ANTIBACTERIAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF ACANTHUS MONTANUS (IRE AGU) AND ALSTONIA CONGENSIS (EGBU ORA) LEAVES EXTRACTS AGAINST SOME BACTERIAL PATHOGENS

ABSTRACT

The leaves of Acanthus montanus and Alstonia congensis were powdered, screened for phytochemicals and their antibacterial activities. Antibacterial activities of the crude extracts against ATCC strains of Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 7080), and Salmonella typhi (ATCC 7080) were investigated using agar diffusion and broth dilution methods. Gentamicin, a standard antibiotic was used as control. The mean diameter zone of inhibition produced by ethanol extract of Alstonia congensis  and Acanthus montanus on the test organisms at various concentrations were as follows: S. aureus (15mm at 100mg/ml, 10mm at 50mg/ml and 9mm at 25mg/ml for A. montanus; 13mm at 100mg/ml, 11.5mm at 50mg/ml and 8mm at 25mg/ml for A. congensis). E. coli (12.5mm at 100mg/ml, 11mm at 50mg/ml and 9.5mm at 25mg/ml for A. montanus with no effect by extract of A.congensis). E. faecalis (11mm at 100mg/ml and 10mm at 50mg/ml for A. montanus; 10mm at 100mg/ml and 9mm at 50mg/ml for A. congensis). The extracts at various concentrations had no effect on Salmonella typhi. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) values of the ethanol extract of Acanthus montanus were as follows; 12.5mg/ml and 25mg/ml for S. aureus, 25mg/ml and 50mg/ml for E. coli and 25mg/ml and 50mg/ml for Enterococcus faecalis. The MIC and MBC values of the ethanol extract of Alstonia congensis were as follows; 6.25mg/ml and 12.5mg/ml for S. aureus, 25mg/ml and 50mg/ml for Enterococcus faecalis. The phytochemical screening of the plants Acanthus montanus and Alstonia congensis was also carried out and it was found that the plants contained flavonoids, saponins, tannin and terpenoids. In conclusion, the crude extracts of Alstonia congensis  and Acanthus montanus  possess strong antibacterial activities and further investigation should be carried out to isolate pure compounds and determine the mechanisms of action of the plants.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page                                                                                                                    i

Certification page                                                                                                       ii

Dedication                                                                                                                  iii

Acknowledgements                                                                                                    iv

Table of contents                                                                                                        v

List of tables                                                                                                               vii

List of figures                                                                                                             viii

Abstract                                                                                                                      ix

CHAPTER ONE

1.0  INTRODUCTION                                                                                          1

1.1 Aims and Objectives                                                                                            3

CHAPTER TWO

2.0       LITERATURE REVIEW                                                                               4

2.1       Importance of medicinal plant in Traditional Medical practice                        4

2.2       The plant Alstonia congensis                                                                          5

2.3       Documented Species Distribution                                                                  6

2.4       Systematic Position of A. congensis                                                               7

2.5       Chemical Composition (Phytochemistry) of A. congensis                             7

2.6       Ethnobotanical Uses of A. congensis                                                             10

2.7       Antibacterial properties of A. congensis                                                         11

2.8       The Plant Acanthus montanus                                                                        13

2.9       Origin and geographical distribution of A. montanus                                    14

2.10     Scientific classification of A. montanus                                                         14

2.10.1 Common names for Acanthus montanus                                                        14

2.10.2 Vernacular names for Acanthus montanus                                                      15

2.10.3 Propagation and management of Acanthus montanus                                     15

2.10.4 Ethnomedical Uses of Acanthus montanus                                                     16

2.10.5 Biological Activities of the Plant Acanthus montanus                                    17

2.10.6 Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and immunological activity                        19

2.10.7 Anti-abortifacient activity                                                                               20 CHAPTER THREE

3.0       MATERIALS AND METHODS                                                                                                                   22

3.1       Plant samples                                                                                                  22

3.2       Preparation of samples for analysis                                                                22

3.3       Preparation of Stock Solution of Plant Extract                                              22

3.4        Reactivation of Test Microorganism                                                              22

3.5       Antimicrobial Testing                                                                                    23

3.6       Determination of MIC of Plant Extracts                                                        24

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0       RESULTS                                                                                                                                           25

