O.A. Sodipo *1, F.I. Abdulrahman2 T.E. Alemika3 and I.A. Gulani4
The plant was investigated for its chemical constituents and antimicrobial properties. Using gel filtration with Sephadex LH-20 (lipophylic) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the fractions with reversed phase, RP-18 plates the aqueous extract (CAE) of the unripe fruit was therefore analysed. The microorganisms used included four Gram positive bacteria and four Gram negative bacteria, and three fungal strains. All the microorganisms used were resistant to the effect of the CAE. The antimicrobial effect was assayed using the disc diffusion antimicrobial selectivity test. The purified saponin from the gel filtration chromatography resulted into five (5) spots with defined outlines (Rf 0.57; 0.65; 0.68; 0.71; 0.75) indicating that the purified saponins consists of a considerable mixture of saponins even in the same part of the plant. The saponins may contribute to the reported antihyperlipidaemic effect attributed to fruit of the plant and supporting the nonmicrobial activity of the fruit of the plant.
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