ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ETHANOL LEAF EXTRACT OF Sida acuta AGAINST SOME CLINICAL BACTERIAL ISOLATES.

Abstract

Persistent evolution of multidrug resistance bacteria due to inappropriate use of conventional antibiotics is undermining treatment intervention for infectious diseases, thus constituting substantial proportion of the global public health problem. This, necessitated the search and development of new drugs particularly from plant origin that are effective against such superbugs. Therefore, the present study was designed to determine the phytochemical constituents in Sida acuta and their antibacterial effects on pathogenic bacterial species of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis. The phytochemical components of the extract were identified using standard methods. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of the leaf extract against the bacterial pathogens were assessed using agar well diffusion and broth dilution method, at varying concentrations of the extract (37.50, 75, 150 and 300 mg/ml), and using Commercially obtained ciprofloxacin as control. Preliminary screening revealed that ethanolic leaf extract possesses many secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, tannins, terpenoids, glycosides and cardiac glycosides. The extract exhibited significant inhibitory effects at (p