Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Activity of Stem Bark, Leaf and Root Extract of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst

Sclerocarya birrea is widely used in Nigerien communities for medicinal purposes to treat several gastrointestinal diseases including diarrhea. To lend credibility to its traditional use against diarrhea, laboratory studies were conducted. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial activity and the phytochemical constituents of the crude extracts of root, bark and leaf of S. birrea. Materials and Methods: The collected different plant parts were air dried, powdered and separately extracted with ethanol and methanol. The alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin and tannin contents in all the plant parts were estimated using standard methods. The total and serially diluted fractions of the extracts were tested for antibacterial activity against selected enteropathogens by agar well diffusion and deep-well microdilution method. Results: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoid, saponin and tannin in all the plant extracts. The extracts from the different parts showed varied antibacterial activity against the test bacteria. The bark extracts showed superior activity against Escherichia coli (zone of inhibition = 17 mm) and Salmonella typhi (zone of inhibition = 20 mm) at 200 mg/mL. Conclusion: The presence of important phytochemical groups and the antibacterial potential of alcoholic extracts of S. birrea could permit to justify its traditional usage against diarrhea.