Assessment of the antibacterial activity of Vernonia amygdalina and Occimum gratissimum leaves on selected food borne pathogens.

The bioactive compounds activities of leaves extracts of two Nigerian edible vegetables were carried out by agar well diffusion method on selected food borne pathogens of medical significance. Both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of these plants leaves were tested against E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus Shigella dysentriae and Salmonella typhimurium with the later showing better and significant anitibacterial activity on all the test isolates. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of both extracts ranged between 7.5mg/ml -25mg/ml for aqueous extract and 12.5mg/ml -15mg/ml for ethanolic extract. The extracts of these plants may be used to treat gastroenteritis at the various concentration used for this work.