Antibacterial and Phytochemical Properties of the Leaf and Fruit Extracts of Mormodica charantia

Abstract

The methanol, ethylacetate, chloroform and aqueous extracts of the leaves and fruits of Mormodica charantia were screened for their antibacterial activity using the agar well diffusion method. The extracts were tested against three enteric bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. Chloroform and water extracts of both the leaves and fruits of the Mormodica charantia plant showed remarkable antimicrobial activities even at low concentrations (10µg/ml). The column fractions antibacterial activity testing shows the fractions from column 3 of the leaves part and column 1 and 2 of the fruits to contain the most active components with a significant activity on the organism tested. Phytochemical screening of the crude extract of the leaves and fruits revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and steroids as the most common components found in considerable amounts. Other constituents detected are glycosides, terpenes, carbohydrate and traces of antraquinones. The toxicological analysis as carried out by up and down procedure of the active components from the crude extracts of plant parts indicated that the plant has no toxic effect on rats. It is concluded that these plants could be a source of new antibiotic compounds and further work is needed to isolate the secondary metabolites from the extracts studied in order to test its specific antimicrobial activity.