Antibacterial and Phytochemical Properties of some Nigerian Medicinal Plants on Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi Isolated from Human Stool in Owo local Government, Ondo State , Nigeria

Abstract

Medicinal plants are geared toward the development of the new antibiotics and the use of the medicinal plant in the treatment of typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella species namely, Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi. The disease is an important menace to public health in Nigeria and other developing country. The main objective of the study was to test the potency of some Nigerian medicinal plants against Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi and to determine the phytochemical constituents of the plants’ extracts on test organisms isolated from infected human stool in Owo Local Government. The plants were obtained from Oke-Ako in Ikole Local Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria and prepared for extraction with four extracting medium with a simple distillation procedure. Test organisms were isolated from infected patients in the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State and were identified using morphological and biochemical characteristics. Antibacterial assay (using the Agar diffusion method) and phytochemical assays were carried out on the plants extract. The test organisms were observed to be sensitive to all four plant extracts (Alchornea laxiflora, Ageratum conyzoides, Spondia mombin and Cymbopogon citarus). Phytochemical screenings show that the plants contained some classical compounds namely tannin, phenol, alkaloid, flavonoids, oxalate, saponin and phytate. Minerals present in plant extracts (mg/100.0g) were sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, lead, copper, manganese and phosphorus. This research showed that Alchornea laxiflora, Ageratum conyzoides, Spondia mombin and Cymbopogon citarus were effective against Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi and treatment against typhoid fever infection using medicinal plants should be encouraged.