Abstract

A. O. T. Ashafa and A. J. Afolayan*

Chrysocoma ciliata L. is a medicinal plant used in the management of pains, stomach and menstrual disorder in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Studies were conducted to determine the antimicrobial efficacy of the root extracts using agar dilution method against 10 bacteria and 4 fungi species. The methanol and acetone extracts inhibited the majority of the Gram-positive and Gramnegative bacteria at minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.0 mg/ml. Similarly, the acetone, methanol and water extracts exhibited 100% growth inhibitions on Aspergillus Niger and A. flavus at 0.5 mg/ml. All the extracts were able to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans at MIC ranging from 5.0 to 10 mg/ml. The results from this study have shown that extracts from the root of C. ciliata have strong antimicrobial activity against array of microorganisms. This may be a manifestation of the plant’s broad spectrum potential for the treatment of microbial induced ailments. This herb could be a potential agent for antibiotic bioprospecting.