Phytochemical Screening And Antimicrobial Sensitivity Of Extracts Of The Traditional Medicinal Plant Caloncoba Echinata In Sierra Leone

摘要

Food tests, Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Sensitivity tests has been carried out on various Plant Organs of the traditional medicinal plant Caloncoba echinata plant in Sierra Leone. The results of the Food Tests indicate presence starch, proteins, glucose and fats/oils in the fruit pulp of Caloncoba echinata thus confirming the use of the fruit pulp as a milk substitute for infants in Sierra Leone and as one of the food resources for monkeys and chimpanzees in the Gola Forest. Starch and glucose were absent in the seeds but positive for fats/oils. Phytochemical screening of the petroleum ether, acetone, methanol and Ethanol: Water (50:50) extracts revealed the presence of carbohydrate, glycoside, alkaloid, protein, amino acid, terpenoids, tannin and flavonoids by positive reaction with their respective test reagents. Maximum phytoconstituents were found to be present in methanolic, ethanol and ethanol: water (50:50) extracts of the plant. Antibacterial Sensitivity Tests on the various plant organs of Caloncoba echinata solvent extracts using Mueller Hilton agar on Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus species indicated that the oil extracted from the seeds and dissolved in Acetone (51%) Xylene (48%), the Oil blank (55%) gave minimum inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli and (37%) against Staphylococcus aureus which are the main bacteria known to stimulate wound and skin infections.This validates the use of the medicinal plant Caloncoba echinata as a traditional pharmaceutical.