Abstract
The methanolic leaf extract of Newbouldia laevis was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening and in-vitro antimicrobial tests. The extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, terpenes, steroidal and cardiac glycosides. The antimicrobial activity of the plant extract was assayed by the agar plate disc diffusion and nutrient broth dilution techniques. Test microorganisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella spp. and Candida albicans; all the organisms were laboratory isolates. The extract inhibited the growth of all the test organisms especially against Klebsiella spp. and S. aureus which had mean inhibition zone of 42.3+/-1.5 and 32.3+/-1.5 mm respectively. The results showed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.563 mg/ml against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. and 3.125 mg/ml against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. The minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was 0.39 mg/ml. This study has justified the traditional use of this plant for the treatment of stomach discomfort, diarrhea, dysentery and as a remedy for wound healing whose causative agents are some of the organisms used in this study.
Highlights
The use of plants as medicine is an ancient practice common to all societies especially the African society
Newbouldia laevis is native to tropical Africa and grows from Guinea Savannahs to dense forests, on moist and well-drained soils
The phytochemical analyses of the crude methanolic extract was carried out in order to ascertain the presence of its constituents such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, steroidal nucleus, tannins, cardio-active glycosides utilizing standard methods of analyses (Sofowora, 1993; Trease and Evans, 2002)
Summary
The use of plants as medicine is an ancient practice common to all societies especially the African society. The in vitro antimicrobial effects of the crude methanolic leaf extract of this plant against the organisms found commonly responsible for the ailments aforementioned; including Staphylococcus aureus whose related infections are one of the most common cause of noscomical (hospital acquired) infections were investigated.
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