- Tukur Baba Abdullahi1*, Abdulazeez Mumsiri Abaka2 , Aishatu Haruna3 , Jordana Luka4 , Aisha Abubakar5 , Ahmed Hammajam6
- isrg j. multidiscip. Stud. PP: 17-25
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12740667
Detarium microcarpum is used by different ethnic groups for the treatment of various diseases in Nigeria and several parts of West Africa. The aim was to assess the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of both N-hexane and chloroform extracts of D. microcarpum stem bark against S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa. The two clinical isolates were collected from the Central Laboratory of Modibbo University Yola and were reconfirmed using culture, microscopy, and some biochemical tests. The antibacterial activity of the stembark extracts against the isolates was tested using the agar well diffusion method. The phytochemical assay revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, steroids, Phenols, and flavonoids in both fractions. The plant extracts exhibited antibacterial potential against the tested organisms at different concentrations (100mg/mL, 50mg/mL, 25mg/mL, and 12.5mg/mL). D. microcarpum stem bark extracts, particularly the N-hexane and chloroform fractions, exhibited significant antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.17 ± 0.73 mm to 6.53 ± 0.19 mm and 19.63 ± 0.47 mm to 5.30 ± 0.30 mm, respectively) and Staphylococcus aureus (17.90 ± 0.27 mm to 5.10 ± 0.21 mm and 14.07 ± 0.22 mm to 4.33 ± 0.24 mm, respectively). These extracts displayed varied inhibitory effects, with Ciprofloxacin serving as a control with consistent 40 mm inhibition zones for both bacteria. FTIR analysis of the N-hexane extract revealed peaks indicative of functional groups such as O-H stretching (3253.91 cm-1), N-H stretching (2921.51 cm-1), imine/oxime (1692.15 cm-1), and C=C conjugated alkenes (1605.73 cm-1). Similarly, the chloroform extract exhibited peaks corresponding to O-H stretching (3253.32 cm-1), N-H stretching (2924.10 cm-1), imine/oxime (1692.93 cm-1), and C=C conjugated alkenes (1606.15 cm-1), along with additional peaks in the fingerprint region. The total antioxidant capacity assays showed that the chloroform fraction had lower antioxidant capacity (32.93 ± 0.64 µg/mL AAE) compared to the N-hexane fraction (54.74 ± 1.079 µg/mL AAE). However, the chloroform extract demonstrated higher reducing power (60.38 ± 0.78 µg/mL AAE) compared to the N-hexane extract (48.41 ± 1.78 µg/mL AAE). Overall, D. microcarpum shows potential as a natural antioxidant and supports its traditional medicinal use in treating gastrointestinal ailments, owing to its significant antimicrobial activity against clinical isolates.