Antimicrobial activity screening of Philenoptera violacea (Klotzsch) schrire and Xanthocercis zambesiaca (Baker) Dumaz-Le-Grand

Abstract

Microorganism involvement in cancer has been identified for over a century, and different types of bacteria have been associated with carcinogenesis. Philenoptera violacea (Klotzsch) Schrire and Xanthocercis zambesiaca (Baker) Dumaz-le- Grand plant extracts are traditionally used by South African traditional healers for the treatment of inflammation related disorders; however, their efficacy has not been determined. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the mixture of leaves, flower & twig of each plant extract respectively. Antimicrobial activity was determined using p- Iodonitrotetrazolium chloride (INT) assay on gram-positive bacterium: Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, S. saprohyticus, Bacillus subtilis, and gram-negative bacterium: Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results of antimicrobial activity revealed that both plant extracts had no antimicrobial activity against selected micro-organisms. Thus, we couldn’t support or confirm the antimicrobial activity potential of these plants as reported by traditional healers, however, factors that might have contributed to these results were not excluded.