World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) - University of Port Harcourt
Abstract
Plants have been used in ethno-medicine for ages in the treatment of
various diseases. In the current study, the leaves of C. jagus are
investigated for antimicrobial activities. The leaves were dried and
extracted successively with hexane, ethylacetate and methanol. The
concentrated extracts were screened for activity against Staphylococcus
aureus , Escherichia coli , Bacillus subtilis , Pseudomonas
aeruginosa , Salmonella typhi , Klebisidlae pneumonae, Candida
albicans , Aspergillus niger , Penicillium notatum and Rhizopus
stolonifer at concentrations between 6.25 and 200 mg/ml using the
agar diffusion method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was
also determined. The percentage yields obtained were 0.92 %, 1.20 % and
25.2 % for the hexane, ethylacetate and methanol extracts respectively.
The zones of inhibition of the organisms by the extracts generally
increased with the concentrations. The methanol extract showed the best
activity of the three extracts tested. The methanol extract had values
ranging between 20 mm and 26 mm against the bacteria at 200 mg/ml. This
extract also showed values between 18 mm and 20 mm against the fungi at
200 mg/ml. The lowest MICs values (of 2.5 mg/ml) were obtained against
S. aureus, E. coli, B. subtilis and S. typhi. The polar constituents in
the leaves of the plant are likely responsible for the antimicrobial
properties observed. None of the extracts showed activity comparable to
those of the standard drugs, however the methanol extract showed some
potential as a source of antimicrobial compounds