GC-MS biocomponents characterization and antibacterial potency of ethanolic crude extracts of Camellia sinensis

OBJECTIVE: The menace of antibacterial resistance among enteropathogenic bacteria continues to raise therapeutic management concerns within public health system. As a strategy toward alternative control of resistant pathogen proliferation, a folkloric plant (green tea leaves: Camellia sinensis) was collected from Ishaka municipality and characterized for biomolecular components and antibacterial potency. METHODS: The bioactive and biomolecular components of the plant’s ethanol extract were characterized using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A preliminary in vitro susceptibility test of the extract against characterized multiple antibiotic-resistant potential diarrheagenic bacterial strains was done. RESULTS: The result revealed an exponential increase in susceptibility with a distinctive unit component of the C. sinensis extract at concentrations of 60 and 80 μg/ml. The extract also possessed antibacterial and antioxidant activities while having phytochemical constituents (flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolics, saponin, cardiac glycosides, etc.). The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis further affirmed the potential of the extract by revealing 52 bioactive components/compounds as shown in the chromatogram. CONCLUSION: The C. sinensis has antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials, and the constituents of the plant might be of therapeutic importance in the management of various diseases, especially those related to Escherichia coli and Salmonella.