Evaluation of Antibacterial and Antioxidant activity of methanol crude extract of Aspilia africana leaves: an in vitro approach

ABSTRACT Aspilia africana (Compositae) is one of such plants considered of great importance in pharmacopeia of traditional medicine. Its leaf is widely used in ethnomedicinal practices in tropical Africa because of its ability to stop bleeding and promote rapid healing of wounds. This study was carried out on the leaf part to determine its antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of its leaf methanol extract. The methanolic extract of the leaf was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening and it indicated the presence of saponins, tannin, resin, phlobatannins, and phenols. The in-vitro antibacterial test of the methanol crude extract using agar well diffusion method showed broad-spectrum activity with minimum bactericidal concentration of 30, 75 mg/mL for Klebsiella pneumonia, and Bacillus subtilis respectively. In-vitro antioxidant activities using 2, 2–diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay indicate that the methanol leaves extract had higher activity than of 92.23 μg/mL compared to standard drugs (Ascorbic acid 1.07mg/mL) and IC50 at 4.66. This study concluded that Aspilia africana methanol crude extract exhibits dosage-dependent antioxidant potential and could be further explored if it’s are in pure form.