Increase in antimicrobial resistance coupled with successful treatment of various diseases with herbal medications has triggered the upsurge in research geared towards harnessing the medicinal potentials of various plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical composition of Bryophyllum pinnatum,
Ocimum gratissimum,
Jatropha curcas
and Ficus exasperata and their combined antibacterial activity on
Escherichia coli
,
Salmonella typhi
,
Staphylococcus aureus
, and
Klebsiella pneumonia. Plant leaves were air–dried, extracted with ethyl-acetate and water
with subsequent qualitative analyses for phytochemical compounds. Bacterial pathogens were obtained from University
of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), confirmed, and their zones of inhibition studied at 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 mg/ml
of extract combinations. The presence of phenols, tannins and saponins were confirmed in all extracts while alkaloids
were present in all ethyl acetate extracts and terpenoids in all aqueous extracts. Different zones of inhibition were
measured with the different extract combinations with
E. coli having its highest zone of inhibition with the combination
of Bryophyllum pinnatum and
Ocimum gratissimum in 30 mg/ml (27.25 ± 1.70 mm). However, the highest zone of
inhibition observed in the study was with
S. aureus in 10 mg/ml concentration of ethyl acetate plant extracts of
Ocimum gratissimum and
Ficus exasperata (31.75 ± 3.07 mm). The Gram positive cell wall of
S. aureus is less complex and therefore, more susceptible to bio-agents. Antibacterial activities of these extracts are attributed to the presence of
secondary metabolites that make them good bio-agents for production of antibacterial drugs.
