Phytochemical screening and in vitro antimicrobial activity of various parts of Cleome ciliata Schum. & Thonn.

Abstract

Cleome ciliata Schum. & Thonn. of the family Cleomaceae, is an annual herb. Phytochemical screening was carried out and the in vitro antimicrobial activities of leaf, stem and root extracts of C. ciliata were assessed using standard techniques. Duncan's multiple range test was used to assess the significance of the results. The highest concentration of flavonoids (1.83 ± 0.04 mg/100 g), phenols (0.65 ± 0.00 mg/100 g) and terpenoids (1.93 ± 0.05 mg/100 g) was found in the leaf, stem and root respectively. Extracts of all the plant parts exhibited inhibitory activity against all test bacterial and fungal pathogens that are dose-dependent while the antagonistic effects of the leaf and root extracts were higher. The leaf extract showed the highest inhibition of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Rhizopus stolonifer and Fusarium oxysporum; the root extract showed the highest inhibitory activity against K. pneumoniae and Penicillium chrysogenum while the three extracts were least effective against Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei and Aspergillus niger. The study demonstrated that C. ciliata contains phytochemicals with antimicrobial properties and hence, its potential in antibacterial and antifungal drug development.