Assessment of combined antibacterial activities of Spondias mombin and Thaumatococcus daniellii leaf extracts and their synergistic potentials
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The menace of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a public threat and global burden, making conventional antibiotics ineffective in combating diseases and necessitating the search for new phytochemicals with antimicrobial potential. This study investigated the combined antibacterial activities of Spondias mombin and Thaumatococcus daniellii leaf extracts against clinical bacterial isolates, including Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, and Escherichia coli. Phytochemical extraction was performed by maceration using acetone, ethanol, and chloroform. The antibacterial activities at varying concentrations (40-100 mg/ml), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and synergistic effects of the extracts were assessed using the agar well diffusion and broth dilution techniques. Major Phytochemicals identified were saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and cardiac glycosides, while anthraquinones were absent in all the extracts. Combined acetone and ethanolic extracts of S. mombin and T. daniellii demonstrated the strongest antibacterial activity, with a zone of inhibition of 36.00 mm against E. coli, but the lowest MIC of 3.125 mg/ml was recorded against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, and S. aureus in the synergistic effects of the antibacterial activity of S. mombin and T. daniellii acetone, chloroform and ethanolic leaf extracts, respectively. Synergistic antibacterial effects of combined extracts showed fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) values between 0.16 and 0.38 indicating synergy. The findings revealed a synergy between the extracts of S. mombin and T. daniellii, suggesting the possibility of developing novel, effective, and affordable drugs in developing countries like Nigeria, while further studies on the isolation, purification, and characterization of the structures of specific phytochemicals responsible for the antibacterial and synergistic effects should be carried out.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
1. World Health Organization. Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (GLASS) report 2023. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023.
2. Sofowora A, Ogunbodede E, Onayade A. The role and place of medicinal plants in the strategies for disease prevention. African J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2013; 10 (5): 210-229.
3. Liu R, Gao M, Li H. Phytochemicals from medicinal plants and their antimicrobial properties. Pharmaceuticals. 2020; 13 (6):112-125.
4. Atanasov AG, Zotchev SB, Dirsch VM, Supuran CT. Natural products in drug discovery: Advances and opportunities. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2021; 20 (3): 200-216.
5. Nirmala MJ, Samundeeswari A, Sankar PD. Plant-derived antimicrobial compounds as alternatives to conventional antibiotics: A review. J Appl Microbiol. 2023; 134 (4): lxad039.
6. Moke EG, Edje EK, Daubry TME, Nwogueze BC, Ataikiru OM, Umukoro EK, Omorodion IL, Chidebe EO, Demaki WE, Aluya SO, Osayande J, Edaki E. Phytopharmacological Activities of Spondias mombin Linn: A Review. Trop J Phytochem Pharm Sci. 2024; 3 (1): 117-123.
7. Adebayo AH, Abolaji AO, Kela R. Phytochemical and pharmacological importance of Spondias mombin L.J Med Plants Res. 2019; 13 (8): 345-352.
8. Santos-Filho LGA, Reis RB, Souza ASQ, Canuto KM, Ribbeiro PRV, Castro KNC, Diniz FM, Pereira AML. Phytochemical composition and evaluation of acute toxicity, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Spondias mombin L. and Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemao ethanolic extracts against Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Chem Biodivers. 2025; 22 (11): e00534
9. Taia TAM, Peres MFV, Oliveira IMMO, Teofilo MNG, Stoko NC, Alves SF, Blanch Gt, Costa SHN, Borges LL, Cardoso AM, Teixeira MV, Oliveira MAP, Gomes, CM. Evaluation of the effects of Spondias mombin extract as an alternative antimicrobial drug. Rev Patol Trop. 2023; 52 (1): 37-49.
10. Fadahunsi O, Adegbola PI, Olorunnisola SO, Akinloye OA. Phytochemistry, nutritional composition, and pharmacological activities of Thaumatococcus daniellii (Benth): A review. BioTechnologia. 2021; 102 (1): 101-117.
11. Oluwole OB, Olayiwola AO, Adegoke GO. Thaumatococcus daniellii: A review of its food, medicinal and industrial applications. Afr J Plant Sci. 2020; 14 (2): 56-65.
12. Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: Benefits, challenges and pharmacovigilance. Front Pharmacol. 2021; 12: 742365.
13. Cheesbrough M. Laboratory Manual. In: District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries (pp.146-157). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. 2010.
14. Sofowora A. Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine in Africa (2nd ed.). Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books Limited. 1993.
15. Harborne JB. Phytochemical methods: A guide to modern techniques of plant analysis (3rd ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. 1998.
16. Kokate CK, Purohit AP, Gokhale SB. Practical Pharmacognosy (49th ed.). Pune, India: Nirali Prakashan. 2014.
17. Oloninefa SD, Aisoni JE, Fadayomi VK, Oghenemaro O. Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Activity of Whole Plant Crude Extracts of Euphorbia hirta Linn against Some Clinical Isolates. Sahel J of Life Sci FUDMA. 2024; 2 (2): 1-7.
