Study on antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of Alchornea cordifolia (Linn.): an in vitro assessment (original) (raw)
Related papers
International scientific research journal, 2015
Alchornea cordifolia Schum and Thonn. (Euphorbiaceae) is a plant widely used in traditional medicines of Ghana for the treatment of skin and other infections. This study evaluated the antibacterial properties and phytoconstituents of the aqueous leaves extract of A. cordifolia with particular reference to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) of the aqueous leaves extract of the plant were evaluated against 32 clinical isolates of MRSA and controls by the microdilution technique in Iso-sensitest broth. Growth and time-kill curves were also carried out using spectroscopy at 490 nm and viable cell counts method. Mean diameter of zones of inhibition ranged 18-30 mm of the aqueous extract of the plant were found against MRSA. MIC and MBC values ranged 1.6-3.1 mg/ml and 6.5-12.5 mg/ml of the aqueous leaves extract of A. cordifolia were found against the 32 clinical isolates of MRSA with most of the strains having MIC value of 3.1 mg/ml and MBC value of 12.5 mg/ml. Growth and time-kill curves indicate bacteriostatic activity of the plant extract on MRSA. Phytochemical analysis of the extract showed low concentrations of alkaloids and saponins but very high concentrations of tannins present in the leaves of the plant. From the results of the study, aqueous leaves extract of A. cordifolia may contain antibacterial compounds that justify its usage in traditional medicine.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2016
The leaves, stems and roots of Alchornea cordifolia (Schum and Thonn) Muell. Arg. are used as traditional medicine in many African countries for the management of gastrointestinal, respiratory and urinary tract infections as well as for the treatment of wounds. Aim of the study: To determine the in vitro antibacterial activity of the crude extracts of leaves and stems of A. cordifolia on gastrointestinal, skin, respiratory and urinary tract pathogens and to identify the compounds in the extracts that may be responsible for this activity. Materials and methods: The antibacterial activities of crude extracts [hexane, chloroform (CHCl 3), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), ethanol (EtOH), methanol (MeOH) and water (H 2 O)] as well as pure compounds isolated from these extracts were evaluated by means of the micro-dilution assay against four Gram-positive bacteria, i.e. Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and S. saprophyticus ATCC 15305, as well as four Gram-negative bacterial strains, i.e. Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883, Moraxella catarrhalis ATCC 23246 and Proteus mirabilis ATCC 43071. The isolation of the active constituents was undertaken by bio-autographic assays in conjunction with chromatographic techniques. The identification and characterization of the isolated compounds were done using mass spectrometry (MS) and Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry (FTIR) as well as 1D-and 2D-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. Results: The leaves and stems of A. cordifolia exhibited varied antibacterial activity against all eight pathogens. Most of the MIC values ranged between 63-2000 µg/ml. The highest activities for the crude extracts (63 µg/ml) were observed against S. saprophyticus [stem (EtOAc, CHCl 3 and hexane), leaves (MeOH, EtOH, EtOAc and CHCl 3)], E. coli [stem (MeOH and EtOH), leaves (MeOH, EtOH, EtOAc and CHCl 3)], M. catarrhalis [leaves (EtOAc and CHCl 3)], K. pneumoniae [stem (CHCl 3), leaves (CHCl 3)] and S. aureus [leaves (CHCl 3)]. Seven constituents [stigmasterol (1), stigmasta-4,22dien-3-one (2), friedelin (3), friedelane-3-one-28-al (4), 3-O-acetyl-aleuritolic acid (5), 3-O-acetyl-erythrodiol (6) and methyl-3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoate (methyl gallate) (7)] were isolated from the stem MeOH extract. All these compounds displayed some antibacterial activity against the eight pathogens with highest activity against S. saprophyticus (2 µg/ml). Furthermore, this is the first report of compounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 isolated from A. cordifolia and where a complete set of 2D-NMR data for fridelane-3-one-28-al (4) is presented. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the antibacterial activities of A. cordifolia extracts may be due to the presence of the seven isolated compounds, where compounds 3-6 showed the best activity. The observed activity against gastrointestinal, skin, respiratory and urinary tract pathogens supports the traditional use for the treatment of such ailments.
Amos-Tautua et al
The leaves, stem bark and root of Alchornea cordifolia were separately extracted with cold methanol and chloroform. The extracts were then screened for basic phytocompounds and subjected to antimicrobial assays against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Candidas albican. Disc diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial activities of the plant extracts. Phytochemical investigation showed the presence of tannins, saponins, anthraquinones, flavonoids, sterols and cardiac glycosides. Few of the extracts contained anthraquinones and alkaloids; while no phlobatannin was detected in all the extracts. The zone of inhibition ranged between 0.5 and 20mm for the entire microorganisms tested. Generally the more polar methanol extracts of the plant exhibited more antimicrobial activity than the less polar chloroform extracts. This was implied by the zone of inhibition of the tested micro-organisms (16.0 -20.0mm) which demonstrated that the methanol extracts have broad spectrum activity. The chloroform extracts had no inhibitory activity against C. albican and B. subtilis. The results of this study showed that the methanol extracts of the leaves, stem bark and roots of Alchornea cordifolia posses high levels of anti-effective agents. This gives credence to the trado-medicinal application of the plant as remedy for various infections. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2019
Alchornea cordifolia has ethnomedicinal use in the treatment of wounds, gonorrhea, conjunctivitis, diarrhea, urinary disorder and gastrointestinal disorder. The main focus of this study was to verify the biological activities (anthelmintic, antimicrobial and antioxidant) and isolate some of the components in the chloroform, methanol, and petroleum ether leaf extracts. Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial (agar and broth dilution method), anthelminthic and antioxidant [total antioxidant capacity (TAC), DPPH and H2O2 scavenging] assays were carried out on extracts. Thin layer and column chromatography were employed in the isolation and purification of the components of the petroleum ether extract. The phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of secondary metabolites such as terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, carotenoids, phenols and tannins. All three extracts showed antimicrobial activity against test organisms with MICs ranging from 1.56 – 25 mg/mL. The IC50 valu...
