Abstract:
The study aimed to provide confirmatory status on traditional usage of Detarium
microcapum against urinary and intestinal infections and serve as an alternative in fighting against
multi-drug resistance. Hence, the determination of chemical constituents of stem bark using
GC-MS because of its sensitivity and high resolving power in identifying compounds, and
test the antibacterial potential of methanol crude extract on some bacteria associated with the
diseases claimed to be treated by traditional healers. Bacterial isolates were collected, and zone of
inhibition diameter (ZID), minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal
concentration (MBC) and minimum bacteriostatic concentration (MBS) were conducted to
determine antibacterial activity. At the same time, gas chromatography coupled with mass
spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the phytoconstituents. The mean ZID (mm) ranged
from 17.3±21 to 20.0±35 mm and showed a statistical significance difference at P< 0.05 for
S. aureus, E. coli, and K. pneumonia. The MIC ranged from 11.67±7.6 to 4.17±1.4 mg/L,
MBS 16.67±5.8 to 5.00±00, MBC 20.0±00 to 5.0±00, in order of increasing concentrations.
Inspection of the MBC/MIC ratio indicated a bactericidal effect across isolates. From the GC-
MS analysis, twenty-six phytochemical constituents were identified, primarily fatty acids or their
esters. Chemical constituents’ from D. microcapum methanol crude extract were identified. The
antibacterial activity of some compounds directly correlates with the bioactivity of the same
isolated and tested elsewhere, from a different source, thus its potential and therefore supporting
the claim for its traditional usage. The research recommends in-depth research toward identifying
specific active compounds for public health solutions.
