Antimicrobial Activity And Qualitative Phytochemical Composition Of Crude Extracts From Medicinal Plants Against Selected Enteric Bacterial Pathogens And Candida Albicans

ABSTRACT

Plant extracts with medicinal value have been used to treat many diseases that can either be bacterial, fungal or parasitic among many others. Plants with medicinal value produce certain chemical elements known as phytochemicals that have antimicrobial activity. Enteric bacterial pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms that are usually located in the intestinal tracts of either animal or human beings. The pathogenic members are usually associated with infections that are characterized by; enteric fevers, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting. Candida albicans is a yeast fungus that is mainly found in the mucosal cavity of the vagina and intestinal tract as a normal microbiota but it can cause systematic infections in immunocompromised individuals. This study was aimed at determining the antimicrobial activity, combined effects of the selected plant leaf extracts of Tagetes minuta, Aloe secundiflora, Vernonia lasiopus and Bulbine frutescens against selected clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexineri, Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans obtained from Kenyatta University Health Centre; using the Kirby-Bauer method. In addition, qualitative analysis of the phytochemicals present in the extracts was also determined. The plants materials were obtained from Kenyatta University arboretum and identified by Taxonomist; Prof L.E. Newton and voucher specimen deposited in the University herbarium. The collected data was then analyzed in SAS version 9.1 using ANOVA and further subjected to a post hoc test with P