ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PHYLLANTHUS AMARUS (CHAMBER BITTERS) WHOLE PLANT EXTRACT AGAINST SALMONELLA SPECIES

Abstract

ABSTRACT The antibacterial activity of Phyllanthus amarus (chamber bitters) whole plant against Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi B isolated from stool samples was investigated using agar diffusion techniques. Phytochemical analysis of the crude extract of Phyllanthus amarus revealed the presence of alkaloids (1.54 %), flavonoids (5.12 %), phenol (9.50 %), tannins (16.02 %) and saponins (67.81 %). The zone of inhibition ranged from 6 mm to 22 mm at 300 mg/mL to 1000 mg/mL. The methanolic extract was more effective than the extract obtained using n-Hexane, Ethyl-acetate and Acetone solvents. The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of the methanolic crude extract of P. amarus whole plant against Salmonella typhi were 7.8 mg/mL and 15.6 mg/mL, compared to 9.3 mg/mL and 18.7 mg/mL for Salmonella paratyphi B. Therefore, Salmonella typhi was significantly (P<0.05) more susceptible than Salmonella paratyphi B. The histopathology studies show no toxic effect of P. amarus used in the study. The presence of Tannin and Saponin at appreciable percentage when compared to other secondary metabolites found in the crude extract suggests that Phyllanthus amarus whole plant contains active ingredients that could be used for the development of antibacterial drugs for the treatment of diseases associated with Salmonella infections.