ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF THE SEED EXTRACT AND FRACTIONS OF PICRALIMA NITIDA (STAPF) T. DURAND AND H. DURAND
Arnold C. Igboasoiyi* and Etienne E. Essien
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the antimicrobial property of the seed extract and its fractions on some typed and clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi. The powdered seed was macerated in 50% ethanol and screened for various phytochemicals using standard procedures. The result revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, triterpenes, anthraquinone glycosides, flavonoids and carbohydrates. The crude extract was partitioned into n-hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and butanol fractions. The antimicrobial activity of the crude extract and fractions was assayed by the agar plate diffusion method. Test microorganisms used were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and Candida albicans. The crude extract exhibited inhibitory activity only on Staphylococcus aureus species with a mean inhibition zone of between 8.0 mm to 12.0 mm while the fractions showed varying degree of antimicrobial action with the chloroform fraction exhibiting the highest activity over all the test organisms. The chloroform fraction was further tested for Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Minimal Fungicidal Concentration (MFC). The results showed the least MIC and MBC of 1.5625 mg/ml and 3.125 mg/ml respectively against Staphylococcus aureus. It also showed Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (FIC) 12.5 mg/ml against Candida albicans. The results justify the folkloric use of the seed extract in the treatment of pneumonia and other infections.
Keywords: Picralima nitida, Seed Extract, Antimicrobial, Phytochemistry.
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