ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF FIVE MEDICINAL PLANT EXTRACTS USED BY THE MAASAI PEOPLE OF KENYA

Five locally known plants, Solanum aculeastrum, Erythrina abyssinica, Carissa edulis, Croton megalocarpus and Myrica salicifolia used by Maasai traditional healers for treatment of bacterial infections were extracted using chloroform, ethanol and water. The extracts obtained were then tested for in-vitro antibacterial activity on clinical isolates of gram-positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative bacteria; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aerugenosa, Salmonella typhi and Krebsiella pneumonaie. The activity of the water extracts of all the plants was the highest, followed by ethanol and chloroform extracts respectively. The water extract of Croton megalocarpus was observed to be the most active against all strains of bacteria.