Antibacterial, free radical scavenging and anticancer properties of essential oil from Kyaya Ivorensis A. Juss stem bark

In vitro antibacterial activity of Khaya ivorensis stem bark oil against some human pathogens was investigated using agar diffusion method. The antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of the plant oil were also evaluated using scavenging effect on 2, 2- diphenyl-1-pieryhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and brine shrimp lethality bioassay methods respectively. Phytochemical screenings of the plant stem bark oil revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phlobatanins, phenols, anthraquinone, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids and flavonoids. However, steroids and cardenolides were absent in the plant material. The oil remarkably inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiellapneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The mean diameter of the zone of inhibition exhibited by the oil at 50ml/mg was between 7.67 and 13.33mm while the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranged from 6.0 to 20µg/ml and 10.0 to 30.0 µg / ml respectively. The antioxidant activity of the oil revealed that the plant stem bark oil possessed significant activity when compared with ascorbic acid which was used as positive control in the assay. The oil exhibited lethality against brine shrimp larvae with LC50 value of 52.86 0.00ppm. The results suggest that the stem bark oil of K. ivorensis have potential antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities that support its therapeutic claims.