article · BIMA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY GOMBE
Ethanol extracts from the stem bark and leaves of Acacia nilotica, alongside the leaves and fruit of Morinda citrifolia, demonstrate notable antibacterial activity against five clinical bacterial strains. Laboratory tests against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi, and Klebsiella pneumoniae showed concentration-dependent bacterial inhibition across all extracts. Chemical screening identified high levels of tannins, flavonoids, and saponins in Acacia nilotica, whereas Morinda citrifolia extracts contained steroids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, but lacked tannins and terpenoids. Acacia nilotica demonstrated superior antibacterial performance overall, producing the largest inhibition zones against Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus, matching or exceeding the standard antibiotic streptomycin in diffusion tests. Minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentration assays confirmed that Acacia nilotica bark and leaf extracts required significantly lower doses to inhibit and kill target bacteria compared to Morinda citrifolia, highlighting its potential utility against bacterial infections.
Bacterial infections remain a widespread health challenge, prompting continuous searches for new therapeutic agents. By demonstrating that traditional medicinal plants possess measurable antibacterial properties against common pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus mirabilis, this research validates ethnomedicinal knowledge. Identifying the specific botanical extracts and bioactive profiles that provide the strongest bactericidal effects assists laboratory researchers in prioritising plant candidates for developing alternative treatments against clinical bacterial strains.
This work represents early-stage laboratory research evaluating raw botanical ethanol extracts in vitro. The findings could inform future pharmaceutical development or natural product formulation targeting bacterial pathogens, particularly Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Pharmaceutical developers and natural antimicrobial researchers might explore these extracts, but practical application remains distant, requiring isolation of active compounds, toxicology assessments, formulation development, and clinical trials before any commercial product can be realised.
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Plants have long been recognized as reservoir of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potentials, many of which possess antimicrobial properties. Among these, Acacia nilotica and Morinda citrifolia have attracted scientific interest due to their ethnomedicinal application and rich phytochemical profiles. This study investigated the phytochemical constituents and antibacterial efficacy of Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile and Morinda citrifolia L. extracts against five clinical bacterial strains: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Ethanol extracts of stem bark and leaves of A. nilotica, as well as leaves and fruit of M. citrifolia, were evaluated using standard phytochemical screening, agar well diffusion assay, and MIC/MBC determinations. Phytochemical analysis revealed a rich presence of bioactive compounds. A. nilotica stem bark and leaves contained high levels of tannins (+), flavonoids (+), and saponins (+), while M. citrifolia fruit and leaves showed strong positivity for steroids (+), alkaloids (+), and flavonoids (+), though they lacked terpenoids and tannins. Antimicrobial results showed that all extracts exhibited concentration-dependent inhibition. At 100 mg/mL, A. nilotica leaf extract recorded the highest zone of inhibition (28.00 ± 0.70 mm) against P. mirabilis, followed closely by A. nilotica stem bark (27.65 ± 0.58 mm) and M. citrifolia fruit (23.93 ± 0.94 mm) against S. aureus. Streptomycin (100 µg/mL) served as control, producing inhibition zones ranging from 26.43 mm (S. aureus) to 27.82 mm (P. mirabilis). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests confirmed the potency of A. nilotica extracts. The lowest MICs were recorded by A. nilotica stem bark against S. aureus (6.81 mg/mL) and P. mirabilis (6.97 mg/mL), while M. citrifolia leaf and fruit showed higher MICs ranging from 12.01–15.46 mg/mL, with the highest MIC observed against E. coli (15.46 mg/mL). Corresponding MBCs followed a similar trend, with A. nilotica generally achieving bactericidal effects at half the concentration required by M. citrifolia. Overall, A. nilotica extracts demonstrated superior antibacterial activity compared to M. citrifolia, likely due to higher concentrations of polyphenolic compounds and tannins. These results support the traditional use of both plants in ethnomedicine and highlight the therapeutic potential of A. nilotica in combating bacterial infections, particularly those involving P. mirabilis and S. aureus.
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DOI: 10.64290/bima.v9i2b.1301
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