Phytochemical properties and antibacterial activities of the leaf and latex extracts of calotropis procera (ait.f.) Ait.f.

A comparative preliminary study on the phytochemistry and antibacterial effects of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the leaves and latex of Calotropis procera on four pathogenic clinical bacterial isolates namely Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella species and Pseudomonas species was carried out using paper-disc diffusion and broth dilution techniques. The results obtained revealed that ethanol was the best extractive solvent for a fraction with antibacterial properties of the C. procera leaves and latex. Generally, the aqueous extracts showed no activity on the isolates. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the leaf ethanolic extract was 1000 – 2000 μg/ml while the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the latex ethanolic extract was 2000 μg/ml. Phytochemical analysis of the leaf and latex extracts showed the presence of tannins, steroids, saponins and flavonoids while alkaloids were absent in both extracts. Generally, the antibacterial effects of the plant parts revealed that the leaf extracts had stronger activity in comparison with those of the latex.