PAPER TITLE :SYNERGETIC EFFECT OF THE LEAF EXTRACTS OF FICUS CAPENSIS (LINN) AND SORGHUM BICOLOR (LINN) MOENCH AGAINST SOME HUMAN BACTERIAL PATHOGENS

FUTA JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE | VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 2013

Paper Details

  • Author(s) : A. O. Ogundare and A. I. Akinyemi*
  • Abstract:

The cold extraction method was used to obtain the methanol extract of the leaf of Ficus capensis and
Sorghum bicolor. The extracts were analyzed in-vitro for antibacterial activities against some clinical pathogenic
bacteria namely: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia
marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus roseus and Bacillus cereus. The leaf extract of Ficus capensis
had inhibitory effect on all the test organisms except Pseudomonas aeruginosa,while the extract of Sorghum bicolor
had no inhibitory effect on all the test organisms. However, the synergistic bioassay of Ficus capensis and Sorghum
bicolor leaf extracts revealed that the growth of the tested organisms was inhibited at a concentration of 25.0
mg/ml with the highest zone of inhibition observed for Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus (15.0 mm),
while Bacillus cereus showed least inhibition. The result of the phytochemical screening tests revealed that the
extracts contain saponin, tannins, alkaloids and cardiac glycoside. The number of organisms decreased with increased
time of exposure to the extract showing the rate of killing of the extracts. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the leaf
extract ranged from 3.12 to 12.5 mg/ml. The result of the antibiotic sensitivity test compared well with the commercial
antibiotics used. It can be concluded that these plants can be used to discover natural products that may serve as lead
for the development of new pharmaceuticals addressing the major therapeutic needs.
Key words: In-vitro, antibacterial, extracts, zone of inhibition, phytochemical screening and rate of killing.