Antimicrobial Properties and Phytochemical Composition of <i>Garcinia kola, Bryophyllum pinnatum</i>, and <i>Allium sativum</i>Juices on Some Clinical Pathogens

Background: Medicinal plants have been in use since the origin of man. Many important chemical substances with biological functions that could be used for treatment and prevention of attack from bacteria, fungi, herbivorous mammals and insects are produced by different plants. Such compounds with useful properties have been recorded in their numbers, about 12,000 accounting for about 10% of total plant species. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the antimicrobial efficacies of herbal extracts on some clinical pathogens. Methods: The antimicrobial activities of pressed juices of Allium sativum (garlic), Bryophyllum pinnatum and Garcinia kola neats and their dilutions were tested on pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans to determine their susceptibility to the juices and their combinations. Agar well diffusion method was employed on Muller-Hinton agar to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. The phytochemical analysis of the plants’ juices were also determined. Results: At 100% (neat) the juices of G. kola, B. pinnatum and Garcinia kola showed substantial zones of inhibition against the pathogens with a zone diameter of about 22.0 mm and above. At 75% concentrations, the juices inhibited the pathogens tested against them. A. sativum (garlic) inhibited K. pneumonia, P. mirabilis, and S. aureus even at 50% concentration. C. albicans isolates were 60% susceptible to G. kola juice, 40% at 100% concentration. At 75% concentration of the juice, C. albicans isolates were also 60% susceptible to the juices. At 50% - 100% concentrations, C. albicans isolates were 100% sensitive to A. sativum extract. Conclusions: The medicinal plant juices tested against the pathogens possess some potentials worth exploiting as potent antimicrobial agents on gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria and the fungus.