International Journal of Chemical Sciences
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Date
2015-06-01
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Publisher
Nasarawa State University, Keffi
Abstract
Dracaena manni Baker (Dracaenacea) is a plant used in trado – medicine for the treatment of various ailments, however literature is scarce about the efficacy of this medicinal plant. Thus the present study investigates this plant to corroborate the claims in trado – medicine and document our findings. The phytochemicals were extracted from the stem of Dracaena manni with ethyl acetate and then methanol. The screening of the extracts was carried out by brine shrimp lethality test (BST), antimicrobial and antifungal tests using microbes.
The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, alkaloids and anthraquinones in the methanolic extract while the ethyl acetate extract contain steroids, anthraquinones and terpenoids. The antimicrobial and antifungal analyses indicate ethyl acetate extract sensitivity towards Escherichia coli and Candida albicans while methanolic extract was sensitive towards Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The extracts were not active against the brine shrimp larvae. This study indicates that D. mannii have potential antimicrobial and antifungal activity but there are slight differences in the activities of the extracts based on the solvents that was used for extraction. The results of our findings have indicated the biological activities of the plant extracts and their usability in the preparation of new drugs. However, further study is required to identify the active constituents responsible for these antibacterial and antifungal activities.
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Keywords
Dracaena Manni, Alternative Medicine, Antifungal, Antimicrobial