Antibacterial Activity of Methanolic Crude Extract of Solanum incanum: Kenyan Traditional Medicinal Plant

It has been shown that 80 % of the worlds population use medicinal plants either in their crude unmodified form or partially in their modified semi-synthetic form for their medical care. This study aimed at extracting the active ingredients of Solanum incanum, determine the antibacterial activity by measuring the zones of inhibition, MIC and MBC. The active ingredients were extracted using methanol. The antibacterial activity of plant extract was assayed in vitro by agar disc diffusion method. Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus showed the highest inhibition of (28 mm and 25 mm respectively) while Streptococcus agalactiae showed the least sensitivity of (6 mm). The plant extract showed the strongest MIC and MBC of 4.7 mg/ml for S. pygenes. The extract was also active against P. aeruginosa and K. pneumonia with an MIC and MBC of 18.8 mg/ml respectively. However, the extract was least active against S. agalactiae with an MIC of 37.5 mg/ml and an MBC of 75.0 mg/ml.