Evaluation of antibacterial activity of Citrus aurantium L. leaf extracts on bacteria isolated from blood of Hepatitis B positive individuals in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Concomitant bacterial pathogens associated with Hepatitis B infection could further increase the stress on the liver of infected individuals thereby complicating the infection. Objective: This necessitates the need to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Citrus aurantium L. leaf extracts on bacteria isolated from blood of Hepatitis B positive individuals in Ondo State, Nigeria. Methods: The leaf extracts of Citrus aurantium (aqueous, ethanol and N-hexane) were assessed for possible antibacterial activities against some isolated bacteria from blood samples of HBV positive individuals were conducted using agar well diffusion technique. Results: Proteus mirabilis, S. typhi, S. aureus, Kl. pneumoniae, Ps. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. pneumoniae and Ch. Violaceum were isolated. The most frequently encountered bacterial species was S. aureus (52%). The ethanol leaf extract exerted the highest growth inhibitory activity on S. aureus, Kl. pneumoniae, Ps. auruginosa and E. coli. The aqueous leaf extract exerted the highest inhibitory on Ch. violaceum while the N- hexane extract exerted the highest growth inhibitory activity on P. mirabilis and Ps. aeruginosa. The extracts compared favorably well with conventional antibiotic (Ciprofloxacin) which is the positive control. The MIC of all the extracts ranged from 12.5 to 50.0 mg/ml while the MBC ranged from 25 to 100mg/ml. The analysis of the phytochemicals revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, cardiac glycoside and saponin in all the leaf extracts except for the absence of saponins in N-hexane extract. Conclusion: This study showed that these extracts could be exploited to treat infection caused by these bacterial pathogens

Keywords

• citrus aurantium
• phytochemical profiles
• antibacterial activity
• bacteria
• hbv