Antimicrobial Potency and Bioactive Ingredients of Different Extracts of Prosopis africana against Some Selected Human Pathogenic Microbes: An In-vitro Approach

Background: The resistance to conventional drugs by microbes is at alarming rate and poses extra challenges in the field of medical and pharmaceutical industries. This study was aimed to determine the active ingredients and assess the antimicrobial potency of Prosopis africana leave extract using system of different solvents as aqueous, ethylacetate and n-hexane.

Methodology: The plant specimen was collected, identified, prepared and cold macerated using aqueous, ethylacetate and n-hexane as solvent. The resulted crude extracts were further assayed for anti-infective potency; adopting agar well diffusion protocol against some selected human pathogenic isolates viz Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) were ascertained using the standard protocol of microdilution assay.

Results: The antimicrobial screening of the crude extracts showcased that P. africana leave is susceptible against all the tested microbial stains by exhibiting significant degrees of inhibition zone of diameter (0 to 25 mm). The positive controls likewise were observed to be vulnerable to the tested isolates while P. aeruginosa was resistant. The MIC was observed at 50.0 to 12.5 mg/mL and MBC at 50.0 mg/mL against some bacteria strains. P. aeruginosa and C. albicans has no bactericidal and fungicidal properties. The phytochemical analysis led to the isolation of anthraquinones, carbohydrates, saponins, terpenes, steroids and cardiac glycosides as the active constituents of the plant part.

Conclusion: This finding provides a logical justification to the traditional healers for the utilization of the plant in the management of different ailments caused by the tested microbes.