Abstract

Dichloromethane extracts of the seeds of Garcinia kola were screened for anti-Vibrioactivities against a panel of 50 Vibrio isolates comprised of five different species namelyVibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio fluvialis and Vibrio metschnikovii andVibrio sp. (not identified to the specie level). The extract had activity against 16 of the Vibrioisolates at a screening concentration of 10 mg/ml, with zones of inhibition ranging from 9 to15 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) varied between 0.313 and 0.625 mg/ml, while the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranged between 5 and 10 mg/ml. The rate of kill analysis revealed about 87.8, 82.2 and 64.4% of V. parahaemolyticus(AL049), V. fluvialis (AL040) and V. vulnificus (AL042) respectively were killed during 2 h of exposure to 4 x MIC of the extract. We conclude that the dichloromethane extract ofGarcinia kola seeds could be an important source of compounds of value in the treatment of infections caused by Vibrio species.

Key words: Garcinia kola seeds, dichloromethane extract, Vibrio species, minimum inhibitory concentration, rate of kill.