Studies on Proximate Composition, Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Screening of the Methanol and Acetone Extracts of Vitex doniana Fruit Pulp

Abstract

To determine its biological potentials, the phytochemical components and antibacterial activity of methanolic and acetone extracts of Vitex doniana (Sweet) fruit were investigated. The fruit contains alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, tannins, steroids, and cardiac glycoside, according to the study. The percentage proximate composition of the fruit of the plant were as follows: moisture 10.00%, ash 18.00%, crude fibre 4.50%, crude protein 0.60%, carbohydrate 43.20% and crude lipids 23.70%. The existence of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium was confirmed by elemental analysis. The agar (Mullen-Hinton) diffusion method was used to test the methanolic and acetone extracts of the plant's fruit against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas areuginosa, and Klebsiella pnuemoniae. The zone of inhibition for the methanol extract ranged between 10.50 to 21.00 (mm) for all concentrations (1000, 500 and 250 mg/ml) . While the acetone extract only inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli to 7.50mm at a concentration of 1000mg/ml. The findings suggest that the fruit extracts have antibacterial properties and could be used to treat a variety of diseases and malnutrition.