Evaluation of Bioactive Compounds and Antimicrobial Potency of Persea americana leaf extracts against specific Bacteria

Abstract

Medicinal plants has gained a lot of interest in search of plants with a strong antimicrobial compounds that has the ability to cure diseases caused by specific organisms. This is due to the resistance of these organisms to some antibiotics of importance thereby rendering the drugs ineffective against diseases. The aim and objective of this research is therefore to evaluate the antimicrobial potency and bioactive compounds of Persea americana leaf extract against specific bacteria that had previously been identified in the laboratory. Different solvents were used such as ethanol and sterile distilled water to extract the bioactive compounds of the plants and it showed a high level of potency against the isolates. The concentrations of the extracts used for the determination of zones of inhibition were 250µg/ml, 125µg/ml and 62.5µg/ml. The largest zone of inhibition was recorded against Salmonella typhi (14.00mm) while Escherichia coli had the lowest zone of inhibition (8.00mm) for plants extract using ethanol. Salmonella typhi had the largest zone of inhibition (16.00mm) while Escherichia coli had the lowest zone of inhibition (6.0 mm) when the plant was extracted using sterile distilled water. Phytochemical analysis of the extract revealed that both ethanolic and aqueous extract are rich in saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids and steroids. Conclusively, P. americana can be utilized as an effective antibiotic substitute for the treatment of infections caused by Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli. This is as a result of its demonstrated antibacterial activity.