Phytochemical and Antibacterial Screening of Leaf and Stem Bark Extracts of Bridelia ferrugina

The search for the presence of bioactive compound in wild plants that are more effective, safe and available is a continued process. In view of that, ethanol leaf and methanol stem bark extract of Bridelia ferrugina were screened for phytochemical properties and anti-bacterial potential. The quantitative analysis of both leaf and stem bark reveals the presence of alkaloids (2.07±0.42) (4.27±0.012), glycosides (5.48±0.02) (4.32±0.04), saponins (9.85±0.50) (10.83±0.12), tannins (5.37±0.16) (8.33±0.06) respectively. The stem bark extract contain Flavonoids (11.70±0.54). The Anthraquinone, Cardiac Glycoside, Saponin glycoside and Volatile oils and Steroids were absent. The effect of ethanol leaf and methanol stem extract stem bark extract of Bridelia ferrugina on E. coli, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus aureus were also evaluated. The result obtained revealed that methanol extract was the most effective on Streptococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli, while ethanol extract was most effective on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The result of study was discussed in terms of its medicinal potentials as a basis for its traditional uses in the treatment of diseases. Keywords: Phytochemical, antibacterial, Bridelia ferrugina extracts

Phytoremediation of cadmium-polluted soils with Ipomoea asarifolia (Desr.) Roem. & Schult

Phytoremediation is an alternative method for restoring soils polluted with heavy metals which is cost-effective and environment-friendly. The present study evaluated the potential of Ipomoea asarifolia to remediate  soils experimentally-amended with Cadmium. The plant was grown on soils amended with 0, 1500, 2000, and 2500 mg CdCl2 salt. The salt was mixed with small portions of the soils and made upto 3kg salt/soil mixtures each. These were applied into 4 separate polythene-pots labelled; A, B, C and D respectively. Sample A containing 3kg non-amended soil (without Cd) served as the control. The concentrations of Cd applied to the soils were therefore; 0, 306.61, 408.82 and 511.02 mg//kg soils in the samples A-D respectively. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) was used to analyse the bioaccumulation of Cd in the plant’s parts, over three harvesting phases of the study period. The results revealed that I. asarifolia is a good phytoaccumulator as it accumulated a total biomass of 0.23 ± 0.63, 272.85 ± 1.99, 377.40 ± 0.63 and 459.48 ± 0.60 mg/kg Cd from the amended soils A-D respectively. The Transportation Indices; RTI and STI for translocation of Cd to the plant’s stems and leaves were both greater than 1 (TI >1), indicating that the plant has a phytoextraction potential for Cadmium. These results therefore, suggest that I. asarifolia could be effective in phytoremediation of Cadmium-polluted environments.Keywords: Heavy metals, cadmium, pollution, phytoremediation, Ipomoea asarifoli

Antimicrobial Activities of Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus Jujube Linn and Lawsonia Inermis

Infectious diseases are important cause of morbidity and mortality due to continuous emergence of microbial resistance to conventional drugs. Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus jujube Linn and Lawsonia inermis are widely used for traditional medicine in Northern Nigeria. However, little is known about the biochemical and microbiological potentials of these indigenous plants. In this study, the plants leaves were screened for phytochemical and in vitro antimicrobial potentials using standard methods. Quantitative phytochemical analysis of crude methanolic leave extracts revealed high content of glycoside, tannins and phenols. High levels of saponins and flavonoids were also detected. The extracts exhibited antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas flourecense, Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus. At 50 mg/ml extract concentration, the zone of inhibition observed was greater than 6mm. This indicates high inhibitory potency of the plants leaves. In comparison to streptomycin sulphate, A. nilotica and L. inermis had statistically similar (P>0.05) effect on E. coli at 50 mg/ml. In general, the inhibitory effect of A. nilotica and L. inermis were higher than that of Z. jujube Linn in all concentrations, except on E. coli at 150 mg/ml. Both the extracts and control drug had minimum inhibitory concentration of 10 mg/ml for all the microbes testedexcept Streptococcus (20-25 mg/ml). Furthermore, the average Minimum Bactericidal Concentration was 15 mg/ml except for Streptococcus with 20-25 mg/ml. Methanol extracts of Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus jujube Linn, and Lawsonia inermis exhibit antibacterial effect, hence could be used as sources of potent agents against bacterial infection.Keywords: Antimicrobial, infectious disease, Methanol extract, Phytochemica

Phytoremediation potential of Ipomoea asarifolia on lead polluted soils

This study evaluated the potential of Ipomoea asarifolia to remediate lead (Pb) polluted soils. The plant was grown on soils amended with varying levels of Pb in different polythene pots and atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) was used to analyse the accumulation of Pb in roots, stems and leaves of the plant within three harvesting phases of the study period. The results revealed that the plant accumulated a total biomass of 308.13mg, 392.07mg and 482.21mg Pb from 328.24 ± 2.33mg/kg, 433.03 ± 0.59mg/kg and 537.25 ± 0.92mg/kg Pb-polluted soils respectively. The Transportation Indices for Pb translocation to the different parts pf the plant showed that I. asarifolia has both RTI and STI of less than 1 (TI<1) for Pb, indicating that the plant has both phytoaccumulation and phytostabilisation potential for Pb in soils polluted with the heavy metal. The results therefore, suggest that the plant could have potential for phytoremediation of PbKey words: Phytoremediation, pollution, Ipomoea asarifolia, heavy metal, lea