2017, Vol. 5, Issue 4, Part B

author(s)
Ette Okon Ettebong and Augustine I Bassey

abstract
The Ibibio people of Southern Nigeria have a great wealth of knowledge of medicinal plants used in the treatment of wounds, skin infections and various ailments. Eleucine indica is widely used in various disease states, especially in feverish conditions. This study was aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial potentials of whole-plant extracts of Eleucine indica. Four typed cultures of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and one clinical strain of fungi, Candida albicans, were assessed using agar well diffusion method. The extracts that exhibited antimicrobial activity were then tested to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration for each bacterial or fungal sample. The ethyl acetate extract showed the widest zone of inhibition (25.0 mm), followed by chloroform when tested against Staphilococcus aureus. The ethyl acetate extract also exhibited broadspectrum antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli and B. subtilis. None of the extracts showed any inhibitory effect against the fungal strain of Candida albicans. Both chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts exhibited similar potencies having MIC of 50 mg/ml against E. coli and P. aeruginosa respectively. The antibacterial activities of this plant may be ascribed, at least in part, to the presence of phytochemical constituents such as flavonoids, alkaloids and tannins in the extracts.