PHYTO-CHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTI-BIOTICS POTENTIALS OF PYCNANTHUS ANGOLENSIS (WELW.) WARB. (MYRISTICACEAE) BARK JUICE

Ukwubile, Cletus Anes   

Department of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development

Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

 Email:doccletus@yahoo.com,

ABSTRACT

Chloroform and methanol extracts of the bark of Pycnanthus angolensis (Myristicaceae) were investigated with the aim of establishing its acclaimed potency as a blood clotting and wound healing agent (Anti-bacterial). Preliminary phyto-chemical screening of the juice extracted from the bark using chloroform/methanol (1:2) showed that it contained flavonoids, anthraquinones, tannins and saponins. Agar diffusion studies revealed that bark juice chloroform /methanol extract caused inhibition of Salmonella typhii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli but do not inhibit Bacillus subtilis at all concentrations. P. aeruginosa and E.coli produced inhibition zones of 17+ 0.2 and 18 + 0.1respectively as the highest, these values were however significantly different from the values obtained from the control antibiotics levofloxacin tablet (KNISS India) 5mg /ml (P<  0.05), which yielded 19+0.1 and 20 + 0.2 respectively for P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The result are consistent with the local use of the bark juice in stopping blood from wounds as well as healing up wounds, since these bacteria are mainly found in wounds.

Keywords: Phytochemical screening, Anti-biotics, Pycnanthus angolensis, Bark juice, Bacteria, Levofloxacin.