EMMANUEL E. ODION

Introduction: Emilia praetermissa is used traditionally for the treatment of infections, wound healing, and gastrointestinal complaints. Despite ethnomedicinal use, systematic chemical characterisation
and laboratory evaluation of the ethanolic aerial fraction remain limited. This study profiles its phytochemicals, antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Method: The aerial parts were extracted with 70% ethanol from which the ethanolic fraction were obtained and analyzed by HPLC and GC-MS to identify non-volatile and volatile constituents. Antibacterial activity against six clinical isolates (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus) was assessed by agar well diffusion method, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) (agar dilution) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) determinations were carried out. Antioxidant
The capacity was measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) assays; ascorbic acid served as the standard.
Result: HPLC detected varying non-volatile constituents of which flavonoids (notably Flavanol, epicathecin, narigenin) were present with Cumulative Flavonoid concentration of 66.083 μg/mL (21.15%) while GC-MS identified 27 volatile/semi-volatile compounds dominated by fatty acid methyl esters and terpenoids. The extract produced moderate inhibition zones (15–18 mm) against the six clinical isolates. MIC testing showed complete growth inhibition at 40 mg/mL for all organisms; at 20 mg/mL only S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and B. cereus remained inhibited. MBC at 40 mg/mL was bactericidal for S. aureus, E. cloacae, P. aeruginosa and B. cereus. Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus all have MBC/MIC ratios ≤ 4 and are therefore classified as bactericidal. In antioxidant assays the extract demonstrated strong radical scavenging (high DPPH and ABTS at increasing concentrations), modest FRAP activity, and a concentration dependent increase in TAC. Conclusion: The ethanolic aerial fraction of Emilia praetermissa contains a complex mixture of
alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, saponins and lipidic constituents that together confer measurable antibacterial and antioxidant activities in vitro.

Introduction: Antiaris toxicaria is a plant found in tropical Africa, among other tropical regions, non-scientifical used of this plant include; for hunting, neurological complaints, skin infections, gastrointestinal complaints. So this incite the need for chemical characterisation and laboratory evaluation of the ethanolic bark fraction. This study profiles its phytochemicals, and antibacterial.
Method: The bark parts were collected, pulverized and extracted with 70% ethanol from which the ethanolic fraction were obtained and analyzed by HPLC and GC-MS to identify non-volatile and volatile constituents found in the plant. Antibacterial activity was carried out against six clinical isolates (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus) was assessed by Inhibitory Zone Diameter (IZD), Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC).
Results: Chromatographic and spectrometric analyses revealed the presence of major constituents such as (Ephedrine),(Proanthocyanin compound ) and (Amphyllidine compound ) with (Ephedrine) occurring at the highest concentration (17.81 µg/Ml) for HPLC, while for GC-MS, constituents such as (n-Hexadecanoic acid), (d-Glucohexodialdose) and (2-Furanmethanol, 5-ethenyltetrahydro-.alpha.,.alpha.,5-trimethyl-,cis-) with n-Hexadecanoic as the highest occurring (15.07 %). The extract produced moderate inhibition zones (14–20 mm) against the six clinical isolates. The findings of this study revealed that the 70% ethanolic extract of Antiaris toxicaria possesses measurable antibacterial activity against the tested microorganisms, particularly to Gram positive bacteria than that of Gram negative with MBC/MIC ratio to be ≥ 4 for S. aureus, E. cloacae, E. coli, B. cereus depicting bacteriostatic and ≤ 4 for P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis depicting bactericidal.
Conclusion: Th ethanolic bark exract of Antiaris toxicaria contains a complex mixture of alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, saponins constituents that together reveals measurable antibacterial effect