PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ANTIMICROBIAL AND CYTOTOXICITY STUDIES OF ETHANOL LEAF EXTRACT OF APHANIA SENEGALENSIS (SAPINDACEAE)

• Published in: African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 135 - 139
• Main Authors: Fall, Alioune Dior, Bagla, Victor Patrick, Bassene, Emmanuel, Eloff, Jacobus Nicolaas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nigeria African Ethnomedicines Network 13-07-2017
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; antimicrobial; Aphania senegalensis; Bacteria - drug effects; Bacteria - growth & development; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cercopithecus aethiops; cytotoxicity; Flavonoids - analysis; Flavonoids - pharmacology; Fungi - drug effects; Fungi - growth & development; leaf; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; phytochemical; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Sapindaceae - chemistry; Tannins - analysis; Tannins - pharmacology; Vero Cells; antimicrobial; leaf; Aphania senegalensis; cytotoxicity; phytochemical
• ISSN: 0189-6016; 2505-0044
• DOI: 10.21010/ajtcam.v14i4.16

Background: Aphania senegalensis (Sapindaceae) is commonly used in
Senegalese traditional medicine to treat pain, inflammation, asthenia,
bacterial and fungal infections. The aim of this study was to determine
the type of phytochemical constituents present in the ethanol leaf
extract and its antimicrobial activity against selected bacterial and
fungal pathogens. Materials and Methods: The ethanol leaf extract of A.
senegalensis was evaluated for its cytotoxic effect in the MTT assay
against Vero cells. Flavonoids and tannins were the main constituents
of the ethanol leaf extract. Results: The extract inhibited the growth
of the three fungal strains used in this study moderately with the
lowest MIC obtained for Candida albicans (0.16 mg/mL). The extract
also inhibited the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus
neoformans with an MIC of 0.62 mg/mL. For bacterial pathogens, strong
inhibition was obtained against Enterococcus faecalis (ATTC 29212)
(MIC 0.08 mg/mL), while moderate inhibition was obtained for
Escherichia coli (ATTC 25922) (MIC 0.16 mg/mL) and Staphylococcus
aureus (ATTC 29213) (MIC 0.31mg/mL). The extract however did not
inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATTC 27853) at the
highest concentration (2.5 mg/ml) tested. The ethanol leaf extract of
A. senegalensis had a higher cytotoxicity than berberine used as the
positive control (LC50 2.67±0.04 μg/mL and 9.99±0.54
μg/mL respectively). The best selectivity index values was
obtained for Enterococcus faecalis (SI = 1.24), followed by Escherichia
coli (SI = 0.62) for bacterial pathogens and C. albicans (SI = 0.62)
for fungal pathogens. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest
that the extracts may not be safe for use in animals infected by some
pathogens.