Antibacterial activities of methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the local plant, Uziza (Pipe guineense)

Abstract

Crude methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the local medicinal plant, Uziza (Pipe guineense) obtained using the decoction technique of extraction were screened for their antibacterial activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella sp. The comparative analysis of the effects of the two solvent on the antibacterial activity of the Uziza plant using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Zone of Inhibition Test (ZIT) as determinative tests revealed that methanolic extracts exhibited much more antibacterial activity against the test isolates than the ethanolic extracts. It is recommended that methanol be used in preference to ethanol in extracting active ingredients from plants.

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Vol. 2(1) 2006: 61-64