Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activities of leaf extracts of <i>Swietenia macrophylla</i>

Abstract

The phytochemical screening of Swietenia macrophylla was undertaken through controlled experiments. The results showed that flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenes, tannins, glycosides and saponins are present in all the leaf extracts. The result of the antimicrobial activity obtained from the extracts of the leaf of S. macrophylla revealed that all the crude extracts of the leaf inhibited or exhibited antibacterial activity against Salmonella paratyphi, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum. All the extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against both the test bacteria and the fungi with the ethyl acetate extracts demonstrating the highest activity for Salmonella typhi test. The plant S. macrophylla is commonly used traditionally for the treatment of diarrhoea, wound, headache, malaria, dysentery and fevers. The overall results confirm the significance of the use of the plant in traditional medicinal treatment of diarrhea, wound, headache, malaria, dysentery and fevers, in line with reported claims.