18. Murray PR, Baron EJ, Jorgensen JH, Landry ML, Pfaller MA. Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 9th edn. ASM Press, Washington DC, pp. 2082-2091. 2007.
19. Cos P, Vlietinck AJ, Berghe DV, Maes L. Anti-infective potential of natural products: How to develop a stronger in vitro proof-of-concept. J Ethnopharmacol. 2006; 106 (3): 290-302.
20. Klančnik A, Piskernik S, Jeršek B, Možina SS. Evaluation of diffusion and dilution methods to determine the antibacterial activity of plant extracts. J Microbiol Methods. 2010; 81 (2): 121-126.
21. Balouiri M, Sadiki M, Ibnsouda SK. Methods for in vitro evaluating antimicrobial activity: A review. J Pharm Anal. 2016; 6 (2): 71-79.
22. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (34th ed., CLSI Supplement M100). Wayne, PA: CLSI. 2024.
23. Wiegand I, Hilpert K, Hancock REW. Agar and broth dilution methods to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antimicrobial substances. Nat Protoc. 2008; 3 (2): 163-175.
24. White RL, Burgess DS, Manduru M, Bosso JA. Comparison of three different in vitro methods of detecting synergy: time-kill, checkerboard and E test. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1996; 40 (8): 1914-1918.
25. Isenberg H.D. Synergism Testing: Broth Microdilution Checkerboard and Broth Macrodilution Methods. In: Isenberg, H.D., Ed., Clinical Microbiology Procedures Handbook, 2th Edition, American Society Microbiology, Washington DC, 1-28. 1992.
26. Noor S. Synergistic effect of the methanolic extract of lemongrass and some antibiotics to treat urinary tract bacteria. J Biosci Med. 2016; 4 (11): 48-58.
27. IBM Corporation. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 23.0 (Computer Software). Armonk, NY: IBM; 2015.
28. Salehi B, Ata A, Kumar NVA, Sharopov F, Ramírez-Alarcón K, Ruiz-Ortega A, Abdulmajid Ayatollahi S, Tsouh Fokou PV, Kobarfard F. Amiruddin Zakaria Z, Iriti M, Taheri Y, Martorell M, Sureda A, Setzer WN, Durazzo A, Lucarini M, Santini-Rad J.. Antidiabetic potential of medicinal plants and their active components: Biomoleclues. 2019; 9 (10): 551
29. Zhang QW, Lin LG,Ye WC. Techniques for extraction and isolation of natural products: A comprehensive review. Chin Med. 2021; 13: 20.
30. Chinsembu KC. Ethnobotanical study of plants used in the management of HIV/AIDS-related diseases in sub-Saharan Africa: A review. S Afr J Bot. 2022; 146: 1075-1088.
31. Sharma A, Flores-Vallejo RC, Cardoso-Taketa A, Villarreal ML. Antibacterial activities of medicinal plants, phytochemicals and methods used for their evaluation: A review. Molecules. 2021; 26 (23): 7169.
32. de Freitas MA, da Cruz RP, dos Santos ATL, Almeida-Bezerra JW, Machado AJT, dos Santos JFS, Rocha JE, Boligon AA, Bezerra CF, de Freitas TS, do Nascimento Silva MK, Mendonça ACAM, da Costa JGM, Coutinho HDM, da Cunha FAB, Filho JR, Morais-Braga MFB. HPLC-DAD analysis and antimicrobial activities of Spondias mombin L. (Anacardiaceae). 3 Biotech. 2022;12 (3): 61
33. Fadahunsi O, Adegbola PI, Olorunnisola SO, Akinloye OA. Phytochemistry, nutritional composition, and pharmacological activities of Thaumatococcus daniellii (Benth): a review. BioTechnologia. 2021; 102 (1):101-117.
34. Fasogbon AO, Odewade JO, Oluduro AO. Antibacterial potential of partially purified fractions of leaf extract of Spondias mombin. Int J Pharm Sci Res. 2021; 12 (7): 3918-3924.
35. Ampadu GAA, Mensah JO, Darko G, Borquaye LS. Essential oils from the fruits and leaves of Spondias mombin Linn.: chemical composition, biological activity and molecular docking study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 7211015:1-14.
36. Azmir J, Zaidul ISM, Rahman MM, Sharif KM, Mohamed A, Sahena F, Jahurul MHA, Ghafoor K, Norulaini NAN, Omar AKM. Techniques for extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials: A review. J Food Eng. 2019;117 (4): 426-436
37. Cheesman MJ, Ilanko A, Blonk B, Cock IE. Developing new antimicrobial therapies: Are synergistic combinations of plant extracts or compounds the solution? Pharmacogn Rev. 2020; 14 (27): 12-20.
38. Bouyahya A, El Omari N, Bakri Y, Hakkur M, Imtara H, Guaouguaou FE, Lagrouh F, Dakka N. Chemical constituents and antimicrobial activities of medicinal plants: A review. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12: 660338.
39. Rather IA, Gupta K, Mandal M. Microbial biofilms: Formation, architecture and antibiotic resistance. Journal of Microbiol Biotechnol and Food Sci. 2021; 11 (3): e3729.