Phyto-Chemical Screening and Antibacterial Activities of Aqueous Extracts of Diospyros mespiliformis, Mitragyna inermis, Piliostigma reticulatum and Tamarindus indica in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

The phytochemical contents and antimicrobial activities of leaves and root bark extracts of Diospyros mespiliformis, Mitragyna inermis, Piliostigma reticulatum and Tamarindus indica were investigated. The plant materials were collected along River Kubwa in Damboa local Government area of Borno State, Nigeria. The crude extracts of these plant materials were prepared based on soxhlet method using soxhlet extractor. About 400mg of each pulverized sample was used for the extraction process. Three (3) liters of distilled water was used for the extraction process. All the extracts showed the presence of carbohydrates, cardiac glocosides, saponins, tannins and flavonoids. Terpenoids was detected in Diospyros mespiliformis, Tamarindus indica extracts and Piliostigma reticulatum root bark extract. Disc sensitivity technique was conducted on eight bacteria isolates. These bacteria are: staphylococcus aureus, bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, salmonella typhi streptococcus faecolis pseudomonas aeruginosa coreynebacteria species and shigelladysenteriae. The growth inhibition studies on the test isolates indicated that most of the plant extracts had significant effects against some of the isolates (microorganisms). The antimicrobial activities were subjected to Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and it indicated that there was statistically (P < 0.05) significant difference at different concentrations. It is concluded that these plant materials have the potential of improving the bacteriological quality of pond or surface water (which most rural communities in developing countries depend for many purposes) that are heavily polluted with pathogenic microbes.