PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL STUDIES OF Ensete gilletii ROOT EXTRACTS

Abstract

Ensete gilletii commonly called wild banana, is ethno-medicinally used for the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, stomach pain, kidney stone and liver disorders by herbal practitioners. The dried pulverized roots of the plant were subjected to exhaustive, successive soxhlet extraction using petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol. The result revealed that a higher percentage yield was obtained from the methanol extract (MEG). The GC-MS analysis of the petroleum ether crude (PEG) extract revealed about eighty compounds which are mainly terpenes and hydrocarbons, while the chloroform crude (CEG) extract showed twenty one compounds. The phytochemical screening of the root (PEG, CEG and MEG) extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, glycosides and sterols. TLC chromatograms show that sub-fraction PEG3 have a better resolved profile with the solvent system; Hex:EtOAc; 5:1 (Rf 0.45, 0.7). A compound was isolated from sub-fraction PEG3c; the isolated compound (PEG3c1) was characterized using physical, chemical and spectroscopic techniques. The antibacterial activities of the extracts were evaluated by the disc diffusion method against selected organisms, in comparison with standard reference (ampicillin). The extracts were active against Salmonella typhii, Escherichia coli, Klebsilla pneumoniae, Shigella dysentriae and Staphylococcus aureus with zones of inhibition ranging from 16 mm to 28 mm when compared to a standard drug. MIC and MBC values were 40 mg/cm3 and 80 mg/cm3 respectively. The results confirmed the ethno-medicinal claims on the plant and could be used as a lead to the discovery of potent medicaments.