457 http://crmb.aizeonpublishers.net/content/2014/5/crmb457-461.pdf Current Research in Microbiology and Biotechnology Vol. 2, No. 5 (2014): 457-461 Research Article Open Access ISSN: 2320-2246 Antimicrobial, Phytochemical and Proximate Analysis of Four Nigerian Medicinal Plants on some Clinical Microorganisms Osuntokun Oluwadare Temitope 1 and Ajayi Ayodele O 2 * 1 Department of Microbiology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Nigeria 2 Department of Microbiology, Federal University Oye Ekiti, Oye Ekiti, Nigeria * Corresponding author: Ajayi Ayodele; email: ayodele.ajayi@fuoye.edu.ng ABSTRACT The increasing incidence of resistance to antibiotics among bacteria currently poses serious clinical and public health threat and has propelled efforts for newer alternatives to alleviate the problem. Extensive search and testing for different plants with potentials for antimicrobial properties is presently considered one of the most feasible options as substitutes to the current regimen of antimicrobials. We tested the antibacterial characteristic and the phytochemical composition of four candidates: Momordica balsamina, Pavetta crassipes, Phyllanthus amarus and Aloe vera. Extractions were carried out using distilled water, ethanol, ethyl acetate and hexane. Generally, all extracts showed considerable antibacterial properties against Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Antibacterial activities for each extract of the plants increased with increasing concentration. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts showed the highest antibacterial activity while hexane extracts showed the least activity against the test organisms. The plants contained essential phytochemicals and minerals were detected except lead. This study further confirmed the antimicrobial activity of these plants and efforts should be intensified in the search for novel plants with medicinal and antimicrobial potentials. Keywords: antimicrobial, phytochemicals, microorganisms INTRODUCTION For decades, microbial infections in humans have posed significant public health problems in developing and developed countries with high mortality and morbidity [1]. Consequently, antibiotics are massively deployed to treat bacterial infections, control them with the ultimate intent of reducing the morbidities and mortalities; and by implication, reduce the burden of disease mostly associated with infectious diseases in Africa and globally [2]. More specifically, antibiotic consumption has been reported to increase globally by a factor of approximately 36% between 2000-2010 [3]. Antibiotics and antimicrobial agents have historically been subjected to abuses and overuse. As a result, many bacterial etiological agents that cause infectious diseases have since developed resistance to the antibiotics [4, 5]. The most prominent antibiotic resistant infections include vancomycin resistant enterococci [6, 7] methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus [8] and extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriacaea [9,10]. Due to the imperativeness of reducing the growing incidence of antibiotic resistant infections and their public health impact, alternatives to the current regimens of antibiotics are currently being sought globally [11]. An example of such approach is the utilization of bioresources, especially plants that possess suspected and slightly proven medicinal potentials with limited uses [12, 13]. Although green plants have historically occupied a common place in traditional medicine for various preventive and therapeutic uses, deliberate research efforts are still being focused on underutilized plants in order to unravel their antibacterial properties with a view deploying them for use in humans to reduce bacterial infections [11, 14]. Received: 07 August 2014 Accepted: 18 August 2014 Online: 01 September 2014