Investigating the toxicity and antimicrobial activity of Garcina kola extract

Abstract

The fruit of Garcinia kola extracts were evaluated for antimicrobial and subchronic toxicity effects on liver enzymes in mice. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was determined against some pathogenic organisms at 2mg/ml using agar dilution method. The aqueous fruit extract did not inhibit the growth of any of the test organisms. Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans, Eschercichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.; Klebsiella pneumoniae and S. aureus were sensitive to the ethanolic extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for S. aureus and K. pneumonia was 0.5mg/ml and 0.25mg/ml respectively. The minimum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) for S. aureus and K. pneumonia was 1.00mg/ml and 0.50mg/ml respectively. The effects of subchronic treatment with graded doses (100mg/kgbw, 200 mg/kgbw, 300 mg/kgbw, 400 mg/kgbw, and 500 mg/kgbw) of Garcinia kola extracts were investigated on the liver enzymes and body weight of mice. The LD50 of the extracts were above 500mg/kgbw. The results showed that the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the medicinal plant did not have any significant (P>0.05) toxic effects on glutamate pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and total protein when compared with the control. However the aqueous extract significantly increased the glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) levels of the treated animals when compared with the control. The aqueous extract exerted a dual effect on the body weight of the mice while 100mg/kgbw and 400mg/kgbw of the extract significantly (p<0.05) decreased the body weight of the mice 300mg/kgbw elevated the weight of the mice. The body weight of the animals was not adversely affected by the administration of 200mg/kgbw and 500mg/kgbw of the aqueous extract when compared with the control. The results of this study suggest that the fruit may have beneficial effect on some liver enzymes although it may adversely affect the GOT level of mice.