In vitro ethnotherapeutic potential of the acetone extract of the bark of Ziziphus mucronata Willd. subsp. mucronata Willd.: Antimicrobial and toxicity evaluations

摘要

The antimicrobial and the cytotoxicity activities of the crude acetone bark extract ofZiziphus mucronata?were determined by agar diffusion, macrobroth dilution assays and brine shrimp lethality assay, respectively, to ascertain its relevance in ethnomedicine.?The results show that both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria tested?were equally inhibited. At the highest concentration (10000 μg/ml) of the extract,the bacterial inhibition zones ranged between 16 and 21 ± 1.0 mm, the fungal?inhibition zones ranged between 13 and 19 ± 1.0 mm while?Fusarium sporotrichioides, Candida glabrata?and?Trichophyton mucoides?were not affected.?The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) values of the extract were between 78.1 and 312.5?μg/ml for the bacteria while the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were between 156.3 and 2500?μg/ml. For the fungi, the MICs were between 1250 and 10000?μg/ml, the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) were between 5000 and 20000?μg/ml and the LC50?of the brine shrimp lethality assay was 90.27 μg/ml indicating a low level of toxicity. The degree of the pharmacological activity of?Z. mucronata?shows the significant medicinal potential of this plant in the treatment of microbial infections and justifies its use in complementary and alternative medicines in South Africa.