ISSN NO 2320-5407 International Journal of Advanced Research (2013), Volume 1, Issue 5, 152-158 152 Journal homepage: http://www.journalijar.com INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH RESEARCH ARTICLE IN VITRO EVALUATION OF THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF METHANOL EXTRACTS FROM CASSYTHA FILIFORMIS AND CLEISTOPHOLIS PATENS AGAINST PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA AND ESCHERICHIA COLI 1 Adonu Cyril C, 3 Enwa Felix O, 1 Gugu Thaddeus H, 2 Ugwu Kenneth O, 4 Esimone Charles O and 1 Attama Anthony A. 1. Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu state, Nigeria. 2. Department of Microbiology, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu state, Nigeria. 3. Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria. 4. Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Agulu Campus Anambra State, Nigeria. Manuscript Info Abstract Manuscript History: Received: 14 June 2013 Final Accepted: 24 June 2013 Published Online: July 2013 Key words: Combined effects, Cassytha filiformis Linn, Cleistopholis patens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli. Traditional medical practitioners often combine two or more different plants’ parts for the treatment of ailments. This study was conducted to evaluate the combined effects of extracts from aerial parts of Cassytha filiformis Linn and the root back of Cleistopholis patens (Benth) against some clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Both plants’ parts were collected, washed, shade-dried, pulverized and extracted with methanol in a Soxhlet apparatus.The extracts were, then, concentrated by evaporation to dryness using rotary evaporator at temperature of 40-45 0 C. Checkerboard method was used to study the interactions of the methanol extracts of the two plants’ parts. The interaction studies showed that the combined effects of the extracts were predominantly indifference and antagonisms against the test isolates. Our findings, therefore, discourage the combination of the methanol extracts of these plants’ parts for the treatment of the infections caused by the organisms. Copy Right, IJAR, 2013,. All rights reserved. Introduction Cassytha filiformis (Family- Lauraceae) is a perennial and twinning plant found on all tropical shores and common throughout Southwest Asia and West Africa including Nigeria. In these areas and many other parts of the world, Cassytha filiformis is used in the treatment of many diseases . In India, it is used in cleaning ulcer and in an eye-wash and in java, the pounded stems are used for intestinal ailment and during epilepsy attack (Ibe and Nwufo, 2005). Its common names are devil’s gut, love vine, laurel dodder, pololo, malolo, woe vine kaunaoa pehu, gbanigerige depending on the locality. The phytochemical screening of the aerial parts of Cassytha filiformis revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, terpenoids, steroids, resins and tannins, saponins and lipids (Adonu et al, 2013a). The presence of these phytochemicals explains the antimicrobial/medicinal potentials inherent in the Cassytha filiformis extracts( Chang et al, 1997, Wu et al, 1998). Cleistopholis patens (Family-Annonaceae) is a tree of about 30 m tall, with a trunk up to 10m tall and 20 –90 cm wide, bark is grayish-white, smooth fibrous or furrowed. It is fast growing, always seen colonizing abandoned areas (Burkill, 1985). In Nigeria and other parts of African countries, the bark and the leaves of these plants are used in the treatment of typhoid fever and urogenital infections. The root bark of Cleistopholis patens collected in Ghana yielded two sesquiterpenes and five alkaloids (Burkill,1997). In addition, modern medical research has resulted in the isolation of