Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Studies Of Capparis thonningii And Capparis tomemtosa

Extracts of leaves and stems of Capparis thonningii shum and Capparis tomentosa Lam (aerial parts) were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening for the presence of plant secondary metabolites and in vitro antibacterial and antifungal studies. The results of the preliminary investigation revealed the presence of alkaloids, the steroidal nucleus, saponins and tannins in both plants. Cardiac glycosides were also indicated in trace amounts in C. thonningii. The leaf methanol extract of C. thonningii and ethanol extract of C. tomentosa aerial parts were investigated invitro antimicrobial activity using the agar disc diffusion technique. Six clinical strains of human pathogenic microorganisms, comprising 3 Gram positive, 1 Gram negative and 2 fungi were utilized in the studies. The extract of C. tomentosa displayed overwhelming concentration dependent antimicrobial properties, inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, far above that of ampicillin used in the study at a concentration of 1.0g/ml. The extract was insensitive to the 2 Gram negative bacteria in the assay, In the antifungal assay, the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans used, were inhibited in the same manner comparable to griseofulvin the reference drug included in the study. The methanol extract of C. thonningii also displayed a concentration related antibacterial activity, inhibiting the growth of S. aureus comparable to ampicillin at 1.0g/ml. The extract was least active against to Escherichia coli with a mild activity at 1.0g/ml. The extract exhibited weak activities against C. albicans as well as A. flavus. Both plant extracts seem to justify their ethnomedical uses.