Uche-Okereafor
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Title: Phytochemical screening and antibacterial properties of crude Rhoicissus tomentosa rhizome extract
Biography
Biography: Uche-Okereafor
Abstract
Many medicinal plants have been the source of various pharmacologically active compounds that are now used in medicine. The use of plants as source of remedies for the treatment of many diseases dates back to history. The advancement of science into the search for antibiotics largely depends on some of these plants as raw materials. Rhoicissus tomentosa is a medicinal plant from the Vitaceae family and is widely distributed in southern Africa. Its is used in traditional medicine to treat ailments mainly related to fertility and reproduction and pains. Phytochemical screening of the rhizomes of R. tomentosa was investigated to ascertain their possible pharmaceutical potential and the results showed that the rhizomes of the plant contain alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, reducing sugars and tannins which are known bioactive compounds. Methanol:chloroform (50/50, v/v) and ethyl acetate (100%) extracts of the rhizomes were tested against 14 bacterial strains using the agar disc diffusion and microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay methods. The study revealed that both extracts showed moderate to high inhibitory activity against most of the test organisms. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the extracts ranged from below 0.5mg/mL to 16mg/mL. The last couple of years have seen an increase in antimicrobial resistance which threatens effective prevention and treatment of infections caused by medically important bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. According to the World Health Organization in 2014, antimicrobial resistance had reached alarming levels in many parts of the world and has become a public health problem. There have been calls for the development of new and efficacious antimicrobials. A huge requirement for these antimicrobials is that they must be not generally cytotoxic, they must be cost-effective and most importantly, active at minimal concentrations. As such, R. tomentosa shows potential as a possible source for drug leads for the treatment of diseases caused by bacterial pathogens.