Article Sidebar
Article Details
Submission of a paper for publication implies the transfer of the copyright from the author(s) to the publisher upon acceptance. International Formulae Group is therefore the copyright holder after publication of an article in International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, and published articles should not be used for commercial purpose without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. They are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Main Article Content
Preliminary studies on antimicrobial activities of ethanolic extracts of Ficus sycomorus Linn. and Ficus platyphylla Del. (Moraceae)
Abstract
The phytochemical screening of the ethanolic extracts of leaf and stem bark of Ficus sycomorus and Ficus platyphylla was carried out using standard biochemical methods. The antimicrobial activities (i.e. zones
of inhibition) of the ethanolic extracts of leaf and stem bark of Ficus sycomorus and Ficus platyphylla against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated under varying temperature, pH and storage duration of nine months. The zones of inhibition of the test plants extracts were evaluated using agar diffusion methods. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, anthraquinone, glycoside, alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids and reducing sugars. The effects of temperature and pH on the antimicrobial activity of the extracts of the plants remained relatively unaffected at P>0.05. There were no significant (P>0.05) changes in the antimicrobial activities of the extracts against the test organisms throughout the nine months period of investigation. The implications of these findings in the use of these plants are discussed.
© 2009 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved
Key words: Temperature, pH, storage duration, chemical constituents
