Phytochemical Investigation and Antimicrobial Study of Some Selected Traditional Medicinal Plants from North Gondar Zone

The present study was carried out on the phytochemical investigation and antimicrobial activities of the leaf extract of H. abyssinica, O. lamifolium, R. chalepensis and S. incanum because, the plants was used for traditional medicinal in Ethiopia specially in North Gondar zone as treatment for many ailments. The powdered leaf of H. abyssinica, O. lamifolium, R. chalepensis and S. incanum was sequentially extracted with organic solvents: petroleum ether and methanol respectively. The petroleum ether and methanol crude extracts was subjected to phytochemical screening to test the presence of steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, phenols, tannins and terpenoids compounds that has might be responsible for the claimed activities by local people. The crude extracts was tested against four bacterial species (Gram negative bacteria: Escherichia coli and Salmonela thyphei; Gram positive bacteria: Staphylococcus aureusand Streptococcus agalactiae) using paper disc diffusion method. The results showed that the methanol was the best solvent for extracting antimicrobial substances from those plant when compared to petroleum ether. This indicates that plants rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites such as tannins, alkaloids, tannin, flavonoids and terpenoids.