Antibacterial activities of leaves and seeds extracts of Datura stramonium on Salmonella Typhi and Shigella Species: Potential antimicrobial alternative for gastroenteritis

Datura stramonium is a bushy annual plant belonging to the family Solanaceae. This study investigated the antimicrobial effects of methanolic and aqueous extracts of seeds and leave of Datura stramonium plant. The test organisms Salmonella Typhi and Shigella species were obtained from stock cultures at the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria. The identification of the test organisms and the plant extracts were done using standard microbiological procedures. The results obtained showed that antibacterial activities of Methanolic leaf extracts of Datura stramonium produced inhibitions zone of 25mm on concentration of 50mg/ml and 25mm on concentration of 100mg/ml against Salmonella typhi while inhibition zone of 20mm, were observed on concentrations 25mg/ml, 50mg.ml and 100mg/ml against Shigella species. The aqueous leaves extracts produced no zone of inhibition against Salmonella typhi while zone of inhibitions of 10mm was observed on concentration 50mg/ml and 100mg/ml against Shigella species. The methanolic seeds extract produced zone of inhibition of 20mm on both concentrations of 50mg/ml and 100mg/ml against Salmonella typhi while inhibition zones of 25mm was observed on concentrations 50mg/ml and 100mg/ml against Shigella specie. The aqueous seeds extracts produced no zone of inhibition against both test organisms (Salmonella typhi and Shiegella species). The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of Datura stramonium methanolic leaves extract of Salmonella typhi was 12.5mg/ml while Shigella Species had MIC of 25mg/ml. There was no MIC of aqueous leaves extract against Salmonella typhi while that of shigella species was 100mg/ml. The MIC of methanolic Seeds extract shows 25mg/ml on both test organisms and no MIC of aqueous seed extract on both test organisms. This research has enormously revealed that extracts of Datura stramonium leaf possess more antimicrobial potency against Salmonella typhi and Shiegella species than the seed extracts. Also, the results also revealed that methanolic extract has more potency than the aqueous extract on either the leaves or seeds of Datura stramonium. Conclusively, Datura stramonium extracts demonstrated bactericidal potential against both Salmonella typhi and Shiegella species which indicate that the plant can be a good resource for herbal drugs that can be used against Gram negative bacteria.