SUSCEPTIBILITY PROFILES OF SOME BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM STOOL OF DIARRHOEAL PATIENTS TO THE STEM AND ROOT BARKS EXTRACTS OF FICUS SYCOMORUS LINN (MORACAE)

ABSTRACT

Effective antibiotic management of diarrhoea caused by bacterial organisms faces challenge of antibiotic resistance which combines to pose serious problems. Local people often use some plants to treat diarrhoea. The efficacy of one of such plant is the subject of this investigation. Stool samples of diarrhoeal patients attending Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital Kano, Nigeria were collected and the bacterial isolates were identified using standard procedures. Stem and root barks of Ficus sycomorus plant were extracted with aqueous and ethanolic solvents. The extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening. Fractionation of the crude extracts was also done using n-Hexane, Ethyl acetate and n-Butanol. Antibacterial activities of the extracts and fractions against the isolated bacteria were carried out using disk diffusion, agar dilution and rate of death/survival tests. Phytochemical screening of F. sycomorus stem and root barks revealed the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids. Biochemical test results of stool isolates showed that, Escherichia coli constituted the majority of the isolated organisms forming up to 73.8% followed distantly by Salmonella and Shigella spp with 18.5% and 7.8% respectively. In-vitro antibiotic susceptibility tests showed varied susceptibility profiles of the isolated organisms to the test antibiotics and the extracts. The F. sycomorus extracts were observed to be significantly less active against Salmonella and Shigella spp than the reference antibiotics (gentamicin and ofloxacin) at P < 0.05. The ethyl acetate and n-Butanol fractions exhibited a significant inhibitory activities against the resistance E. coli and Salmonella spp stool isolates than the reference antibiotics ( P<0.05). The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the extracts ranged from 3.125 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml, while that of reference antibiotics ranged from 0.78-100 mg/ml respectively. Studies on the rate of kill of the ethyl acetate fraction against the isolates indicated that, the fraction had bactericidal activity against both susceptible and resistant isolates. The results therefore, support the claims of traditional healers in the use of the plant for the treatment of diarrhoea.