The leaf, stem and root decoctions of Petiveria alliacea (referred to as
Anamu or Apacin (Guatemala), Guinea–Hen weed (English), Awogba or Ojusaju
(Yoruba), kanunfari (Hausa) and Akwa-ose (Igbo) have been used as a diuretic,
antispasmodic, sedative, analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents in traditional
medicine. Cold maceration and Soxhlet extraction techniques were used to obtain
oils from the leaf, stem and root of P. alliacea. The oils were analysed for their
antimicrobial properties using brothmicrodilution technique while their
antioxidant properties were determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) tests.The antimicrobial tests on the following micro-organisms
Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli,as
well as the anti-fungi test on Rhizopus sp., and Aspergillus niger, showed that the
hexane and ethanol cold leaf extracts were most effective in limiting the growth
of Salmonella typhi with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)value of 3.125
μg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)value of 6.25 μg/mL. The
ethanol leaf extracts using Soxhlet extraction technique were most effective at
MIC value of 3.125 μg/mL on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli.
Likewise, the hexane and ethanolcold leaf extracts were most effective in limiting
the growth of Rhizopus sp. and Aspergillus niger with MIC value of 3.125 μg/mL
and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) value of 6.25 μg/mL