ABSTRACT

Antimicrobial activity of Xylopia aethiopica and Monodora myrislica was accessed using the agar diffusion method. The test Organisms used were two Gram positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Enlerococcus facials (ATCC 7080), two Gram Negative bacteria; Escherichia coil (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Mycobacteriurn smegmalis (ATCC 14468). The susceptibility of the test Organisms to the plants extract and control anitibiotics was performed. The methanol extracts of X ael/ilopica had antimicrobial activities on all test Organisms except E.coli with an average zone of inhibition between 8.6mm-I 7.3mm while extract of 1tf uzyris/ica had activity only against P. cieruginosa and E. faeca/is with an average zone of inhibition between 10.0nirn-13.3mm. The control antibiotics used are Gentamicin and Chloramphenicol, the solvent Dimethylsuiphoxide (DMSO) was also used as control, the test Organisms showed susceptibility to the antibiotics used with zones of inhibition ranging from an average of 12.Omm-33.0mm, the solvent DMSO had little or no activity against the test organisms. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) tests were also conducted with the MIC results ranging from values of 0.78j.zg/ml-3.12 ig/ml and the MBC results ranging from 1.56 jig/mI6.25 igIm1. The phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoid, saponin, cyanogenic glycosides, resins, alkaloid and glycosides in both plant and the absence of steroids. The methanol extract of X aethiopica can be used as an alternative therapy to the use of antibiotics as the zones of inhibitions exhibited by the test strains to the extracts were comparable to those of the control antibiotics.