The plant Indigofera macrophylla Schum. and Thonn. is used ethno medicinally in the South-Southern and South-Western parts of Nigeria in the treatment of sores, skin eruptions and wounds. And as such this study aims to investigate the antimicrobial activity of this herb, in order to validate its uses in ethno medicine. The leaves of the plant were extracted in 50% ethanol for 72 hours. The extract was subjected to phytochemical screening to reveal classes of the chemical compounds. Using agar diffusion method, the extract was also subjected to antimicrobial tests such as sensitivity test, minimum inhibitory, minimum bactericidal and minimum fungicidal concentrations. Compounds such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins and cardiac glycosides were detected through phytochemical screening. The leaf extract exhibited varying activities against all the bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and one of the two fungal (Candida albicans ) strains tested, with zones of inhibition that ranged between 7 and 34 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for all microorganisms ranged between 12.5 µg/ml and 25 µg/ml. The minimum bactericidal concentration, MBC against the bacterial strains was 50 µg/ml, although there was no effect on Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. The result of this study shows that the leaf extract had both antifungal and antibacterial effects justifying its ethno medicinal use.
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