Antibacterial effect of edible plant extract on Escherichia coli 0157:H7

Sixteen preparation of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of four edible plants, Entada africana (bark), Terminalia avicennoides (bark), Mitragyna stipulosa (bark) Lannae acida (stem bark) were screened for their inhibitory effects on ten strains of E coli 0157:H7 (EHEC) using the agar diffusion method. It was shown that ethanol extracts of Entanda africana inhibited all the ten strains used, some extracts showed variable antibacterial activities while some others could not cause any inhibition. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the potent extracts ranged from 1.56mg/ml to 50.00mg/ml while the minimum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) was between 6.25mg/ml to 25.00mg/ml. Pytochemical screening of the extracts revealed that all contained saponin. Some showed presence of tannins and glycosides while alkaloid was not detected in all samples. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2006.