Abstract

The phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activities of the methanol extract of Garcinia kola fruit mesocarp were investigated against four bacteria and two fungi in the study. The extract was investigated for the presence of phytochemicals using standard phytochemical screening methods. The results revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, and reducing sugar. The percentage of alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins are 24, 27.5 and 4%, respectively. The extract exhibited effective antimicrobial activity against the test organisms. The minimum inhibitory concentration ranged from 275.4 to 691 µ/ml for bacteria and 346.7 to 318.2 µ/ml for fungi respectively compared to chloramphenicol and ketoconazole [standards drugs] which exhibited a minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 14.31-31.62 and 2.66-2.99 µg/ml. These findings suggest that the fruit mesocarp of G. kola could be a potential source of compounds used against microorganism infection.

Key words: Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial activity, Garcinia kola heckle fruit extract.