Phytochemical and in vitro Antibacterial Evaluation of the Ethanolic Extract of the Stem Bark of Entada africana Guill. & Perr and Sarcocephalus latifolus

Aims: The phytochemical composition and the in vitro antibacterial activity of the ethanolic extract of the stem bark of Entada africana Guill. & Perr. and Sarcocephalus latifolus, on Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis were investigated.

Study design: The plants stem bark samples were collected from Idu, Industrial Area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and were characterized by Mrs. Jamilat at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Abuja, Nigeria. The bacterial isolates were obtained from the Microbiology Laboratory, Anambra State University, Uli, Nigeria.

Place and Duration of Study: Analysis on the plant samples were done at the Department of Biochemistry and Department of Microbiology, Anambra State University, between January 2014 and February 2014.

Methodology: Phytochemical screening was done following standard methods. Agar well diffusion technique was used to screen the extracts for antibacterial activity. MIC and MBC for the various extracts were determined by the tube dilution technique. Ciprofloxacin, a standard antibiotic was used as control.

Results: The result of the phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, terpenes, resins, sterols, anthraquinone, phenols and saponins in E. africana while S. latifolus contained alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, anthraquinone, terpenes, phenols, resins and saponins. The in vitro antibacterial analysis revealed that the ethanolic extract of E. africana inhibited the growth of S. typhi and B. subtilis significantly while that of S. latifolus inhibited the growth of E. coli as well B. subtilis significantly with the zones of inhibition ranging from 12.00±0.02 to 0.80±0.01. The MIC and MBC for the organisms were at 5 mg/ml and 10 mg/ml.

Conclusion: The ethanolic extract of the stem bark of the plant samples exhibited antibacterial activity and thus could serve as a source for useful drugs.