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0       DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION                        29

5.1       Discussion                                                                                                       29

5.2       Conclusion                                                                                                      30

5.3       Recommendation                                                                                           30

REFERENCES                                                                                                           31

LIST OF TABLES 

                                                  LIST OF FIGURES

Figure            Titles                                                   Page

1          Alstonia congensis plant                                          7       

2         Acanthus montanus plant in the wild              13

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Plants have traditionally provided a source of hope for novel drug compounds, as plant herbal mixtures have made large contributions to human health and well-being (Iwu et al., 1999).

In developing countries, bacterial infections are widespread, especially in informal settlements, due to poor sanitation and unhygienic conditions (Rasoanairo and Ratsimamanga-Urverg, 1993). Most of the pathogens causing enteric infections have developed resistance to the commonly prescribed antibiotics which increase the likelihood of being hospitalized and increase the length of stay in the hospital (Johanna et al., 2005) and increased use of a particular antibiotic could lead to increased bacterial resistance.

Medicinal plants have been found as important contributors to the pharmaceutical, agriculture and food industries. With the onset of the synthetic era, pharmaceutical industries are producing a lot of synthetic drugs that help to alleviate chronic diseases. With the passage of time many problems associated with frequent use of synthetic drugs become prominent like severe side effects and resistance of microbes against these drugs. On the other side synthetic drugs are expensive and a large population cannot afford these drugs. Hence research on medicinal plants has been intensified all over the world to remedy these situations.

Plants have been used for thousands of years to flavor and conserve food, to treat health disorders and to prevent diseases including epidemics. The knowledge of their healing properties has been transmitted over the centuries within and among human communities. Products derived from plants may potentially control microbial growth in diverse situations and in the specific case of disease treatment (Kong et al., 2003).

The use and search for drugs derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. A truncated history of the contribution of plants to medicine was given by Philipson, (2001) with 25 to 50 per cent of current pharmaceuticals in use derived from plants. Traditional healers have long been using plants to prevent or cure infectious diseases; western medicine also is moving in this direction. Plants are storehouses of a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids and flavonoids which have demonstrated their antimicrobial properties in vitro (Karim et al., 2011).

Infectious diseases represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality among the general population, particularly in developing countries. Plants used for traditional medicine contain a wide range of substances that can be used to treat chronic as well as infectious diseases. Today most parts of developing nations find itself in the midst of a multiplicity of problems particularly including antibiotic resistance in the area of health care. The situation in this sector is alarming because of the emergence of new diseases. Consequently, the necessity of evolving new herbal remedies is on the ascendancy. In the present scenario where 80 per cent of the world population has no access to the benefits of western medicines due to financial constraints, it is quite necessary to emphasize the relevance of traditional remedies which constitute a major part of the health care system in the developing countries and are also entering the therapeutics in the developed countries.

Most plants contain several compounds with antimicrobial properties for protection against aggressor agents, especially microorganisms. Active compounds found in some plants have antiseptic action; for example, thyme has thymol and carvacrol, clove has eugenol and isoeugenol, and oregano has carvacrol and terpinenol-4. In some cases, terpenes from essences that are soluble in water have higher antibacterial power than others (Erdogrul, 2002). The action mechanisms of natural compounds are related to disintegration of cytoplasmic membrane, destabilization of the proton motive force (PMF), electron flow, active transport and coagulation of the cell content.

Resistance to antimicrobial agents is emerging in a wide variety of pathogens and multiple drug resistance is becoming common in diverse organisms such as Staphylococcus sp and Salmonella sp. (Ahmed and Beg, 2001).

The appearance of resistant organisms paved the way to the occurrence of infections that are only treated by a limited number of antimicrobial agents the gradual rise in resistance of bacterial and fungal pathogens for antibiotics and antifungal highlights the need to find alternative sources from medicinal plants.

1.2  Aims and Objectives

1. To determine the antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the leaves of plants Acanthus montanus and Alstonia congensis against some bacterial pathogens

2. To screen the medicinal plants for phytochemicals

3. To determine the Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of the extracts.

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