Phytochemical Screening and Evaluation of the Antibacterial Properties of Five Plant Species on Aeromonas hydrophila

Abstract

Phytochemicals are bioactive compounds that have protective or disease preventive properties which are considered to be beneficial to human health. Plants have been used to cure various diseases of humans for ages. Five different plants; Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Persea americana, Allium cepa and Tithonia diversifolia were screened for their phytochemical properties. The plants were obtained from Jos North LGA of Plateau state. The leaves were destalked, washed and dried under shade and then grounded into powder, 250g of each plant powder was soaked in 500ml of 95% ethanol and water in beakers. After 48 hours, the fluid was sieved and filtered. The filtrate was then concentrated with the aid of an evaporator at 65OC. The plant extracts were screened for the presence of bio-agents and antibacterial activity using standard procedures. The phytochemical profile of the extracts of the five plants showed that flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, phenols, terpenes and cardiac glycosides were present. The results revealed that all the plant species showed antibacterial activity on Aeromonas hydrophila, with the ethanolic extracts of P. guajava exhibiting the highest inhibitory effect on the organism with inhibition mean zone of 21.05mm at a concentration of 250mg/ml. These were followed by the ethanolic extracts of M. indica and P. americana with mean zones of 18.16 and 13.39 mm respectively. Antibiotic resistance by microorganisms is a serious public health concern. This study has demonstrated that some plant extracts can be a means of treating Aeromonas infections which is cost effective with minimal side effects.