Screening of Methanolic and Aqueous Extracts of Lasimorpha senegalensis for Antibacterial Activity

Traditional medicine, though an old practice in disease prophylaxis and therapy, is still widely employed globally to treat various human ailments. In this study conducted at the Department of Microbiology, University of Nigeria between October 2018 and January 2019, methanolic and aqueous extracts of an aquatic plant Lasimorpha senegalensis were evaluated for antibacterial activities against human pathogens; Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Agar well diffusion method was used to determine the potency of L. senegalensis against the test organisms at different concentrations. Also, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by tetrazolium chloride microtiter dilution assay. Results showed that; inhibition zone diameters ranging from 0-14 mm for both test organisms using the plant extracts was less than that of the control (septrin and chloramphenicol) ranging from 0-26 mm. MIC ranged from 62.5 mg/ml to 500 mg/ml, lowest MIC was obtained with methanolic stem extract. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids responsible for the antibacterial activity. Therefore, L. senegalensis should be considered medicinally important as they contain biologically active compounds with curative potentials against infectious diseases.