Anti-Typhoid Properties of Phyllanthus Amarus Extracts

Abstract

Phyllanthus amarus is a medicinal plant belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae and commonly known as ‘carry-me-seed’ or quinine weed. The whole plant was subjected to solvent extractions using petroleum ether and ethanol. Both crude extracts were tested for antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhi using agar well-diffusion method of sensitivity testing. The crude etha-nolic extract showed good inhibitory effect against the bacteria but the petroleum ether extract showed no activity. The crude ethanol extract was subjected to column chromatographic separa-tion using dichloromethane: ethyl acetate (DCM/EA) solvent system. The column was finally eluted with methanol. The fractions eluted from the column were tested against the Salmonella typhi. The organism was sensitive to the methanol fractions at different concentrations (4.37mg/ml, 8.75mg/ml, 17.50mg/ml, 35.00mg/ml and 70.00mg/ml) with a zone of inhibition of 8mm, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, and 22mm respectively. The Salmonella typhi was insensitive to the DCM/EA fractions. Phytochemical screening tests performed on the crude ethanolic extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, saponins, lignans, tannins and flavonoids.