PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES OF THE LEAF EXTRACTS OF Carissa edulis

Carissa edulis leaf extracts were tested against six clinical isolates of Aspergillos fumigatus, Candida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. The extracts were obtained by successive extraction with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol using Soxhlet apparatus. The results showed that the methanol extract had the highest activity among the three extracts. the methanol extract of C. edulis was active on five of the organisms that were tested against except for A. fumigatus, the ethyl acetate extracts of C edulis was active on only two fungi, that is C. albicans and T. mentagrophytes out of the six organisms, while the hexane extract of C. edulis was active on two bacteria which are E. coli and S. aureus only, A. fumigatus was not sensitive to all the extracts of C. edulis. E. coli was the most sensitive to the methanol extract with MIC 12.5 mg/cm3, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans had MIC 25 mg/cm3, while Streptococcus pyogenes and Trichophyton mentagrophytes had MIC 50 mg/cm3. Therefore, Carissa edulis is a good antimicrobial agent against bacteria and fungi that cause skin infections.