Abstract
Due to the emergence of more and more drug resistance bacteria and the reported antibacterial
activity of Ceiba pentandra, the antimicrobial activity of the partitioned ethyl-acetate
and n-butanol fractions of the stem-bark of this plant were carried out on the following
clinical isolates: Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus pyrogenes; corynebacterium ulcereans; Escherichia
coli; Salmonella typhi; Shigella dysenterea; Enterococcus aerogenes; Pseudomonas aeruginosa;
klebsiella pneumonia and the fungi Trichophytom rubrum, Microsporum sp., Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. Agar diffusion and broth delusion methods were used in this study. The ethyl acetate
fraction showed wide spectrum antibacteria activity (with zones of inhibition between
27mm and 37mm) while the n-butanol extract showed activity only against the gram negative
bacteria (zones of inhibition between 20mm and 21mm). The MIC ranged from 0.65 to
2.5 mg/ml and 2.5 to 5 mg/ml and MBC ranged from 2.5 mg/ml and 5 – 10 mg/ml for the
ethylacetate and n-butanol respectively. Both fractions showed no activity against
the fungi used in this study. The preliminary phytochemistry of the ethyl acetate
showed the presence of only flavonoid and this may explain the activity against all
the bacteria. The n-butanol showed the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, tannins
and cardiac glycoside and the absence of flavonoid and alkaloids. This study justifies
the use of this plant in herbal medicine.
Keywords
antimicrobial -
Ceiba pentandra
- minimum inhibitory concentration - bacteria