Scientific publications
The in-vitro antimicrobial activities of some medicinal plants from Cameroon (opens in a new tab)
Authors
University of Yaoundé I
Institut de Recherches Médicales et d’Etudes des Plantes Médicinales
Joseph Gangoué‐Piéboji
Scientific publications
Joseph Gangoué‐Piéboji
Dieudonné Emmanuel Pegnyemb
D. Niyitegeka
Ahmed Moustapha Nsangou
Noelly Eze
C. Minyem
Pierre Ngassam
Raphaël Ghogomu Tih
B. L. Sodengam
Bernard Bodo
Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology
The antimicrobial activities of 10 plant species (Voacanga africana, Crepis cameroonica, Plagiostyles africana, Crotalaria retusa, Mammea africana, Lophira lanceolata, Ochna afzelii, Ouratea elongata, Ou. flava and Ou. sulcata), each of which is currently used in the traditional medicine of Cameroon, were investigated in vitro. The activities of a methanol extract of each plant were tested, in disc-diffusion assays, against 37 reference or laboratory strains of seven species of microorganism (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Enterococcus hirae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans). The minimal inhibitory concentrations of each extract were then estimated, against each of the more susceptible microorganisms (i.e. those giving an inhibition zone measuring at least 9 mm in diameter in the disc-diffusion assays), by agar dilution. Although, in the disc-diffusion assays, each of the 10 methanol extracts investigated displayed some degree of antimicrobial activity against at least one species of microorganism, no activity against the Gram-negative bacteria (Es. coli, K. pneumoniae and Ps. aeruginosa) was observed. The extract with the greatest antimicrobial activity was that of Pl. africana (Euphorbiaceae).