Abstract
A Comparative study on the phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activities of the ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts of the leaves of Albizia lebbeck and its mistletoe was carried out. The phytochemical screening was carried out by adopting standard methods. Agar well diffusion method was employed for the antibacterial and antifungal screenings of the extracts of the leaves of Albizia lebbeck and its mistletoe. The phytochemical screening results revealed the presence of flavonoids, quinone, saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinone and steroids in the ethanol extract of Albizia lebbeck leaves while the ethanol extract of the mistletoe leaves revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, quinone, saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinones and steroids. The petroleum ether extract of the leaves of Albizia lebbeck revealed the presence of terpenoids, anthraquinone and steroids, while the petroleum ether extract of the mistletoe leaves revealed the presence of saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinone and steroids. For the antibacterial activities screening the results revealed the ethanol extract of the mistletoe leaves to have greater zone of inhibition in Salmonella typhi (16 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (20 mm) and Escherichia coli (15 mm) than the ethanol extract of the Albizia lebbeck leaves in Salmonella typhi (14 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (16 mm) and Escherichia coli (13 mm). For the petroleum ether extracts, the extract of the mistletoe leaves have greater zone of inhibition also in Salmonella typhi (16 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (20 mm) and Escherichia coli (14 mm) than the extract of the Albizialebbeck leaves in Salmonella typhi (13 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (18 mm) and Escherichia coli (13 mm). For the antifungal activities screening, the results revealed the ethanol extract of the mistletoe leaves to have greater zone of inhibition in Aspergillus fumigatus (16 mm), Aspergillus niger (14 mm), Fusarium oxysforum (9 mm) than the ethanol extract of Albizia lebbeck leaves in Aspergillus fumigatus (14 mm), Aspergillus niger (13 mm) and Fusarium oxysforum (8 mm). For the petroleum ether extracts, the extracts of the mistletoe leaves have greater zone of inhibition in Aspergillus niger, while the extract of the Albizia lebbeck leaves have greater zone of inhibition in Aspergillus fumigatus but they both have the same zone of inhibition in Fusarium oxysforum (7 mm). Generally, the results of the antimicrobial screening showed the extracts of the leaves of the mistletoe to be more active than the leaves of the Albizia lebbeck. The leaf extracts of Albizia lebbeck and mistletoe are useful phytodrugs which possess both antibacterial and antifungal activities.
Highlights
IntroductionNature has been an important source of medicinal agents
Since ancient times, nature has been an important source of medicinal agents
The ethanol extract of Albizia lebbeck and its mistletoe leaves revealed the presence of saponins, steroids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, flavonoids and quinones but phenols was present in its epiphyte but not found in the host plant
Summary
Nature has been an important source of medicinal agents. This fact is illustrated by the large number of natural products currently in use in medical practice. There has been growing interest in alternative therapies and the therapeutic use of natural products, especially those derived from plants. This interest in drugs of plant origin is due to several reasons, namely, the. The long history of use of folk medicine suggests that “natural” products are usually harmless. Albizia lebbeck is a species of Albizia It is a leguminous plant which belongs to the family of Fabaceae. The fruit is a pod 15–30 cm long and 2.5-5.0 cm broad, containing six to twelve seeds [2]
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