Antibacterial properties and preliminary phytochemical analysis of methanolic extract of Ocimum gratissium (Scent Leaves)

Abstract

Methanolic extract of the leaves of Ocimum gratissium (scent leaves) was screened for its phytochemical and antibacterial properties on some clinical bacterial isolates, visa vie as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The agar diffusion technique was used to assay the growth inhibition against the four bacterial isolates. The antibacterial effect of the methanolic extract of Ocimum gratissium was compared to that of some selected commercially available antibiotics. The inhibitory effect of the methanolic extract was comparable at all concentrations tested to the commercially available antibiotics indicating the high potency of the methanolic extract O. gratissium. Results obtained showed, the extract inhibits the growth of the test isolates with diameter of zones of inhibition of 5mm to 10mm for P. aeruginosa, P. mirabilis, E. coli and S. aureus respectively. The Broth microdilution assay gave minimal inhibitory concentration values ranging from 13.5μg/ml to 15.0μg/ml. The result of the phytochemical analysis of the dried leaves extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrate and saponins.

Keywords: Herbalism, Phytochemicals, Scent, Benin