PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES OF THE METHANOL EXTRACT OF THE ROOT OF NAPOLEONAEA HEUDELOTTI (A.JUSS)

PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES OF THE METHANOL EXTRACT OF THE ROOT OF NAPOLEONAEA HEUDELOTTI (A.JUSS)

Abstract

An extract of the root part of Napoleonaea heudelotii underwent phytochemical and antibacterial studies. Extraction was performed by continuous Soxhlet extraction with methanol. Phytochemical screening of crude methanol extracts, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions revealed the presence of carbohydrates, cardiac glycosides, saponins, steroids, triterpenes, flavonoids and tannins. Antimicrobial screening of crude methanol extracts, ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris and Candida albicans. rice field. However, the chloroform fraction was the most active fraction against the test organisms. The inhibition zone for the methanol extract ranged from 16 mm to 21 mm, the chloroform fraction ranged from 17 mm to 25 mm, and the ethyl acetate fraction ranged from 15 mm to 21 mm. MIC results for the methanol extract ranged from 12.5 mg/mL to 1.562 mg/mL, the chloroform fraction ranged from 12.5 mg/mL to 1.562 mg/mL, and the ethyl acetate ranged from 6.25 mg/mL to 1.625 mg/mL. was the range. The MBC for the methanol extract and the chloroform fraction ranged from 12.5 mg/ml to 1.562 mg/ml, and the MBC for the ethyl acetate fraction ranged from 6.2 mg/ml to 1.562 mg/ml. The most active fraction, the chloroform fraction, underwent extensive chromatographic purification. A white crystalline solid labeled with NHPE was isolated. The structure of the isolated compound was determined using 1D and 2D NMR as a mixture of α-amyrin and β-amyrin.

chapter One
1.0 Introduction

Medicinal plants have been identified and used throughout human history. Plants have the ability to synthesize a variety of compounds that are used to perform important biological functions and defend against attack from predators such as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals (Babalola, 2009 ). Plant compounds mediate their effects on the human body through the same processes already well understood for conventional pharmaceutical compounds. Therefore, herbal medicines do not differ significantly from conventional drugs in their mechanisms of action. This makes herbal medicines just as effective as traditional medicines, but just as likely to cause harmful side effects.Ethnobotany (the study of traditional human uses of plants) will discover the medicines of the future. It is considered a powerful way to In 2001, researchers identified 122 compounds used in modern medicine derived from ethnic medicinal plant sources (Babalola, 2009). Many of the drugs currently available to doctors have long been used as herbal remedies, such as aspirin, digitalis, quinine, and opium. Treatment of disease is nearly ubiquitous in non-industrialized societies and is often more affordable than purchasing expensive modern medicines (Beltrame et al., 2002). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the population in some Asian and African countries currently uses herbal medicines as part of their primary care (Beltrame et al., 2002). Studies in the United States and Europe show that the use of herbal medicines in clinical practice is less common, but has become more common in recent years as scientific evidence of their effectiveness becomes more available.