COMPARISON OF IN VITRO GROWTH INHIBITORY ACTIVITIES OF AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF SELECTED INDIVIDUAL PLANTS WITH THE MULTI-COMPONENT CONCOCTION

Abstract

Reports have shown an increased occurrence of bacterial infections due to the rapid development of multi-drug resistant strains of bacteria. In this regard, lots of efforts are being made to discover new drugs. Medicinal plants have played an important role in drug discovery. Multiple-plant herbal concoctions (multi-component herbal concoctions) are used as remedies in many cultures around the world. This is due to the advantages of synergism and low dosage of active principles compared with singleplant herbal remedies. An aqueous concoction obtained from a combination of leaves of Psidium. guajava, Acacia albidia and Ficus exasperata is used for the treatment of bacterial infections amongst many tribes in northern Ghana. In the present study, aqueous extracts of P. guajava, A. albidia and F. exasperata were screened separately for phytochemicals and their bacterial growth inhibitory activity evaluated in vitro using the agar diffusion method with Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi as test organisms. The result was compared with that of an aqueous concoction obtained from a combination of the three plants (multicomponent concoction) to determine any indication of synergism or additive effect. Ciprofloxacin was used as control. Phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of phytochemicals with reported antimicrobial activities. All the extracts exhibited antibacterial activity with the multi-component extract demonstrating a superior antibacterial property against the test organisms at concentrations ranging between 1.0-5.0 mg/ml. The antibacterial activity of the multi-component concoction was statistically not significantly different from that of Ciporfloxacin (P = 0.87). There was no indication of synergism or additive effect in the multi-component concoction.