Phytochemical screening, antibacterial potentials and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) of Citrus sinensis leaves extracts.

Abstract

Background: Antibiotic resistance to commonly used antibiotics has made man to resort to the use of their ancestral medicine, by exploiting the numerous potentials in plant parts. Plants were the foremost materials used in folklore medicinal practice and other traditional practices. Studies have indicated important metabolites in plant which have antibacterial potentials. Aim: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted during dry season, to determine the phytochemical constituent, antibacterial property and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the plant extract. Methods: Extraction of Citrus sinensis (C. sinensis) leaves was performed successively with water and methanol using percolation method. Phytochemical screening to determine the metabolites present in the extract was done. The extracts obtained were tested in vitro for antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) and Salmonella paratyphi (S. paratyphi) using agar well diffusion procedure. Extracts were further analyzed using  GC-MS to reveals compounds present in the extracts. Results: Phytochemical screening indicates the presence of metabolites such as alkaloids, tannins, sterols, terpenoids and flavonoids in the extracts. Antimicrobial screening revealed that the extracts exhibited little or no activities against the different isolates with zones diameter of 5mm. Hence, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract and minimum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts were not determined. The GC-MS revealed the identity of compounds when matched with National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) library. Conclusion: Important metabolites are present in the extracts, and extracts showed no activity against the test organism at varying extract concentration.