ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF Aframomum melegueta (ROSCOE) K. SCHUM AGAINST GASTROINTESTINAL PATHOGENS AND GC-MS PROFILING OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS
IFEOMA AGATHA UGBOR1*, CHINONYE JUDITH ENEOVO1, K. CHUKWUMA EZEKIEL OGBUANYA1, ONYIYECHI CHIDIEBUBE KENECHUKWU2, JAMES NNABUIKE EZEMA3, OYENIYI STEPHEN BEJIDE4, DINEBARI PHILIP BEREBON5
1 Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Igbo-Eno, Enugu State, Nigeria.
2 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Caritas University, Enugu State, Nigeria.
3 Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Igbo-Eno, Enugu State, Nigeria.
4 Department of Biological Sciences, Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria.
5 Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 18(2): 828-840; 2026
ABSTRACT
Gastrointestinal tract infections are a key cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The problem is further compounded by the growing rates of antibiotic resistance among gastrointestinal pathogens and the continuous appearance of new pathogens thus requiring the continuous search for new drugs. Aframomum melegueta is a plant that has long been utilized in ethnomedicine for the management of several illnesses. This research evaluated the antibacterial activity of Aframomum melegueta ethanol extracts on some bacterial isolates implicated in gastrointestinal tract infection, after phytochemically screening the extract for possible bioactive compound present. The antibacterial screening of Aframomum melegueta seed extracts showed both concentrations (100 and 500 mg/ml) exhibited antibacterial effects against the tested isolates with 500mg/ml being more effective. With 500mg/ml of Aframomum melegueta ethanolic extract, Staphylococcus sp. was the most sensitive isolate having an IZD of 28.33 ± 0.88 mm, followed by Klebsiella sp. with an IZD of 23.67.00 ± 0.88mm, then Escherichia sp. with 21.00 ± 1.16mm and then Pseudomonas sp. with an IZD of 16.67 ± 0.88mm. It was observed that the gram negative bacteria (Escherichia sp., Klebsiella sp. and Pseudomonas sp.) exhibited less sensitivity compared to the gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus sp.). Their Minimal Inhibitory Concentration was within 31.25 to 125 mg/ml while their Minimal Bactericidal Concentration was within the range of 62.5 to 250mg/ml. GC-MS profiling reveals the presence of twenty (20) compounds belonging to the Monoterpenes (Alcohols), Sesquiterpenes, Sesquiterpene Oxides, Aldehydes, Ketones, Fatty Acids and Phenylpropanoids (Gingerols) groups many of which are good antimicrobial agent. Altogether the result obtained supports it use in ethnomedicine for the treatment of stomach illnesses while necessitating further validation via toxicity and biological mechanistic studies.
Keywords: Antibacterial, Aframomum melegueta, GC-MS, gastrointestinal pathogens.
*Correspondence: [email protected]
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59493/ajopred/2026.2.11 | ISSN: 0794-800X (print); 1596-2431 (online)