ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTS OF Momordica charantia LEAF AND ROOT FRACTIONS ON CLINICAL BACTERIAL ISOLATES
Alfa Suleiman, Maryam Umar Sadiq, and Aisha Bisola Bello
Department of Biological Sciences, The Federal Polytechnic Bida, P.M.B. 55, Bida
This study focused on the antibacterial activities of ethanol extracts of leaves and roots of Momordica charantia, especially as emergence of antibiotic resistance becomes a major global health problem. The extracts were fractionated using column chromatography, and similar components were grouped with thin-layer chromatography (TLC) based on their RF values. About 0.2 ml of the test cultures at 1.5 x 108 cfu/ml were exposed to the fractions at 20 mg/ml in comparison with ampiclox (30µg) using the agar well diffusion technique. Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used in the study. The TLC analysis resulted into eight and six fractions of the leaf and root extracts respectively. Most leaf fractions showed strong antibacterial action with inhibition zones between 14.00±1.41 to 26.50±2.12 mm. The exception was fraction four, which had a smaller inhibition zone (9 mm) against Klebsiella pneumoniae and no activity against E. coli and S. typhi. The root fractions also demonstrated notable antibacterial effects, with inhibition zones ranging from 12.50±2.12 to 22.00±1.41 mm, though fractions F1 to F3 showed no effect on S. aureus, E. coli, and S. typhi. Leaf extracts of Momordica charantia showed more potent antibacterial activity than the root extracts, suggesting that leaf-derived compounds may be more effective for treating infections caused by these bacteria.