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Research Journal of Medicinal Plants

Year: 2015 | Volume: 9 | Issue: 6 | Page No.: 275-283
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Authors

Chinyere V. Ilodibia

Rachael U. Ugwu

Onyinye L. Nwokolo

Maureen U. Chukwuma

Ebele E. Akachukwu

Keywords

Aqueous and ethanolic leaf and stem extracts of Gnetum africanum were investigated for the presence and composition of these phytochemicals (alkaloid, flavonoid, tannin, phenol, saponin, sterol, terpenoid and cyanogenic glycoside) and their antifungal and antibacterial activities at various concentrations against some selected clinical microbes (fungal strains: Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger and bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) using standard methods. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed in data analysis. Qualitative and percent quantitative phytochemical results showed that both the aqueous and ethanolic leaf and stem extracts contained these phytochemicals assayed but at varied quantities except cyanogenic glycoside. Antifungal and antibacterial studies indicated that both the aqueous and ethanolic leaf and stem extracts of Gnetum africanum inhibited the growth of the microbes but at varied levels and the inhibition was extracts concentration dependent. However, both the aqueous and ethanolic leaf and stem extracts showed no inhibition against the bacterial strains at 50 mg mL‾1 of the extracts. The extracts showed higher inhibition against the fungal strains than the bacterial strains. Inhibitory effect of the leaf extract was significantly higher than those of the stem extract. The ethanol extract showed significantly higher inhibition than the aqueous extract. Antibiotics had a better activity when compared to the extracts at the same concentration. Gnetum africanum extracts were biostatic in their action, when purified will give a product with higher activity. The data obtained from the study indicated that the plant possessed antifungal and antibacterial potentials especially antifungal and could be used as natural fungicides.
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How to cite this article

Chinyere V. Ilodibia, Rachael U. Ugwu, Onyinye L. Nwokolo, Maureen U. Chukwuma and Ebele E. Akachukwu, 2015. Phytochemical Screening, Antifungal and Antibacterial Activity of Aqueous and Ethanolic Leaf and Stem Extracts of Gnetum africanum Welw. Research Journal of Medicinal Plants, 9: 275-283.

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=rjmp.2015.275.283

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