Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activities of Commiphora kerstingii leaf extracts

Abstract

Commiphorakerstingiihasmedicinalpropertiesforeffectivemanagementofseveralailmentsincludingtyphoidfever.Toestablishtheethnobotanicalrationaleforitstraditionaluse,thepowderedleaveswereextractedwithn-hexane, methanol and water. All extracts were subjected to phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity against some selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Phytochemical screening of the plants revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, steroids and tannins. The methanol and aqueous extracts had activities against four test pathogens while n-hexane extract had inhibition on Escherichia coli only. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts ranged from 16-30ug/ml to 20-40ug/ml respectively.