SCREENING CAMEROON MEDICINAL PLANT EXTRACTS FOR ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY

A disc diffusion susceptibility test was used to screen concentrated extracts from the bark of three Cameroon medicinal Plants (Alstonia boonei, Kigelia africana, and Morinda lucida) for antimicrobial activity. Solvents with different polarity were used for the extraction, and the extracts were tested against five human pathogens. The patterns of inhibition varied with the plant extract, the solvent used for extraction, and the organism tested. The largest zone of inhibition was observed from ethanol extracts of Kigelia africana against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Staphylococcus aureus was the most inhibited microorganism. No inhibition was observed against Candida albicans. The extent of the inhibition was related to the concentration of the plant extract.