Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Assessment of Stem-Barks of Feretia apodanthera and Erythrophleum ivorense; Two West African Medicinal and Socio-Economic Trees Dieudonné Lemuh Njimoh 1,a* , Germain Sotoing Taiwe 2,b , Jerome Nyhalah Dinga 1,c , Marcel Moyeh Nyuylam 1,d , Juliette Momesaw Meyam 1,e , Seraphine Ebenye Mokake 3,f 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon. 2 Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon. 3 Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon. a* njimoh.dieudonne@ubuea.cm, b taiwe_sotoing@yahoo.fr, c djnyhalah@yahoo.com, d marcel.moyeh@ubuea.cm, e juliettapowers@yahoo.com, f ebenyemokake@yahoo.co.uk Keywords: Ferretia apodanthera, Erythrophleum ivorense, stem-bark extracts, enriched alkaloid fraction, aqueous extract, antibacterial activity, acute toxicity, cytotoxicity, female albino rats. Abstract. To assess the antibacterial and cytotoxic properties of stem-barks of Feretia apodanthera and Erythrophleum ivorense extracts from powdered stem-barks of Feretia apodanthera and Erythrophleum ivorense were prepared following standard techniques of marceration, filtration and evaporation. Antibacterial activity was assayed against five pathogenic bacteria strains by the well- diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Cytotoxicity was measured by acute toxicity test on female albino rats and confirmed by cell viability assay using 3T3 cell lines. Phytochemical analysis was performed following standard techniques. The aqueous/alkaloid extracts of Feretia apodanthera and the ethanol extract of Erythrophleum ivorense were active against the five pathogenic bacteria strains tested (diameter zone of inhibition (DZI) ranging from 5.1 to 17.8mm). The Feretia apodanthera extracts were the most active against Staphylococcus aureus (DZI 17.1-17.8mm). The MIC and MBC of the extracts of both plants ranged from 0.094mg/ml to 48mg/ml and 0.047mg/ml to 48mg/ml respectively. Extracts of Feretia. apodanthera at 5000mg/Kg had no effect on the behavioural properties of rats and no death was observed. Incubation with 3T3 cell lines did not produce any cell toxicity up to 20µM and 5µM respectively for the aqueous extract and the alkaloid fraction. Incubation with higher concentrations produced cell death with IC 50 of 39.41 ± 0.95µM and 38.45 ± 1.64µM respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of various constituents. The results show for the first time that stem-bark extracts of F. apodanthera and E. ivorense possess antibacterial activities against common human pathogenic bacteria and the low/lack of toxicity as demonstrated with the F. apodanthera extracts justify and confirm their safe ethnomedical uses. Introduction Antimicrobial drug resistance remains a scourge across multiple sectors including and especially human health. The lack of vaccines against some pathogenic microorganisms, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in humans, plants and animals and together with the spread of residues of the antimicrobials on land and in water makes the problem more challenging and constantly requiring novel approaches. The Rubiaceae and Fabaceae families of plants are two of the plant-based systems widely known for their therapeutic values especially against infectious diseases. Quinine, the very first line drug against the current number one killer disease, malaria, in Africa and S.E. Asia came from the Rubiaceae family and though this family is especially very noticeable for its antiplasmodial activities, most of the plants in this family remain unexplored despite the wealth of information from tradi-practitioners [1]. With the increasing resistance of parasites and microorganisms to past and present drug regimens the need to explore International Journal of Pharmacology, Phytochemistry and Ethnomedicine Submitted: 2017-12-07 ISSN: 2297-6922, Vol. 9, pp 24-34 Revised: 2018-01-11 doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/IJPPE.9.24 Accepted: 2018-03-26 2018 SciPress Ltd., Switzerland Online: 2018-04-13 SciPress applies the CC-BY 4.0 license to works we publish: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/