Phytochemical and Anti-Microbial Screening of Crude Extracts of Natal Fig (FicusNatalensisKraus)

Abstract

Traditional healers have successfully used several species of the genus Ficus to cure several ailments such as; diarrhea, dysentery, cuts, wounds, mumps, cholera, and jaundice. Ficus natalensis being of the same genus was screened for the presence of phytochemicals and antimicrobial effects. Phytochemical investigation of crude extracts of F. natalensis showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, saponins, tannins, glycosides, steroids, triterpenes and anthraquinones. The crude hexane, ethylacetate and methanol fractions had inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyrogenes, Escherichia coli, Candida krusei, and Candida tropicalis. Minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentrations (MBC)/(MFC) and Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) were carried out on the extracts using the two fold serial dilution method at concentrations of 20 mg/mL, 10 mg/mL, 5 mg/mL, 2.5 mg/mL and 0.63 mg/mL but the crude extracts did not show inhibitory effect on Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Shigeila dysenteriae, Vancomycin resistant enterococci, and Campylobacter jejuni. The result in this work agrees with the ethno-medicinal claim on this specie of the genus.