GROWTH INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF AQUEOUS, METHANOL AND BUTANOL EXTRACTS OF LEAVES OF Acalypha wilkesiana AGAINST CLINICAL BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL ISOLATES

Abstract

Acalypha wilkesiana is an ornamental plant cultivated as foliage in gardens and greenhouses. The boiled decoction of its leaves is used locally in most parts of Nigeria and some parts of West Africa for the treatment of malaria while various preparations of the leaves are also used for treatment of topical and systemic microbial infections. This study evaluated the in vitro growth inhibitory effects of the aqueous, methanol and butanol extracts of its leaves against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and zones of inhibition assays were employed using the aqueous, methanol and butanol extracts against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Alcaligenes faecalis, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Candida albicans, Scopulariopsis and Microsporum audouini. The MICs of the aqueous and methanol extracts against the pathogenic bacteria were 7.5mg/ml and 30mg/ml respectively while the MIC of the butanol extract against Candida albicans and Microspurum was 20mg/ml. The methanol and aqueous extracts in the zones of inhibition assays produced zones of inhibition that were comparable to those produced by ciprofloxacin (20?g). The findings in this study indicate that the leaves extracts possess potent growth inhibitory potentials which validates the use of leaves in the treatment of topical and systemic microbial infections in ethnomedicine.