Abstract Background Medicinal plants represent a valuable source for new effective and safe antimicrobial drugs making them an alternative therapy. Existing antimicrobial agents are costly and mostly associated with possible side effects. The aim of the present study therefore, was to assess the antimicrobial property and phytochemical composition of hydroethanolic extract of Tapinanthus bangwensis leaves and its fractions. Method T. bangwensis leaves (harvested from its host plant, Persea americana) was extracted by cold maceration with 70% ethanol and further fractionated with different organic solvents using the solvent partitioning method to obtain the crude extract, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and the resulting aqueous fractions. The phytochemical constituents of the extracts were screened and quantified. Also, the TLC of the extracts were analyzed to serve as a fingerprint. Using the agar diffusion and broth dilution methods, the antimicrobial properties of the extracts were assessed. Results The study showed that the hydroethanolic (70%) crude extract of T. bangwensis leaves and its fractions contain phenolic compounds, flavonoids, saponins, phytosterols and reducing sugars. The phytoconstituents were well extracted into the ethyl acetate fraction than the other fractions evidenced in the high levels (p
Full Text Finder