Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations by Author "ABA, OPHELIA YAKANDI"

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    PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES OF THE ROOT BARK EXTRACTS OF ACACIA ATAXACANTHA DC (FABACEAE)
    (2015-05) ABA, OPHELIA YAKANDI
    ABSTRACT The root-bark of the plant Acacia ataxacantha DC of the family Fabaceae was investigated for medicinal values. The Phytochemical screening gave positive results for the presence of flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, steroids/triterpenes, tannins and alkaloids. The antimicrobial screening of the crude methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform and petroleum ether extracts showed that the plant roots could inhibit the growths of Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Candida krusei but were not active on Corynebacterium ulcerans, Streptococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis and Candida tropicalis. Ethyl acetate extract had the widest diameter of zone of inhibition of 30 mm, followed by chloroform with 25 mm, then methanol with 24 mm and petroleum ether with 19 mm against the various micro-organisms. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extracts was determined for the organisms whose growths were inhibited. Methanol and chloroform fractions had MIC values of 5 mg/ml and petroleum ether had 10 mg/ml for all the test organisms, while ethyl acetate was the most active with 2.5 mg/ml for Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumonia. The Minimum Bactericidal/Fungicidal Concentration (MBC/MFC) showed that the ethyl acetate extract had cidal effect against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonae at a concentration of 5 mg/ml. The Ethyl acetate extract was purified using chromatographic techniques and two pure compounds (ABA and ABA 1) were isolated and characterized using spectral techniques. Based on available spectral data and comparison with existing data bank, the compounds were established to be α- amyrenol and lupeol respectively. The antimicrobial activity of α- amyrenol was determined with the same test organisms. The MIC and MBC/MFC were found to be 12.5 and 25 μg/ml respectively against B.subtilis, E.coli and S.typhi, thus justifying the numerous folkloric uses of the plant.