Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Activity of Spondias mombin Leaves

Abstract

Phytochemical investigation was carried out on the crude ethanol extracts of the leaves of Spondias mombin. The antibacterial activity of the ethanolic and the Chloroform leaf extract was tested against four bacteria; Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi using disc diffusion method. The results indicated that both extracts showed inhibitory activity against clinical isolates of the gram negative bacteria Staphylococcus aureus,             P. aeruginosa and E. coli as well as gram positive bacteria S. aureus. These also revealed that chloroform extract was more potent than the ethanol extract. Phytochemical constituents present in the extract were found to include Alkaloids (5.97±0.03%), Flavonoids (3.00±0.01%), Tanins (3.80±0.02%), Saponins (7.50±0.1%), and Phenols (0.9±0.04%).