Phytochemical and antimicrobial investigation of the aqueous and methanolic extracts of Ximenia americana

Abstract

The root, stem bark and leaf of Ximenia americana from the Olacaceae family which is used as herbal remedies for the cure of many ailments by natives in the Northern part of Nigeria was studied. The aqueous and methanolic extracts of the afore mentioned parts of the plant were subjected to phytochemical screening and antibacterial evaluation. From the tests carried out, it was observed that the extracts contained carbohydrates in the form of sugars and soluble starch, cardiac glycosides, saponins, tannins and flavonoids while alkaloids were absent in all the extracts. Anthraquinones were present in all the extracts except the leaf extracts. The extracts were tested against five bacteria in which they inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae while Shigella flexneri was inhibited by only the methanolic leaf, aqueous bark and aqueous leaf extracts. Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli were not affected by these extracts. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was only evident for the methanolic extracts at 1.25×104 μg mL-1 (1:4) against Staphylococcus aureus while the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of these extracts on Staphylococcus aureus was obtained at 2.50×104 μg mL-1 (1:2).