Antibacterial Potentials of Plants Used in Traditional Medicine of Rwanda

Abstract

In Rwanda, a variety of medicinal plants are being given to patients to treat various bacterial diseases. However, the phytochemistry of these plants is still a big challenge. A total of twenty medicinal plants of Rwanda were investigated for their phytochemical content and antibacterial potentials. The medicinal plant samples were collected, analyzed for phytocompounds' presence, and their antibacterial activities were checked. The plant parts utilized were stems, fruits, and/or leaves, while the solvents utilized were methanol, petroleum, water, and/or hexane. The phytochemicals noticed in Dombeya torrida, Solanum terminale, Rubia cordifolia, Rosmarinus officinalis, Carduus nyassanus, Hypericum revolutum, Senna acutifolia, Acacia sieberiana, Lagenaria sphaerica, Carica papaya, Gynandropsis gynandra, and Artemisia annua were mostly saponins, tannins, phenols, glycosides, resins, and/or alkaloids. However, no phytosubstances were seen in Solanum nigrum L., Zea mays, Persea americana, Clerodendrum sp., Hypoestes triflora, and Acanthus polystachyus. The pathogenic bacteria inhibited by plant parts' extracts were Salmonella typhi B69, S. typhi B71,