Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Extract K Leaf Extracts On Standard Laboratory Test Microorganism
Abstract
Medicinal plants have played an important role in drug discovery, with many pharmaceutical
products originating from plants. Isolation and characterization of antibacterial compounds are
still relevant today because of the continuing development of resistance of bacteria and fungi
to antibiotics. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of plant K against
Candida albicans, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Serial dilution was
carried out to obtain different concentrations of the plant extract, for standardization of the
isolates McFarland procedure was carried out within a range of 0.5-4 and used as a reference
to regulate the turbidity of bacteria suspensions. The plant extract was extracted using water as
the solvent and allowing it to boil for 5-10 minutes then filtered using a filter paper. After
incubation of the preferred plant extract concentration with bacteria isolates, zones of inhibition
that had formed around the bacteria growth were measured and recorded. The results showed
that plant K extract had antimicrobial activity on all the bacteria isolates. The study identified
microbial activities of plant K as useful and can be used as a medicinal plant