PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF LEAVES AND STEMS OF CHROMOLAENA ODORATA (AKINTOLA PLANT)

The practice of herbal medicine in modernized form is now gaining momentum in Nigeria with the various health officials and other personnel realizing the potency and efficacy of some of the indigenous plants. Thus, the study aimed to analyses the phytochemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the leaves and stems of Chromolaena odorata. In this study, the phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial properties of C. odorata leaf extract were investigated. The leaves of C. odorata were collected from Botanical garden, authenticated, prepared and extracted following standard procedures with ethanol and hot water as extraction solvents. Phytochemical screening was carried out according standard protocol while antimicrobial screening was performed according to agar well diffusion method on the following organisms: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia macescens, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium and Rhizopus stolonifer. Of the eleven phytochemicals screened (terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phlobatannin, phenols, triterpenoids, carbohydrates and glycogen), only one (phlobatannin) was absent in both solvent extracts. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts indicated least and highest zones of inhibition of 1 and 15 mm against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens respectively and fungicidal potency has no effect on any of the extract. From the result, it can be extrapolated that C. odorata can be very potent in treating infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens. Its acclaimed use to remedy skin complaints could be justified.