Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Activity of Ficus Sycomorus Leaves
Chapter One
AIM OF THE STUDY
This research aims to carry out the phytochemicals and antimicrobial analyses of sycamore (Ficus sycamores) leaf extracts.
OBJECTIVES
- To extrac and identify the phytochemicals present in the leaves extracts of sycamore (Ficus sycamores)leaves extracts using the following solvents; ethanol, methanol, n-hexane, petroleum ether and distilled water.
- To determine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts in (1) above against the following microorganisms; Staphylococcus areues, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus fumigatus and Pencilluim chrysogenum, by; (i) Noting the inhibition zones (ii) determing the minimum inhibition concentration of the extracts
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
HISTORY OF THE USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
Medicinal plants besides therapeutic agents are also a big source of information due to a variety of chemical constituents which could be developed as drugs with precise selectivity. They are reservoirs of potentially useful chemical compounds which could serve as newer leads and clues for modern drug design (Vijyalakshmi et al, 2012). The most important of these bioactive constituents of plants are alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and phenolic compounds (Doss et al, 2009). Correlation between the phytoconstituents and the bioactivity of plant is desirable to know for the synthesis of compounds with specific activities to treat various health ailments and chronic diseases as well (Pandey et al, 2013).
Medicinal plants are presently in demand and their acceptance is increasing progressively. Undoubtedly, plants play an important role by providing essential services in ecosystems. Without plants, humans and other living organisms cannot survive. In fact, the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of diseases dates back to the history of human life, that is, since human beings started cooking for a tool in their environment to recover from a disease, the use of plants was their only choice of treatment (Halberstein et al, 2005).
FICUS SYCAMORUS
- sycomorusis a tree that belongs to the family of Moraceaewhich is native to Ethiopia (Orwa et al 2009). It is available in Amhara national regional State of Ethiopia.
- sycomorushas been identified as feed for cattle, goat and sheep (Teferi et al, 2008). F. sycomorusleaves and petioles are well accepted by West African Dwarf lambs and led to higher levels of apparent digestibility than the other tree species (Anugwa, et al 1987). Fruit of the plant are round from 2.8-5 cm in diameter with conspicuous opening that may break at the one end and with various colours.
- sycomorus is also used for decorations purposes and shades to provide shatter on roadsides and other places such as market centers in rural areas. It also serves as soil erosion controller and sand-dune fixation and riverbank stabilization (Orwa, et al, 2009). The Shaded leaves improve the nutrient status, infiltration rate and water-holding capacity of the soil. (Lemlem et al, 2006).
DISTRIBUTION OF FICUS SYCOMORUS:
- sycomorusbelongs to the family Moraceae. It is native to Middle East, South West Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, and Kenya. It grows well in the area, which receives mean annual rainfall ranging from 500-1800 (max. 2200) mm per year with deep, well-drained loamy to clay soil types or sandy soils with a shallow ground water (Orwa et al, 2009). The best sites for the plant includes drainage lines, streams, rivers, springs or dams. The plant grows in altitude, which ranges from 0-2000 m. and a mean annual temperature range from 0-40°C.
The plant grows to 20m tall and 6 m wide with a dense round crown of spreader branches while leaves are heart-shaped, deep green with round apex of about 14 cm long by 10 cm wide (Kubmarawa et al, 2008). The tree can bear several crops of fruit a year and growth rate is fairly fast at 1-1.5 m/year in frost-free areas (Orwa, et al, 2009) At high altitudes in India, fruit yields of F. sycomorus12 kg/tree/year were reported (Purohit,, 1989). The fruits contain up to several hundred to thousand seeds and seeds are delicious.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF FICUS SYCOMORUS:
The economic significance of F. sycomorus trees can be determined from the fact that they are hardy and can provide year-round fodder to be used as a supplement in lean periods. With proper management and propagation techniques, this fodder can be a viable feed resource to supplement small ruminants for landless farmers. The fruits and forage serves as feed for livestock in Ethiopia highlands (Bayafers, et al, 2002). The leaves are a much-sought fodder with fairly high nutritive value; they are valuable fodder in overstocked semi-arid areas where the trees occur
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIAL AND METHODS
COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL
Fresh leaves of ficus sycamorus were collected from the sycamore tree from Akama-Oye in Eziagu Local Government area of Enugu state.
APPARATUS AND MATERIAL USED
Spatula
Conical flask
Beaker
Muffler furnace
Platinum crucible
Filter paper
Measuring cylinder
Micro pipette
Test tube
Thermostat oven
Hot plate
Water bath
Desiccator
Ph. meter
Electrical blender
Glass rod
Auto clave
Marker pen
Petri dish
Freezer
Tripod stand
Measuring ruler
Electronic weighing balance.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULT AND ANALYSIS
TABLE 1: Phyiscal appearance of various crude extracts of Ficus sycamores leaf extracts
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
From the research carried out it can be observed that this plant (Ficus sycamorus) is a very good medicinal plant since different phytochemicals were present from the phytochemical analysis. These phytochemical e.g. alkaloids are nitrogen basic compounds are used as starting material for drug production, tannins help in sugar breakdown in the body, glycosides help in burning of fats while flavonoids are antioxidants which removes toxic substances from the body, steroids are blood cell builders and also in the antimicrobial studies it can be observed the this extracts worked against this microorganisms, it was able to inhibit (Staphylococcus areues, E.coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium chrysogenumand) and from the minimum inhibitory concentration it was observed that if proper dosage of this plant is used their kill microorganisms.
RECOMMENDATION
Ficus sycamorus was found to contain some good bioactive compounds with pronounced antibacterial activities, antifungal activities
Further research is highly recommended for the phytochemical and pharmacological studies to isolate the active constituent and evaluate the antimicrobial activities against a wide range of microbial pathogen.
REFRENCE
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