Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Anacardium occidentale Leaves and Bark Extracts

Abstract

Anacardium occidentale is a local medicinal plant used in ethno medicine for the treatment of diarrhea, constipation,pain and inflammation. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of this plant parts were assessed for antiinflammatory and antibacterial activities using experimental animal model and agar disc diffusion methods respectively. Results show that the ethanolic extract of the plant were more efficacious than the aqueous extract in inhibiting the carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats in a non dose-dependent manner( P>0.05).No significant difference was found between the ethanolic extract of the leaves and bark (P>0.05). Also, the antibacterial activity was apparently higher in ethanolic extract than in aqueous extract for both leaves and barkwith the bark extract displaying a  significantly (P<0.05) higher activity compared to the leaves extract. The results of this study therefore justify the use of this plant in the treatment of  inflammation and bacterial infections.Keywords: Antibacterial, Anti inflammatory, Anacardium occidentale