Nauclea latifolia Stem Extracts: Antimicrobial Activity and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Abstract

Nauclea latifolia Sm. Rubiaceae is a native Southeast Nigerian tree known for its medicinal characteristics and is commonly found in various regions of Africa. N. latifolia is known to possess broad-spectrum medicinal bioactivities. In this assay the pulverized stem was extracted using methanol and chloroform. The extracts were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The in vitro antimicrobial analysis was performed based on Broth dilution method using arrays of fungi and bacteria.  A total of 10 and 12 compounds were isolated from the methanol and chloroform extracts, respectively, including docosanoic acid, arachidic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, and squalene. The methanolic extract showed activity against S. typhi with MBC/MIC ratio of 1.0 while the chloroform extract showed activity against S. mutans also with MBC/MIC ratio of 1.0. All other MBC/MIC ratios ranged from 2–8 while those of the fungi was from 1.0 to 4.0 for both extracts. Our results were comparable to those of the standard drugs. Therefore, N. latifolia stem extracts contained phytochemicals of relevance in ethnomedicine.