PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIALS OF MAOUTIA SETOSA WEDD., AN UNDERUTILIZED PLANT IN THE CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION, LUZON, PHILIPPINES

Drugs usually derived from plants and animals are used by humans to treat pain, illnesses and restore health. Various plants have proven their value as sources of potential drugs. In this study, fifteen medicinal plants which are traditionally used by local communities in the Cordillera Administrative Region were screened in the laboratory to evaluate their antibacterial activity using the disk diffusion method. Maoutia setosa Wedd., locally known as “la-i”, exhibited the highest antibacterial activity. Maoutia setosa Wedd. is a shrub used as antiseptic on wounds. Crude extracts from infusion, decoction, and maceration were prepared from the leaves of M. setosa and were tested against four bacteria, namely; Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and an enteric bacterium, Escherichia coli, using the pour plate method. Results showed that the extracts tested exhibited antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa. The extract from infusion showed the highest activity followed by the extract from decoction. Phytochemical screening of the M. setosa extracts revealed the presence of different bioactive substances, which include alkaloids, unsaturated sterol, deoxysugars, polyphenolic compounds, and triterpenes. Comparatively, the effect of the extract from infusion against the S. aureus and P. aeruginosa is almost similar to the effect of guava extract which was used as positive control. Results of this study showed that M. setosa, an underutilized plant, is a potential source of medicine.