Phytochemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of <i>Artemisia annua</i> Extracts on Some Clinical Bacterial Isolates from Humans

Abstract

The antibacterial activity and phytochemical composition of aerial parts of Artemisia annua was evaluated against clinical isolates of Esherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, and Staphylococcus aureus obtained from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined according to standard procedures. Preliminary photochemical analysis was perfumed using standard methods. Soxhlet extraction was done with five extracting solvents (acetone, chloroform, methanol, petroleum ether and water) to extract the active components from the herb. Results revealed that all the extracts exhibited inhibitory activity against the test organisms with petroleum either extract being most inhibitory on Escherichia coli, with an MIC of 31.23mg/ml. The water extract exhibited the least inhibitory effect. A broad spectrum antibacterial activity was exhibited by all the extracts. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, essential oils, terpenoids and coumerins. Results from this study show that Artemisia annua has potentials which can be used in the production of antimicrobial agents in the pharmaceutical industry.

Keywords: Artemisia annua, antimicrobial activity, phytochemicals