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Aim: Multi-drug-resistant bacteria is a growing concern worldwide. Plants have emerged as a promising avenue due to their bioactive compounds. Newbouldia laevis and Stereospermum acuminatissimum are two plants with a long history of use in traditional medicine. This study aimed at exploring the antimicrobial activity of their extracts against multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Material and Methods: Extracts were prepared by maceration of pulverized leaves or stem barks (250 g) in 2L dichloromethane/methanol (30/70) filtered and the filtrate was dried using a rotary evaporator. The crude extracts were then tested against five pathogenic multi-resistant bacterial strains and Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) was determined using the broth dilution method. The combinations of extracts and reference drug ceftriaxone was carried out following the checkerboard technique. Results: The overall results showed that Newbouldia laevis and Stereospermum acuminatissimum crude extracts contain various phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and polyphenols, which were found to be associated with strong anti-bacterial effects against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia, exhibiting MICs values ranging from 100 μg/ mL to 400 μg/mL. The combinatorial analysis showed a combination and strains dependent-out, including synergism, additivity, and antagonism. Conclusion: These findings suggest that Newbouldia laevis and Stereospermum acuminatissimum could be used as alternative sources of antimicrobial agents for treating bacterial infections [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low therapeutic index of available trypanocidal drugs and the increasing emergence of resistant Trypanosoma parasites indicate the urgent need to develop new strategies for trypanosomiasis control. One such strategy is the screening of medicinal plants as sources of new lead compounds. Trypanosoma brucei brucei is a sub-species only infecting animals and thus largely used to screen antitrypanosomal potential of various substances. Therefore, the present study investigates the antitrypanosomal activity of crude extract, hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions of Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. flowers, Trichoscypha acuminata Engl. stem bark, and Ficus elastica Roxb. Ex Hornem lianas using the Alamar Blue assay. Overall results showed that the crude extract of T. acuminata, S. campanulate, and F. elastica did not significantly reduce the viability of Trypanosoma brucei brucei at the tested concentration of 25 µg/mL. However, the hexane and dichloromethane fractions of T. acuminata and the hexane fraction of F. elastica exhibited viability percentages of 23.2 ± 10.5, 18.2 ± 9.7, and 20.1 ± 13.1% with IC50 values of 5.5, 5.0, and 17.5 μg/mL, respectively. Further research to identify compounds responsible for the observed activity and their mechanisms of action towards new leads in parasitical drug discovery is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]