Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MISTLETOE (Tapinanthus globiferus A. Rich, Tiegh.) ON SELECTED CLINICAL ORGANISMS USING TWO DIFFERENT SOLVENTS

Nkaa F. A.*, Okpe O. A. and Chukwu C. K.

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Abstract

The study investigated the qualitative and quantitative phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activities of the leaf extracts of Mistletoe plant (Tapinanthus globiferus). Chloroform and ethyl acetate were used in extracting the bioactive components of the leaves, while crude extract was obtained by squeezing fresh leaves to obtain the extract. The agar well diffusion method was used in investigating the antimicrobial activities of the extracts. The result of the phytochemical test showed that tannin, phenol, alkaloids, flavonoids and saponin were present in the leaf extracts of T. globiferus at varying intensity. The quantitative analysis showed that tannin content of the extracts ranged from 2.70 – 7.01%. The phenol, alkaloids, flavonoids and saponin content ranged from 3.18 – 5.01%, 2.65 – 6.19%, 2.85 – 8.46% and 2.63 - 5.85% respectively. The antimicrobial study showed that the chloroform extract of T. globiferus gave an inhibition of 10.67 mm (Salmonella enterica), 17.33 mm (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), 15.33 mm (Staphylococcus aureus), 15.33 mm (Penicillium digitatum) and 11.00 mm (Rhizopus stolonifer). Similarly, ethyl acetate extract gave an inhibition of 12.67 mm for S. enterica, P. aeruginosa (12.00 mm), S. aureus (9.33 mm) P. digitatum (14.00 mm) and R. stolonifer (18.67 mm), while crude extract gave the inhibition of 11.67 mm (S. enterica), P. aeruginosa (7.00 mm), S. aureus (13.67 mm) P. digitatum (8.33 mm) and R. stolonifer (0 mm). The control (Gentamicin and Ketoconazole) gave zone of inhibition that ranged from 35 – 46 mm against the test organisms by Gentamicin whereas Ketoconazole showed zone of inhibition greater than 43 mm for all the test organisms.

Keywords: Phytochemical, Antimicrobial, Qualitative, Quantitative, Extract, Inhibition, Microorganisms.