Int. J. Curr. Res. Biosci. Plant Biol. (2020) 7(3), 26-38 A. O. Daniels et al. (2020) / Antibacterial activity, phytochemicals and essential oils in ethyl acetate extract of Cleistopholis patens 26 International Journal of Current Research in Biosciences and Plant Biology Volume 7 ● Number 3 (March-2020) ● ISSN: 2349-8080 (Online) Journal homepage: www.ijcrbp.com Original Research Article doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcrbp.2020.703.003 Antibacterial activity, phytochemicals and essential oils in ethyl acetate extract of Cleistopholis patens A. O. Daniels 1 *, T. Temikotan 1 and F. K. Fadairo 2 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria 2 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria *Corresponding author; e-mail: toyosidanny@yahoo.com Article Info ABSTRACT Date of Acceptance: 21 February 2020 Date of Publication: 06 March 2020 The ethyl acetate extract of Cleistopholis patens was investigated for its antibacterial activity against ten bacterial strains and compared with standard antibiotics. The extract was purified and antibacterial activities were compared with the crude extract. The multiple antibiotic resistant (MAR) index was determined using known method. The phytochemical components were examined and the essential oil components were also investigated using the GC-MS spectra analysis. The antibacterial test revealed the plant to be active against the test organisms. However, the crude extract showed larger zones of inhibition compared to the purified extract. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index ranged between 0.42 and 1.0. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of glycosides, steroids, phenols and tannin. Mineral content of plants are Na (24.03%), K (30.14%), Ca (32.31%), Mg (26.09%), Zn (28.09%), Fe (6.70%) and Cu (0.03%). The GC-MS analysis showed the presence of essential oils predominantly fatty acids, sterols, esters, terpenes and alcohols with fatty acid occurring in abundance. The presence of essential oil in this plant could be responsible for its biological activities and the result of this work supports the use of the plant in the traditional medicine and herbal treatment of diseases. Keywords Cleistopholis patens Drug resistance Essential oils Phytochemicals Standard antibiotics Introduction The search for alternative products and natural phytochemicals isolated from plants used as traditional folkloric medicines is on the increase as so many plants have been studied for activities against pathogens with the aim of developing active drugs against them. Chemical analysis of plant extracts showed the existence of many chemical compounds related to different classes such as alkaloids, quinines, sugar alcohols, terpenes, polyphenols, flavonoids, phenolics and many others. Flavonoids and phenolics and their derivatives are found in most plants. Such compounds are very important for both humans and plants (Dutra et al., 2012) and are often referred to as essential oils. Essential oils, are complex systems of volatile components and have gained special attention among secondary metabolites because many of them are used as raw materials for the production of perfumes, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and pesticides. In addition they are exploited in aromatherapy and in phytotherapy. Furthermore they are used as spices and for nutrition (Alviano