BIOACTIVE CONSTITUENTS AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF EXTRACTS FROM MELON SEEDS (CUCUMEROPSIS MANII NAUD) CONDIMENT (OGIRI) AGAINST SELECTED PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS

Abstract

There has been an increasing incidence of multiple resistance in human pathogenic microorganisms in recent years, largely due to indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly employed in the treatment of infectious diseases. This has forced Scientists to search for new antimicrobial substances from various sources like the medicinal plants. The study was carried out to determine the bioactive constituents and antimicrobial activities of microorganisms isolated from ‘Ogiri’ produced from melon seeds (Cucumeropsis manii Naud). Oil and aqueous extracts from the fermented condiment ‘Ogiri’ were tested against clinical and typed cultures using standard microbiological methods. The most susceptible bacterial and fungal pathogens to the extracts were used in vivo to determine their effects on the kidney, liver and heart of the albino rats. The microorganisms isolated include Bacillus spp, Micrococcus spp, Lactobacillus spp and Staphylococcus spp. Some of the bioactive compounds present in the oil extract of the sample are p-Xylene, Benzene, 1,3-dimethyl-p-xylene, n-Hexadecanoic acid, Octadecanoic acid. The phytochemical present are as follows; steroids (5.71mg/g; 6.71mg/g), alkaloids (12.17mg/g; 9.76mg/g), tannins (3.19mg/g; 3.54mg/g), flavonoids (3.66mg/g; 4.19mg/g) and saponins (10.42mg/g; 14.53mg/g) for oil and aqueous extracts of the ‘Ogiri’ respectively. The oil extract inhibited Proteus vulgaris at 25mg/ml with the zone of inhibition as 27mm and Staphyloccus aureus at 75mg/ml with the zone of inhibition as 34mm. There was significant decrease in the packed cell volume (PCV) of rats infected with Staphylococcus aureus and treated with the oil extract. There was an increase in the mean white blood cell (WBC) of rats infected with Staphylococcus aureus and antagonized with Bacillus subtilis from the ‘Ogiri’ sample. There was also in increase in the packed cell volume (PCV) of rat infected with Aspergillus niger and treated with oil as compared to the uninfected. The group fed with the oil extracts showed no kidney and liver with histopathological defects.