Abstract:
Abstract
Background A study carried out by World Health Organization revealed that around 80% of individuals globally
depends on herbal forms of medication with 40% of pharmaceutical products being sourced from medicinal plants.
The study objective was to evaluate the phytochemicals composition, in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant proper-
ties of the leaves of Terminalia catappa L. aqueous and methanolic extracts.
Methods Antimicrobial activity was analyzed by disk diffusion, the minimum inhibitory concentration in-vitro assays
with ciprofloxacin as the standard for antibacterial assay while nystatin for antifungal assay. Ferric reducing antioxi-
dant power and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate assays were used for the evaluation of antioxidant proper-
ties of the crude extracts while the groups responsible for this activity identified using Fourier transform infrared
spectrophotometer.
Results The study found that the leaves of Terminalia catappa contained alkaloids, tannins, steroids, cardiac glyco-
sides, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, and coumarins, but terpenoids were absent. Presence of functional groups asso-
ciated with this class of compounds such as OH vibrational frequencies were observed in IR spectrum of the crude
extracts. Methanolic extract from Terminalia catappa exhibited greater antibacterial properties against Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, whereas aqueous extract displayed greater antibacterial
activity against Bacillus subtilis for all concentrations tested. The amount of the sample that scavenged 50 percent
of DPPH (IC50) was found to be 8.723, 13.42 and 13.04 μg/mL for L-ascorbic acid, Terminalia catappa L. methanolic
and aqueous extracts respectively. The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities varied with the extract concentration
and solvent used in extractions.
Conclusion Terminalia catappa L. leaves are prospective for use as a source of therapeutic agents that could lead
to the advancement of new antimicrobial and antioxidant product
