Bioactivity of the ethanol extracts of <i>Flabellaria paniculata</i>, <i>Rhapiostylis beninensis</i> roots and <i>Khaya ivorensis</i> Bark Against Multidrug-Resistance Bacteria

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health problem that has led to the loss of effectiveness of many antimicrobial drugs, thus necessitating the continuous search for alternatives, especially from natural sources. Flabellaria paniculata, Rhapiostylis beninensis, and Khaya ivorensis are plants that have been used in traditional medicine to treat microbial infections, but documentedevaluations of their effectiveness in scientific literature are few Methods: The roots of Flabellaria paniculata, Rhapiostyl beninensis, and bark of Khaya ivorensis were extracted by cold maceration method in 70% ethanol. The extracts were analyzed for their phytochemical content. Clinically isolated bacteria were screened for their multidrug resistance status. The antimicrobial activity of the individual plant extracts against clinical multidrug resistance (MDR) bacterial isolates consisting of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli strainswas evaluated by the agar-well diffusion technique on Mueller Hinton agar. The solid dilution method was used to assess the MIC and MBC of susceptible strains. Results: The phytochemical screening showed that the three plant extracts contain terpenoids, steroids, and saponins in similar quantities, while flavonoids were more abundant in K. ivorensis (109mg/100g), F. paniculata (52mg/100g), and R. beninensis (38mg/100g) respectively. Eleven, ten, and two of the MDR strains of bacteria tested were susceptible to the inhibitory activity of theindividual extracts of K. ivorensis, F. paniculata, and R. beninensis respectively in a concentration- dependent manner. The range of MIC for K. ivorensis (1.56-12.5 mg/mL) was lower than for F. paniculata (6.25-50 mg/mL) and R. beninensis (12.5-50 mg/mL). Conclusion: The ethanol extracts of the studied plants showed antimicrobial activity against testedMDR bacterial strains, providing evidence to justify their traditional use, and demonstrating their potential in treating bacterial infections and as a future source for newer chemotherapeutic agents.