Abstract

The antimicrobial activities of crude methanolic extracts of Basella alba on selected microorganisms

Author(s): O.A.Oyewole, O.A.Owolabi, I.N.Okoliegbe

The antimicrobial effects of Basella alba against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albican was determined using the agar cup plate method. The phytochemical components of the crude methanolic extracts of the leaf and stem of B. alba indicates the presence of tannin, terpene, steroid, saponin, anthraquinone, and with carbohydrate only in the stem extracts. The result of this study showed that all the organisms except Candida albican were susceptible to 60mg/ml and 100mg/ml. The minimuminhibitory concentration (MIC) andminimumbactericidal concentration (MBC) were also determined. The result obtained showed that the MIC for the crude methanolic extract of the leaf and stemextract of P. aeruginosa, E. coli and S. aureuswas 50mg/ ml, while the MBC was 50mg/ml for P. aeruginosa, E. coli and for S. aureus was 100mg/ml. The result of this study suggests that the crude methanolic extracts of B. alba could be suitable for the treatment of diseases caused by S. aureus, P.aeruginosa and E.coli.