Abstract

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The study was aimed at investigating the antimicrobial activity of Persea americana (Avocado pear) seed extracts on some clinical isolates from urine. Urine samples (500) were collected from patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) from Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, Nigeria. Bacteria and fungi were isolated and identified based on standard techniques. Serratiasp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Proteus sp., Salmonella sp., Candida sp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated with E.coli and Candida sp observed to have the highest prevalence of 75.0% and71.4% respectively. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of P. americana seeds were screened for phytochemicals. Concentrations of these phytochemicals (g/kg) were observed to be higher in the ethanolic than aqueous extracts. Saponin was identified with the highest concentrations of 5.08 ±0.20 and 0.6±0.12 while tannin the lowest of 0.40±0.1 and 0.15±0.20 in ethanolic and aqueous extracts respectively. Antimicrobial assays revealed that all the isolates except Proteus sp. and Serratia sp. were susceptible to the ethanolic extracts of P. americana while all the organisms were resistant to the various concentrations of the aqueous extract. This finding recommends further study on the use of P. Americana seeds as a potential antimicrobial agent in formulation of drugs for the treatment of UTIs

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Persea americana,Fungi, Bacteria, Plant Extracts and Antimicrobial