Phytochemical and antimicrobial activity or two Nigeria medicinal plants:- Uchendu Ogochukwu B. C.

ABSTRACT

 The antimicrobial activity and phytochemical screening of the bark of Tetrapleura tetraptera and Xylopia aethiopica were carried out. The two plant species indicate the presence of reducing sugar, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, phlobatannins and steroids which are bioactive components. The antimicrobial activity of the methanol and aqueous extracts of the bark species were tested against three, organisms; Staphylococcus aureus, Echerichia coli and Salmonella typhi. The sensitivity: of the microorganisms was determined using minimum inhibitory concentration and standard disc diffusion method; this was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of the plant extracts using positive control. The methanol extract of the plants undertaken in the study; showed strong anti-microbial activity against human bacteria. Methanol and aqueous plant extracts inhibited the growth of these pathogens. The zone of inhibition of the both: extracts depends on the concentration of the extract. The methanol plant extract had high: sensitivity than aqueous plant extract which showed less. The methanol extract of, Xylopia aethiopica (19 µg/ml) which showed more sensitivity against the test organisms while the aqueous extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera had lower inhibitory activity (Ii: , µg /ml) showing less sensitivity against the test organisms. These results reveal that these plant species have potentials as source of raw materials in the pharmaceutical industry