ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF ETHANOLIC AND AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF THE SEEDS AND DRY LEAVES OF CARICA PAPAYA ON SELECTED CLINICAL ISOLATES

This study investigated the antibacterial activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Carica papaya seeds and, leaves against selected bacterial pathogens. The plant materials were collected, air dried, pulverized, and extracted using ethanol and distilled water as solvents. Standard bacterial isolates, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, proteus species, were obtained from a recognized microbiology laboratory and used for the antibacterial assay. The antibacterial activity of the extracts was evaluated using agar well diffusion method, and the zones of inhibition were measured in milimetres. Result showed that both ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Carica papaya seeds and leaves exhibited vary degrees of antibacterial activity against the test organisms, with ethanolic extracts generally showing higher inhibitory effects than the aqueous extracts. The seeds demonstrated greater antibacterial activity compared to the leaves. This study suggests that Carica papaya seeds and leaves possesses bioactive compounds with potentials antibacterial properties and could serve as natural sources of antimicrobial agents. The Antibacterial susceptibility testing revealed that the extracts exhibited concentration-dependent activity. The ethanolic leaves extracts at 90% concentration produced the highest inhibition, yielding susceptible-range zones (>18 mm) especially against Staphylococcus aureus, while E. coli showed intermediate inhibition. Aqueous leaves extracts produced no zone of inhibition. Seeds extracts of ethanolic demonstrated low inhibitory activity with most values falling within the resistant range (