Crude extracts activity of three selected medicinal plants from the Venda region against some pathogenic organisms

BACKGROUND: The emerging of antimicrobial resistance has become a problem as it is threatening public health worldwide. OBJECTIVES: To extract crude extracts from three different medicinal plants, test activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and screen for phytochemicals of those that showed activity against the targeted bacteria. METHODS: KirkiaacuminataOliv., Dichrostachyscinerea (L.) Wight &Arn. and MimusopszeyheriSond. plants were collected at Thengwe area, Mafukani village, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The plant materials collected were extracted using four solvents. Antimicrobial screening was accomplished using the agar well diffusion method and the crude extracts that showed activity against the targeted organisms were screened for phytochemicals using different tests. RESULTS: With all solvents used for extraction, methanol had a greater yield of 14.1% from Dichrostachyscinerea crude extracts. Kirkiaacuminata and Dichrostachyscinerea were medicinal plants that inhibited Mycobacterium smegmatis and Staphylococcus aureus at the lowest concentration of 2.5 mg/ml and 1.25 mg/ml. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study show that the selected medicinal plants are active against Mycobacterium smegmatis and Staphylococcus aureus and their pharmacological properties can be further analyzed for the development of new drugs.