755–759
Evaluation of phytochemical properties and in-vitro antibacterial activity of the aqueous extracts of leaf, seed and root of Abrus precatorius Linn. against Salmonella and Shigella
Authors: Ojo Joseph Sunday, Shola Kola Babatunde, Adeyinka Elizabeth Ajiboye, Racheal Majekodunmi Adedayo, Mufutau Adeyemi Ajao, Busayo Isreal Ajuwon
Number of views: 296
Objective: To investigate the phytochemical components of Abrus precatorius
(A. precatorius) and the in-vitro susceptibility of Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae
to the aqueous extracts of A. precatorius leaf, seed and root.
Methods: The leaf, seed and root of A. precatorius were collected and homogenized
separately after drying at 40 C for seven days in hot-air oven. The aqueous extracts of
each of the parts were prepared and subjected to phytochemical screening. Dilutions of
400, 300, 200, 100 mg/mL, of each of the extracts were used for broth dilution in
minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination against clinical isolates of Salmonella
typhi and Shigella dysenteriae, while 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 mg/mL dilutions
were used for the agar diffusion test and 100 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL of gentamycin were
used as controls for broth dilution in MIC determination and agar diffusion test,
respectively.
Results: Qualitative study reveals that tannin, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids,
steroids and phenols were present in all of the plant parts. The leaf has the highest
quantities of tannin and phenol. The root generally showed the lowest quantity of all the
compounds. The pathogens were susceptible to aqueous extracts of the leaf, stem and root
of A. precatorius at 50 mg/mL. At concentrations of 40, 30 and 20 mg/mL, all the
aqueous extracts of A. precatorius showed variation in MIC, but produced no minimum
bactericide effect upon subculture. There were variations in diameter of zone of inhibition
against the organisms at lower concentrations.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that A. precatorius is a valuable source of phytochemicals
with promising antibacterial activity. Considering this bioactivity,
A. precatorius could be probed further for toxicity, and to obtain some novel antibacterial
molecules.