Phytochemical screening, in vitro antibacterial and partial TLC purification of different solvents extracts of Ocimum basilicum L

Ocimum basilicum L is commonly used in Nigeria folk medicine for healing various diseases. In a continuous bid to explore new biocompatible antimicrobial agents with the least associated side effects, different solvents extract of O. basilicum were challenged with common pathogenic microorganisms at varying concentrations. The phytochemical screening, antimicrobial activity and the partial TLC purification of the different solvents extract were performed using standard procedures. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of various pharmaceutically active secondary metabolites like phenolic, flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, tannins among others. Using the zone of inhibition as inhibitory parameter, the crude aqueous extract exhibited the best antibacterial activity among all the other solvent extracts but was lower than the standard drug ciprofloxacin which exhibited a near 100% activity for all microorganism screened. In conclusion, the plant leaves possesses various potentially active secondary metabolites which would help in developing pharmaceuticals especially antimicrobial drugs.