Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of Bryophyllum pinnatum (Africa Never Die) leaf extract on bacterial organisms isolated from urine of pregnant women attending a tertiary health facility in Enugu, Nigeria

Leaves of Bryphyllum pinnatum is used in traditional medicine in various parts of the world as a remedy against numerous conditions to treat infections. This study was carried out to evaluate the antibacterial activities of the plant leaf extracts of Bryphyllum pinnatum on some bacteria isolated from urine of pregnant women. A total of 20 urine samples were collected from pregnant women attending antenatal care at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu. The samples were cultured onto Nutrient agar, MacConkey agar and Mannitol salt agar. The isolates were characterized and identified on the basis of Gram staining reaction, biochemical tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The leaves of Bryphyllum pinnatum were collected and subjected to maceration extraction processes using water, ethanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate to obtain aqueous, ethanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts respectively. Isolates were subjected to quantitative and qualitative phytochemical screening by standard methods. Isolates were also screened for sensitivity to the extracts using the agar-well diffusion method.

The qualitative phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds which includes alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, steroids, tannins and glycosides. Though they varied in the different extracts, ethanol extracted most of the active components than other solvents. Quantitatively, alkaloid was highest in ethanol concentration (3.80±0.57a). Prevalent bacterial organisms were Proteus mirabilis 6(30%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 5(25%), and Klebsiella aerogenes 4(20%). The results indicated that the extracts showed varying inhibition rates. The organisms were most resistant to the aqueous and chloroform extract than the ethanolic and ethyl acetate extract. At 200mg/ml, ethanol extract showed high zones of inhibition at 22 mm on the isolates. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts showed that growth of the isolates was inhibited by all the extracts between the concentrations of 12.5 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) concentration at which no growth occurred revealed that the aqueous and chloroform extracts demonstrated lesser bactericidal activity at 200 mg/ml while that of ethanol and ethyl acetate showed higher inhibition rates at 100mg/ml each. The results of this finding showed that the extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatum has inhibitory effect on bacterial organisms isolated from urine of pregnant women and can be used to treat infections caused by these bacteria.