Antimicrobial Activities of Mucuna pruriens (Agbara) on Some Human Pathogens

Abstract

Increasing rate of development of resistance to commonly used antibiotics have led to serach for newer,more effective,affordable and easily available drugs.In this study,the organic and aqueous extracts of Mucuna pruriens seeds were obtained using a Soxhlet extractor.The antimicrobial activities of the extracts were tested on some human pathogens namely Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus,and Candida albicans,using 0.3g/ml concentration nd the standard method of agar disc diffusion assay.Results obtained showed that the extract have highest inhibitory effect on the gram positive S.aureus,lowereffect on the gram negative E.coli and no inhibtion on the fungi(C.albicans). Acetone extract produced the highest zone of inhibition 97mm), followed by ethanol(6mm), and water (4mm) extract respectively.Minimum inhibitory concentration assay of 0.0125 and 0.025g/ml for the organic extracts,and 0.025 and 0.05g/ml for the aqueous extracts on S.aureus and E.coli, respectively. The study proved that Mucuna pruriens seeds,apart from their roles as food addictives and supplements, can also be utilized as effective and cheap source of antimicrobial agent. Keywords: Antimicrobial activities of Mucuna pruriens, some human pathogens, minimum inhibitory concentration and zone of inhibition.