Gardenia aqualla Stapf & Hutch (Rubeacea) is a plant belonging to the family Rubeacea. Preliminary phytochemistry carried out on the methanolic (ME) extract of the stem bark revealed the presence of steroid, carbohydrates, anthraquinones, saponins, triterpenes, tannins, cardiac glycoside and flavonoid while the petroleum ether (PE) extract of the stem bark revealed the presence of steroid, triterpenes and flavonoids. The PE extract and the ME were evaluated for antimicrobial screening using agar diffusion and broth dilution method on the following clinical isolates; Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenterea and the fungi Trichophytom rubrum, Candida albicans and Microsporan spp. Both extracts were active against S. aureus, E. aerogenes, E. coli, S. typhi and S. dysenteriae with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 3.13 and 6.25 mg/ml and 1.25 to 2.25 mg/ml for PE and ME extracts, respectively and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranged between 12.50 to 25.00 mg/ml and 2.50 to 5.00 mg/ml for PE and ME extracts, respectively. Both extracts showed no antifungal activity. The antibacterial activity of both extracts may be due to the presence of the secondary metabolites present. This study thus justifies the use of this plant in traditional medicine.

Two new triterpenoidal saponins, pachystelanosides A (1) and B (2), and six known compounds have been isolated from the roots of Pachystela msolo. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR studies (1 H, 13 C,

The emergence of more and more drug resistance bacteria has led to the study of the antimicrobial activity of the compound isolated from Lannea kerstingii Engl. & K. Krause (Anacardiacea) since the active principles of many drugs found in plants are secondary metabolites. A compound was isolated using dry vacuum liquid chromatography and eluting with CHCl3 -EtOAc and monitored using TLC. 3 1 13 The glycoside was characterized using 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR spectra recorded in DMSO-d6 at 400 MHz and 125 MHz, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the compound was determined using agar diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal/minimum fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC) was determined using broth dilution method. The compound isolated was found to be β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside. The β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside (200μg/ml) was active against S. aureus, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, P. mirabilis, S. typhi, K. pneumoniae, E. coli, B. subtilis with zone of inhibition ranging from 24mm to 34mm and inactive against P. aeroginosa and Proteus vulgaris. It was also active against the fungi C. albicans and C. tropicalis but inactive against C. krusei. The MIC ranged from 25 to 50 μg/ml while the MBC/MFC ranged from 50 to 200 μg/ml. These results show the wide spectrum antimicrobial activity of β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside.

Due to the emergence of more and more drug resistance bacteria and the reported antibacterial activity of Ceiba pentandra, the antimicrobial activity of the partitioned ethyl-acetate and n-butanol fractions of the stem-bark of this plant were carried out on the following clinical isolates: Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus pyrogenes; corynebacterium ulcereans; Escherichia coli; Salmonella typhi; Shigella dysenterea; Enterococcus aerogenes; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; klebsiella pneumonia and the fungi Trichophytom rubrum, Microsporum sp., Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. Agar diffusion and broth delusion methods were used in this study. The ethyl acetate fraction showed wide spectrum antibacteria activity (with zones of inhibition between 27mm and 37mm) while the n-butanol extract showed activity only against the gram negative bacteria (zones of inhibition between 20mm and 21mm). The MIC ranged from 0.65 to 2.5 mg/ml and 2.5 to 5 mg/ml and MBC ranged from 2.5 mg/ml and 5 – 10 mg/ml for the ethylacetate and n-butanol respectively. Both fractions showed no activity against the fungi used in this study. The preliminary phytochemistry of the ethyl acetate showed the presence of only flavonoid and this may explain the activity against all the bacteria. The n-butanol showed the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, tannins and cardiac glycoside and the absence of flavonoid and alkaloids. This study justifies the use of this plant in herbal medicine.