ABSTRACT
The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of
the leaves of Thymus vulgaris (thyme)
and the seeds of Myristica fragrans (nutmeg)
were screened for their antibacterial activity and phytochemical constituents.
The standard methods used to detect the phytochemicals present in the extracts
revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, triterpenoids and phytosterols in
all the extracts while steroids and amino acids were absent. The antibacterial
evaluation of the spice extracts using agar plate-well diffusion and nutrient
broth dilution techniques showed thatthere was no significant difference in the
activity of the spice extracts (p > 0.05) against the test organisms (Streptococcus pneumoniaeand Pseudomonas aeruginosa, clinical
bacterial isolates). Ampiclox and chloramphenicol were used as control for the
test organisms to provide approximate basis for the comparison of the activity
of the extracts. The MIC and MBC was the same for all the extracts against S. pneumoniae, 6.25 mg/ml while 25 mg/ml
for thyme extracts, and 50 mg/ml for nutmeg extracts against P. aeruginosa, showing the extracts to
be bactericidal.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THYMUS VULGARIS
2.2 MORPHOLOGY OF THYMUS VULGARIS
2.3 ECOLOGY OF THYMUS VULGARIS
2.4 CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS INTHYMUS VULGARIS
2.5 MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THYMUS VULGARIS
2.6 ADVERSE EFFECTS AND TOXICITY OF THYMUS VULGARIS
2.7 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS
2.8 MORPHOLOGY OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS
2.9 ECOLOGY OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS
2.10 CHEMICAL COUMPOUNDS IN MYRISTICA FRAGRANS
2.11 MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS
2.12 ADVERSE EFFECTS AND TOXICITY OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 STUDY AREA
3.2 COLLECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF PLANT
MATERIALS
3.3 PROCESSING OF SAMPLES
3.4 CONFIRMATION OF PURITY OF THE TEST
ORGANISMS
3.5 MEDIA PREPARATION AND STERILIZATION
3.6 EXTRACTION PROCEDURES
3.7 STERILIZATION OF THE EXTRACTS
3.8 PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF THE SPICE
EXTRACTS
3.9 PREPARATION OF EXTRACTS CONCENTRATION
3.10 EXTRACTS ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY TESTING
3.11 MINIMUM
INHIBITORY CONCENTRATION (MIC)
3.12 MINIMUM
BACTERICIDAL CONCENTRATION (MBC)
3.13 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 RESULTS
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 DISCUSSION
5.1 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The
spread of drug-resistant pathogens is one of the most serious threats to public
health in the 21st century.Although pharmacological industries have produced a
number of new antibiotics in the last three decades, resistance to these drugs
by microorganisms still remains. In general, bacteria have the genetic ability
to transmit and acquire resistance to drugs, which are utilized as therapeutic
agents (Cohen, 1992). Such a fact is a cause for concern, because of the number
of patients in hospitals who have suppressed immunity, and due to new bacterial
strains that are multi-drug resistant. Consequently, new infections can occur
in hospitals resulting in high mortality as observed by Montelli and Levy
(1991).
The
use of herbs as first medicines is a universal phenomenon. For a long period of
time, plants have been a valuable source of natural products for maintaining
human health, especially in the last decade, with more intensive studies for
natural therapies. Most drugs of the past were substances with a particular
therapeutic action extracted from plants. Thus, medicinal plants may be defined
as any plant that can be put to culinary use such as onions, fox glove, garlic
and ginger (Wainright, 2001). More and more researchers find that food and
their individual constituents perform similar fashion to modern drugs and
sometimes better without the dreaded side effects (Serrentino, 1991).
Plant extracts have great potential as
antimicrobial compounds against microorganisms (Gisleneet al., 2000) and studies have reported that they can be used in
the treatment of infectious diseases caused by resistant microbes.Thymus vulgaris (thyme) leaves andMyristicafragrans(nutmeg) seeds are
plants parts that are widely used as spices for cooking especially for
flavouring meats, soups and stews. They have also been reported to have
medicinal uses and possess antimicrobial abilities(Stahl-BiskupandSaez, 2002;
Cho et al., 2006; Narasimhan and
Dhake, 2007).
Extracts of these spices were believed to
have chemical components which are active against pathogenic microorganism.
More people have continued to use these spices for a variety of culinary
purposes in the absence of adequate toxicity data and proper understanding of
their medicinal properties. Folk medicine practitioners believe that these
herbs are non-toxic even though there is no scientific backing to support this
claim. This study intends to investigate and provide adequate on the antibacterial
properties and chemical constituents of thyme and nutmeg to determine whether
they are beneficial or otherwise.
1.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
Many antibiotics
currently in use are either too expensive or possess undesirable side effects
while some are no more effective due to bacterial resistance (Alper, 1998).
Despite the remarkable progress in synthetic organic chemistry of the twentieth
century, over 25% of prescribed medicines in industrialized countries are
derived directly or indirectly from plants (Newman et al., 2000). Human disease management in Nigerian history also
provides evidence of the relationship of plants and medicine (Ayandele and
Adebiyi, 2007).
Thyme and nutmeg are spices widely
employed in cooking in Nigeria. Researches have shown that both possess
antibacterial capabilities but with the manner in which they are sold in market
places, especially as thyme is processed and both spices are being exposed to prolong
periods of sunlight, it is important to ascertain their efficacy. In the
interest of public health, what is ingested is of great concern, the amount
taken in is just as crucial and that they can help strengthen the immune system
to resist deadly infections is a massive advantage.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The
aim of this study is to evaluate the antibacterial activities of spices (thyme
and nutmeg) especially as they serve culinary purposes. The objectives of this
study are to;
i. Determine
the effect of the spice extracts against test organisms (Streptococcus pneumonia and Pseudomonas
aeruginosa).
ii. Compare
the action of the aqueous and the ethanolic extracts of the spices.
iii. Determine
whether the spice extracts are bactericidal or bacteriostatic.
1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY
This study was limited to
the antibacterial effect of Thymus
vulgaris leaves and Myristica fragrans
seeds as well as the phytochemical screening of these spices was also
conducted. The determination of the chemical constituents was qualitative for alkaloids,
flavonoids, saponins, tannins, steroids, glycosides, triterpenoids,
phytosterols, and amino acids. Their antibacterial activity was limited to the
testing of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the thyme leaves and nutmeg
seeds against Streptococcus pneumonia and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
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