ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to determine the antimicrobial effect of Spondias mombin Linn dried leaves extract on microbes obtained from human mouth. Plant samples were obtained from a tree in front of student lecture theater, University of Benin. The dried leaves of S. mombin were cleaned under running tap water to remove adhering dust particles and later extracted with hot aqueous solution. Following standard procedure the medium prepared was used to culture bacteria on nutrient agar and fungi on malt extract agar. Agar well diffusion method was also used to determine the antimicrobial effect of the plant extract against the selected microbes. The results shows that the highest inhibitory effect of the plant extract was with at 150g/L against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas sp., Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus terreus. The total bacteria count ranged from 9.0x10³ cfu/ml - 21.7 x10³ cfu/ml, while fungi count range from 6.7 x10³ cfu/ml - 14.3 x10³ cfu/ml respectively. The media prepared with Spondias mombin dried leaves extractshowed no fungi and bacteria growth compared with media prepared without the plant extract. This study reveals that S. mombin dried leaves extract has the potential of an antimicrobial agent against mouth microbes. Thus, it can be used in the treatment of microbial infection in the mouth.