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Evaluation of antibacterial activity of some medicinal
plants on common enteric food-borne pathogens
A. O. Ajayi* and T. A. Akintola
Department of
Microbiology, Adekunle Ajasin University, P.M.B. 01, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding
author. E-mail:
jidet02@yahoo.com.
Accepted 22 January, 2010 |
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Enterobacteria
are often responsible for various gastrointestinal foods
borne infection in humans especially in the developing
countries. Cassia occidentalis, Croton zambensicus
and Newbouldia leavis known as ‘Ewe ori esi’,
Ajekobale and Akoko respectively in Yoruba are three plants
whose leaves are used in combination by boiling to treat
gastrointestinal and diarrhea illnesses among indigenes of
Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. The leave extracts from
these medicinal plants were screened in vitro in the
laboratory for their antibacterial activity against two
prominent enteric bacteria, that is, Escherichia coli
and Salmonella typhimurium using the agar disc
diffusion method. The tyndalized leave extract of C.
zambesicus showing antibacterial inhibition zone of 4
and 2 mm against S. typhimurium and E. coli
respectively exhibited highest activity during the study
than the autoclaved samples and other plant sources tested
independently or combined, showing that the combinations of
the extract samples do not exhibit synergistic effects.
C. zambesicus can however be optimized clinically for
chemotherapeutic control of these food-borne enteric
infections.
Key words:
Antimicrobial, enterobacteria, evaluation, food-borne,
pathogens, plants. |
