African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12500

Full Length Research Paper

Phytochemical and antimicrobial study on the leaf extracts of Erythrophleum africanum (Caesalpiniaceae)

M. Mohammed*
  • M. Mohammed*
  • National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, P.M.B. 1052, Zaria, Nigeria.
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A. M. Musa
  • A. M. Musa
  • Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
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M. A. Garba
  • M. A. Garba
  • Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences and Technology, Makarfi, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
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A. A. Adeiza
  • A. A. Adeiza
  • Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences and Technology, Makarfi, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
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U. A. Hanwa
  • U. A. Hanwa
  • Department of Animal Health and Husbandry, College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Ahmadu Bello University, P. M. B. 2134, Mando Road, Kaduna, Nigeria.
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  •  Accepted: 23 September 2013
  •  Published: 22 January 2014

Abstract

The leaf of Erythrophleum africanum was exhaustively extracted with ethanol using cold maceration techniques. This was subsequently partitioned with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethylacetate and n-butanol. The agar diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity against the following micro-organisms eithicillin resistant Staphylococus, Staphylococcus aureaus, Streptococcus feacalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Proteus vulgaris, Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Candida tropicalis. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were determined. The in vitro antimicrobial screening revealed that the extracts exhibited diverse activities against different microbes with zones of inhibition ranging from 12 to 36 mm, MIC ranging from 3.25 to 60 mg/ml and MBC/MFC of 3.25 to 60 mg/ml for sensitive organisms at the tested concentrations. The activities observed could be attributed to the presence of terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids and tannins. The results justify the ethnomedicinal use of this plant in the treatment of sores, boils, wounds, dysentery, diarrhea and sexually transmitted infections.

Key words: Erythrophleum africanum, phytochemistry, antimicrobial activity.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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