Anti-bacterial Effect of Ethanolic and Aqueous Extract of Ptericarpus erinaceous Stem Bark

Aim: The phytochemical screenings of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Ptericarpus erinaceous stem bark were investigated against three microorganisms.

Study Design: Five groups of experimental animals were used for the study.

Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry Laboratories, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola, Nigeria between April 2016 and September 2016.

Materials and Methods: The phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ptericarpus erinaceous stem bark were investigated against three microorganisms.

Results: The result of the phytochemical screening of Ptericarpus erinaceous revealed the present of alkaloid, tannins, glycosides, terpenes and phenols. Our findings on anti-microbial activity of the plant stem bark extract showed that the aqueous extract has higher activity with a zone of inhibition of 21 mm and 19 mm at higher concentration of 100 mg/ml of the extract for Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia respectively when compared to the ethanolic extract of the plant. This perhaps may be due to the presence of bioactive constituent that were present in the aqueous extract but not found in the ethanolic extract. The plant has a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) at 50 mg/ml and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) at 100 mg/ml respectively in both Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia.

Conclusion: These findings have ascertained that this medicinal plant Ptericarpus erinaceous used locally in the northern part of Nigeria by traditional herbalist for the treatment of infections/diseases could be of considerable interest to the development of new drugs such as production of new antibiotics to help in combating the increase in resistance to synthetic drugs by most microorganisms and may serve as a cheaper source of antibiotics.