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In vitro
antimicrobial and phytochemical properties of crude extract
of stem bark of Afzelia africana (Smith)
Akinpelu, D. A.1, 2, Aiyegoro, O.
A.1 and Okoh, A. I.1*
1Applied
and Environmental Microbiology Research Group (AEMREG),
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of
Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa.
2Department
of Microbiology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,
Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
aokoh@ufh.ac.za.
Accepted
29 August, 2008 |
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Afzelia
africana
is used in
folklore remedies for the treatment of diarrhoea,
gastrointestinal disorders and gonorrhoea among other
ailments; hence we assessed the in vitro
antimicrobial activities of this important medicinal plant.
Thirty bacterial isolates as well as four fungal isolates
were tested in this study. The crude extract of the stem
bark of the plant exhibited antimicrobial activities at a
concentration of 25 mg/ml against twenty-one of the
bacterial isolates, (i.e. 72.41% of the tested isolates)
comprising both Gram positive and Gram negative strains. The
zones of inhibition exhibited by the extract against the
test bacterial species ranged between 13 and 22 mm. The
Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of the extract vary
between 1.56 and 12.50 mg/ml while the Minimum Bactericidal
Concentration (MBC) ranged between 3.13 and 25.00 mg/ml.
However, the extract lacked activity against all four tested
fungal species. Phytochemical assay revealed the presence of
alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and saponins in the extract.
We conclude that the stem bark of A. africana is a
promising candidate as source of new antibacterial
compounds.
Key
words:
Afzelia africana,
antimicrobial, phytochemical properties, medicinal plant, MIC, MBC. |
