Preliminary Phytochemical Evaluation and Antimicrobial studies of the methanol stem bark extract of Detarium microcarpum

Detarium microcarpum is an African native plant that grows in the wild in several African countries, notably in savannah areas. The plant has a wide therapeutic application and is often referred to as the miracle plant by the traditional herbalist. Folk medicine relies heavily on its leaves and fruits. Hence, this research was aimed at qualitatively and quantitatively estimating the phytoconstituents inherent in the plant as well as to evaluate its antimicrobial potentials. Qualitative analysis of the methanol crude extracts was carried out to identify the presence of the classes of secondary metabolites: The results of the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, steroids and Glycosides. Similarly, the quantitative estimation of these phytoconstituents revealed the following percentage of the metabolite; alkaloids (112.35 mg/100g Atropine sulfate eqv), saponins (96.84 mg/100g Gravimetric), Tannins (159.65 mg/100g Tannic acid eqv), Flavanoids (125.47 mg/100g Quarcetine eqv) Glycosides (397.53 mg/100g), Steroids (34.52 mg/100g Cholestrol), Total phenolics (228.24 mg/100 Gallic acid eqv). The paper disc diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of the Crude methanol extract of Datarium microcarpum using standard procedures (Bauer et al 1996). The results of antimicrobial efficacies revealed that the crude methanol extract of stem bark Detarium microcarpum was effective in inhibiting the growth of the following microorganisms; Protius, Bacillus subtilis staphylococaccus aureus, Enterobacta, Eschericia coli Shigelia dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus nigger, Aspergillus flavus, Candida albican and Rhezome. The methanol crude extract showed a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) from 1.0×104 to 4.0×104 . Keywords: Phytochemical, antimicrobial studies, stem bark, and Detarium microcarpum