PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION OF ETHANOLIC-AQUA EXTRACT OF Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) VAHL LEAVES AGAINST SOME SELECTED HUMAN PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

The study was carried out to evaluate phytochemical and antibacterial effect of ethanolic-aqua extract of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis leaves against four selected pathogenic bacterial organisms.Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of secondary metabolites such as tannins, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, steroids and glycoside.The zones of inhibitions were 11.503 ± 0.005 for B. cereus, 10.766 ± 0.033 for S. typhi, 14.766 ± 0.0.033 for P. vulgaris and 13.566 ± 0.033 for S. pyogenes respectively. The zones of inhibitions of the microorganism such as B. cereus, P. vulgaris and S. pyogenes were larger than their positive control except S. typhi. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the organisms were significantly different in the zones of inhibition (p<0.05). The inhibition of the plant leaves extract to the growth of all the organisms greatly depicts the plant leaves to have great potential against diseases caused by the organisms. The overall therapeutic activities of the extract mighty be due to the presence of various phytoconstituents. Further research need to be done to prove their in vivo environment.