Abstract

The leaf extract of Mirabilis jalapa was screened for its antimicrobial activities on some pathogenic organisms such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and some fungi such as Candida, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus andPenicillium notatum. The results indicated that the plant extract showed antimicrobial action but to varying degrees. The extract was also screened for its antioxidant property and free radical scavenging capacity. The results showed that it has high activity in reducing iron chloride solution and it also has high activities in 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyradicals scavenging test. The DPPHCl₅₀ value for the plant extract was found to be 0.84 which was significantly higher than 0.41 for reference anticancer drug (tocovid). The antioxidant activity of the M. jalapa extract was found to be 5.43 compared with 1.65 obtained with the anticancer drug. The phytochemical screening of the extracts showed the presence of some bioactive molecules of pharmacological importance like tannins, cardiac glycosides and saponins. Haemolytic assay of the extract showed that it is able to lyse blood cells. The presence of these pharmacologically active compounds and the high antioxidant and free radical scavenger capacity justifies the use of the plant in ethnomedicine and can serve as source of lead molecules for anticancer agent.

Key words: Antitmicrobial, antioxidant, phytochemical, haemolysis.