Functional ingredients and antimicrobial activity of Borrerria verticilata root extract.

Background and objective: Medicinal plants have been used in traditional medicine to treat several diseases and infections. This study aimed to identify the active ingredients in Borrerria verticilata root extract for the synthesis of new antimicrobial drugs. Materials and methods: Roots of Borerria verticillata were collected from Ucha village, Makurdi local government of Benue State, Nigeria. For extraction, hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water were used as solvent. The roots were air-dried and powdered before extraction. The extracts were qualitatively tested for alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, terpenes, steroids, and phenol. Antimicrobial potency of the extracts against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, and some fungi implicated in dermatophytic infections were studied. Agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods were used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration. Results and conclusion: The yield of the extracts ranged from 1.5% for water to 3.5% for hexane as solvent. The phytochemicals in the root extracts were included to flavonoids, terpenes, saponins, and glycosides. The microbial inhibition zone, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration ranged from 0 to 21.67 mm, 8 to 512 mg/ml, and 256 to 512 mg/ml, respectively. This study revealed that the root extract of Borerria verticillata plant has an antimicrobial effect against multidrug-resistant bacteria and also antifungal potential. Therefore, it can be used in food and cosmetics industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]