ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 3421-7347 Vol. 1 (2), pp. 036-040, February, 2007. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An evaluation of the antibacterial activity of root extracts of Carica papaya L.
*Falola Aboderin, Isaac Idachaba and Rasaki Aramide
Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, P.M.B. 2076, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 22 April, 2007
Abstract
The bioactive compounds of root extracts of Carica papaya L. were extracted, using water and organic solvents, and were investigated for antibacterial activity against some pathogenic bacteria using the cup plate agar diffusion method. The aqueous extracts did not show significant activity, but the organic extracts had significant activity with the methanol extracts demonstrating the highest activity against the test bacteria. The extracts demonstrated higher activities against all the gram-negative bacteria than the gram-positive bacteria tested, with the highest activity (14 mm zone of inhibition) demonstrated against Salmonella typhi. Increase in temperature enhanced the activity of the extracts, while alkaline pH decreased the activity. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the extracts ranged between 50-200 mg/ml. Preliminary phytochemical analyses showed that the extracts contain alkaloids, tannins, saponins, glycosides and phenols. Carica papaya may be used for the treatment of gastroenteritis, uretritis, otitis media, typhoid fever and wound infections.
Key words: Carica papaya L., antibacterial activity, phytochemical analysis, antibiotics.