Phytochemical Screening and in vitro Antibacterial Activity of the Aqueous Extract of Phyllanthus niruri L. from Kasaï Oriental in DR Congo

Objectives: The aim of this work is to carry out a phytochemical study and to evaluate in vitro antibacterial potential of the aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri, a plant traditionally used in Kasai Oriental (DR Congo) against various bacteriosis and non-bacterial diseases.

Study Design: P. niruri, was selected from a list resulting from an ethnobotanical survey carried out in Kasai Oriental because of the number of citations and recipes involving it, the level of preference of the species as well as the diversity of diseases treated and the plebiscite of its effectiveness by local traditional healers. To contribute to the enhancement of this plant traditionally used against various bacteriosis and to confirm its potential antibacterial power, it was subjected to phytochemical screening and its aqueous extract was tested in vitro on bacterial strains.

Place and Duration of the Study: The period of this research went from December 2017 to February 2018. The analyzes were carried out at the physico-chemical and microbiological analysis laboratories of the Congolese Control Office of Mbujimayi (DR Congo) and at the Biology and Chemistry laboratories of the ISP Mbujimayi.

Methodology: The chemical groups of the bioactive substances were sought using the classic methods of characterization in solution by precipitation, coloring and foam reactions. The diameters of the zones of inhibition, MICs and CMBs of the aqueous extract of this plant were determined in vitro against 20 bacterial strains subjected to the test.

Results: P. niruri contains various bioactive chemical groups. Its aqueous extract showed antibacterial activity in vitro against several of 20 tested bacterial strains. According to the MICs and CMBs, the inhibitory action spectrum covers 12 bacterial strains out of the 20 tested.

Conclusion: The results found confirm that P. niruri has antibacterial principles and a therapeutic potential by the presence of several bioactive substances and the inhibitory power of its aqueous extract on some bacterial strains tested.