Dr. O.B. Isichei-Ukah

Chia seed (Salvia hispanica) are small edible seed with high nutritional and medicinal values. This study was carried out to investigates the antimicrobial and phytochemical constituents of the seeds. The aqueous and ethanol extract of the seed were screened for antimicrobial effects against six bacterial isolates :Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Phytochemical screening for flavonoids, tannins, sterols, saponins, glycosides and alkaloids were carried out by standard methods. The results showed that both ethanolic and aqueous extracts exhibited antimicrobial activities. At 100 mg/ml concentration, the aqueous extract produced inhibition zones of 20.00 mm against Escherichia coli and 14.00 mm against Streptococcus sp., while the ethanolic extract showed 16.00 mm and 18.00 mm, respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited inhibition zones of 21.00 mm (aqueous) and 10.00 mm (ethanolic), and Klebsiella pneumoniae showed 7.00 mm (aqueous) and 14.00 mm (ethanolic). However, Staphylococcus aureus did not exhibit significant inhibition in either extract. Minimum inhibitory concentration analysis revealed that both ethanolic and aqueous extracts had MIC values of 100 mg/ml for Streptococcus sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Interestingly, Escherichia coli did not show an MIC with the ethanolic extract, suggesting variable susceptibility across bacterial strains. The minimum bactericidal concentration results indicated that the ethanolic extract was bacteriostatic, while the aqueous extract exhibited bactericidal activity for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, sterols, saponins and glycosides in both extracts, while alkaloids were absent. These findings highlight the promising antimicrobial potential of chia seed oil extracts, demonstrating it’s efficacy against a range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.