Anti-microbial activities of Raw and Boiled Thevetia peruviana Seed on some selected microorganisms
Akintelu Mary Taiwo
Abstract
A research work entitled: Anti-microbial activities of raw and boiled Thevetia peruviana seed on some selected microorganisms was carried out in the chemistry laboratory of Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Nigeria. The seed was obtained from Lafe Area of Akure in Ondo State. The study investigated the powdered sample of the raw and boiled seeds of Thevetia peruviana; and the seed extracts were analysed for anti-microbial activities in the treatment of some bacteria diseases. The study also examined the effect of boiling on the sample against the microorganism. Adia et al. (2001) method was adopted for the study. The oil from the samples were cultured over each nutrient agar (ASA) plates at 37 0C for 24 hours and were tested against some organisms such as: Escherichia coli, Psuedomonas syringine, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Xanthomonas oximopoides and Candida albican. The study revealed that the n-hexane extract exhibited activity against all the organisms tested with zones of inhibition 9-14mm and 0.2-3mm respectively except Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas syringine that showed no zone of inhibition. The n-hexane extract showed a significantly high activity against Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thus, out of the seven selected microorganisms, the raw and boiled seed extract was able to control four of the microbes at 0.5ml concentration used. These microbes are Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Xanthomonas. oximopoides. While boiling does not have any effect on the sample against the microorganism at the same concentration used. The study concluded that the presence of anti-microbial activities in the seed revealed high medicinal properties which can be used to treat the infectious diseases created by the tested microorganisms. The study therefore recommends that further studies should be carried out on Thevetia peruviana seed against other microorganism that are not used in this study.