Antimicrobial spectrum ofAlchornea cordifolia leaf extract
Phytotherapy Research, 1999
The 50% aqueous ethanol extract of Alchornea cordifolia (Schum and Thonn) Muell. Arg. leaf was screened for activity against 74 microbial strains representing aerobic, facultative and anaerobic bacteria as well as fungi. The panel of test strains included organisms from culture collections as well as clinical and environmental isolates. A concentration of 5 mg/mL of extract inhibited 36.5% of the isolates and 95.9% were inhibited by a concentration of 20 mg/mL. Only three strains, all filamentous fungi, were not susceptible to 40 mg/mL of the extract, the highest concentration tested. The extract showed the best activity against gram-positive bacteria and yeasts with inhibitory concentrations against these organisms being under 5 mg/mL. The results demonstrate that the A. cordifolia extract has a very broad spectrum of activity and suggests that it may be useful in the treatment of various microbial infections. # 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
American Journal of Phytomedicine and Clinical Therapeutics (AJPCT), 2014
The phytochemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the leaves of Alchornea cordifolia, Sanseviera liberica and Uvaria chamae were investigated. The ethanolic extracts of the leaves of the plants were tested against human pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexineri, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia and Candida albicans). The antimicrobial activity of the plants extracts was carried out using the Agar well diffusion method. The phytochemical screening showed that the leaves of the all plant species had flavonoid, tannins and steroids. Alkaloid and phenol were found in A. cordifola and U. chamae, while saponins were observed in S. liberica and U. chamae. Averagely, the percentage phytochemical constituent of the leaves of the plants are as follows; Alkaloid (8.77-10.15), flavonoid (5.33-6.67), phenols (0.75-1.12), saponin 1.41-5.96), steroid (0.6 -3.33) and tannin (0.001-0.067). The result obtained indicated that the ethanolic extracts of the samples, showed moderate to high activity against all the tested pathogens. The inhibition zone ranged from 7.04 mm to 25.57 mm. The extracts of A. cordifolia had the highest activity on E. coli and least activity on S. aureus, while S. liberica had the highest activity on S. aureus and least on S. typhi. On the other hand, the leaves of U. chamae had the highest activity on E. coli and least on C. albicans. The concentrations of extracts were found to affect the ability of the extracts to inhibit the growth of the pathogens. The higher the concentration of the extracts, the higher the concentration of the extracts, the higher the rate of inhibition f the pathogens. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged from 3.11 to 18.04mg/ml). The results obtained indicate that the leaves of these plants are good sources of phytochemicals and have antimicrobial activity against the pathogens tested, thus could be exploited as alternative antimicrobial drugs fr treatment of diseases caused by these pathogens.
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2020
The ameliorative tendency of the leaves of Alchornea cordifolia has been reported against ailments ranging from conjunctivitis to yaws and certain parasitic infections. This necessitated investigating the in vitro antibacterial efficacy of methanol-extracted leaves of Alchornea cordifolia on hematological and histopathological of organ of toxicity on albino rats. The rats were randomly segregated into four groups of five animals in each cage. The groups were orally administered with 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg body weight and 10% Tween 80 control for 28 days. Blood samples were collected for hematological analysis and organs (liver and spleen) for histopathological analysis. The data obtained were analyzed by ANOVA and Dunnett's test at P>0.05 levels of significance. Methanol leaf extract had a significantly higher inhibitory zone in E. coli and K. pneumonia ranging 35.00± 1.73 and 35.67± 3.48 at all the concentrations tested. There was no significant effect on hematological parameters. Liver necrosis was noticed in the harvested organs of the experimental rats. The liver sections of rat treated with 750mg/kg of the leaf extract showed cloudy swelling of hepatocytes and mild Kupffer cell hyperplasia. These results suggest that Alchornea cordifolia is non-toxic but has the propensity to induce hepatic injury at high doses. Conclusively, successful antibacterial activity at all concentrations and the slight pathological effects could be indicative low toxicity and high efficacy of this plant if taken at lower doses.
BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2017
A. cordifolia is a plant widely used in Africa to solve many health problems. In Cameroon, it is used in the treatment of urogenital infections. As a continuation of our search for pharmacologically active agents from natural sources, the antimicrobial activity of A. cordifolia leaf extracts against E. coli and the toxicity of this extract were investigated. The antibacterial activity of the aqueous extract from leaves of Alchornea cordifolia was carried out in vitro on Escherichia coli, as well as in vivo on E. coli-infected rat model. Phytochemical screening was performed using standard methods. The acute toxicity was investigated in mice, while at the end of treatment of infected rats, some biochemical, hematological and histological markers of toxicity were evaluated. The extract exhibited a bacteriostatic activity with MIC value of 1500 μg/ml. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of phenols, tannins, triterpens, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, anthocyanins, sapo...
Preliminary Studies on the Phytochemical and Pharmacological Screening of Alchornea Cordifolia
The study was to evaluate the classes of chemical compounds present, antifungal, antibacterial and effect on Plasmodium species by Alchornea cordifolia leaves extract used by local medicine practitioners for the treatment of malarial fever. The extract indicated the presence of alkaloids, saponins, unsaturated and carbonyl compounds. They exhibited activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium notatum and Plasmodium spp. There was bulging of the plasmodial cells after 48h and total lyses after 72h incubation for the ethanol and water extracts while the ether extract showed no antiplasmodial activity. The study justifies the use of the plant for treatment of malarial fever.