Antibacterial and Phytochemical Screening of Leaf and Seed Extract of Ficus exasperate | Journal ...
Ficus exasperata, also known as forest sand paper tree/plant, is a member of the Moraceae family and is found in Nigeria's ecoregions. This plant contains antimicrobial agents and pharmacological compounds that help in its therapeutic efficacy. As a result, the antibacterial activities and phytochemical screening of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ficus exasperata leaves and seeds were investigated in this report. The plant's leaves and seeds were processed to obtain crude extract fractions that were used to combat bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Shigella spp. The samples were also screened for alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, tannin, terpenoids, sterol, and phenols using a phytochemical method. The susceptibility trend against the bacterial isolates was determined at concentrations ranging from 0.20 to 1.00 mg/mL. The susceptibility pattern of the ethanol extract of the plant sample against P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, E. coli, and K. aerogenes was very high. The research found that crude extracts of the plant sample's leaves and seeds were successful against the test species. The phytochemical constituents were also present, with the exception of sterol, which was not present in the seed sample due to the solvent used, ethanol, but could be present if a different solvent was used. The presence of phytochemical constituents in crude extracts of F. exasperata leaves and seeds resulted in antibacterial activity because they are fundamental biomedicals that are biologically active compounds. This research reveals the potential for extracts from F. exasperata leaves and seeds to be used as a treatment for common clinical diseases.