Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECTS OF LEAF FRACTIONS OF COMBRETUM MOLLE (R.BR. EX.G.DON) ON SOME SELECTED MICROBES

Kulawe Darmasu, Bako Sunday Paul, and *Hena James Sindama

ABSTRACT

This work was carried out with the aim of determining the phytochemical compounds present in the aqueous, n-butanol and the ethyl-acetate fractions of the leaves of Combretum molle and their biological activities against selected microorganisms. Ethanol was used as solvent for extraction, after which differential fractionization was carried out using distilled water, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. Aqueous, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions of the leaves of C. molle were screened for secondary metabolites.The preliminary phytochemical screening of aqueous, n-butanol and ethyl-acetate fractions of the leaves Combretum molle revealed the presence of; Tannins, Flavonoids, Saponins, Triterpenes, and Steroids. Glycosides were found in all the fractions except the root aqueous and root n-butanol fractions. Alkaloids were also present in all except the root ethyl-acetate and root n-butanol fractions. Anthraquinones were present in the leaf fractions only. In a qualitative antimicrobial study, five microorganisms were tested (Erwinia chrysanthemi, Salmonella typhi, Xanthomonas axonopodis, Pseudomonas syringae and Klebsiella pneumoniae) using Ciprofloxacin as positive control. E. chrysanthemi and S. typhi had the best activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of as low as 3.06mg/ml for the n-butanol and aqueous leaf, whereas K. pneumoniae was resistant to aqueous leaf fractions of the plant. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) had low values such as 0.76mg/ml of the n-butanol leaf fraction against S. typhi, and 1.5mg/ml of the n-butanol leaf fraction against X. axonopodis.

Keywords: Combretum molle, Phytochemical Screening, Anti microbial, Plant fractions.