Abstract
Dichloromethane, methanol and aqueous fractions from dry methanol extracts of Senecio lyratus showed activity when assayed on brine shrimp (Artemia salina). Except the methanol extract, the other two also showed activity when tested on Escherichia coli (Gram- negative bacteria) and Staphyllococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria). Gravity column chromatography of the aqueous fraction led to the isolation of a pure yellowish amorphous compound, Rf 0.62 (uncharacterized) when developed with n-hexane, ethyl acetate (40:60). The compound exhibited acute lethal effects on Aspergillus niger, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, S. aureus and E. coli . Senecio lyratus belongs to the family Compositae (Agnew and Shirley, 1994) and is an ethnomedically important plant. It is distributed in altitudes between 1500m and 2760m above sea level and in Meru district, Kenya it is used for treatment of wounds and as an emetic (Kokwaro, 1976). The chief chemical components of the genus are pyrrolizidine alkaloids (Robins and Fortschr, 1982). Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology Vol. 2 (1) 1999: 77-80
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