Abstract
The search for the healing properties of plants is an ancient idea that has remained even till date. In this work, the antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Corchorus olitorius, Pterocarpus santaliniodes, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Azadirachta indica was tested against resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species and Streptococcus species using agar well diffusion method. The following concentrations of 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 mg/ml of aqueous, ethanol and methanol leaf extracts were used against the test organisms. Results of this study reveal that all the leaf extracts had antibacterial activity against the test organisms at various concentrations (in particular: at 100 and 50 mg/ml) but the aqueous leaf extracts had higher inhibitory effect for all of them. However, little inhibitory effect was observed with the methanol and ethanol leaf extracts. Our findings justify the therapeutic use of these plants by traditional healers in most part of Nigeria for the treatment of infections caused by these bacteria. Medicinal plants have unlimited possibilities to produce putative compounds for the development of novel drugs to curtail the upward trend in bacterial resistance, thus the need for sustained research towards this objective. Key words: Plant extracts, microorganisms, resistance, herbal medicine, Nigeria.  
Highlights
Herbs have been used for many centuries as medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases (Roja et al, 2006; Zhan et al, 2007; Barhour et al, 2004)
Results of this study reveal that all the leaf extracts had antibacterial activity against the test organisms at various concentrations but the aqueous leaf extracts had higher inhibitory effect for all of them
We investigated the antibacterial activities of leaf extracts of Corchorus olitorius, Pterocarpus santaliniodes, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Azadirachta indica against resistant strains of S. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella and MATERIALS AND METHODS
Summary
Herbs have been used for many centuries as medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases (Roja et al, 2006; Zhan et al, 2007; Barhour et al, 2004). Pterocarpus santaliniodes have been investigated and found efficacious in the traditional treatment of some infectious diseases (Izzo et al, 2009; Buwa et al, 2006; Adeleke et al, 2009; Zakaria et al, 2005). Antimicrobial properties of medicinal plants against some known pathogens (bacteria and fungi inclusive) have been studied extensively, and the results of these researches are very promising to the development of new agents to fight resistance amongst microbes (PamplonaRoger, 2002; Abbiw, 1990; Abu-Hadid et al, 1994; Adeleke et al, 2009; Zakaria et al, 2005). Plant extracts still remain a veritable tool which can be harnessed by the biopharmaceutical industries to develop better antimicrobial agents that can be used for the effective treatment of infectious diseases globally. We investigated the antibacterial activities of leaf extracts of Corchorus olitorius, Pterocarpus santaliniodes, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Azadirachta indica against resistant strains of S. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella and Streptococcus species
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