph. aureus and P. aeruginosa respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the tannins ranged between 4.0 and 5.5 mg/ml while the minimum bactericidal concentration ranged between 4.5 and 6.0 mg/ml.

Key words: Pharmacological, agar diffusion, antibacterial.