Journal Article

Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Activity of Syzygium aromaticum (Clove) Plant Extracts against Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to global health, necessitating the search for novel antibacterial agents, including those derived from natural products. Syzygium aromaticum, commonly known as clove, is renowned for its antimicrobial properties. This study investigates the antibacterial activity of clove extracts against Staphylococcus aureus. Clove samples were processed to obtain aqueous and methanolic extracts, which were then evaluated for phytochemical constituents and antibacterial activity. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloid, saponin, tannin, quinone, steroid, cardiac glycoside, terpenoid, and phenol in both extracts with the exception of carbohydrate, flavonoid and phlobatanoid which were absent in both extracts. Antibacterial activity was assessed by measuring the diameter of inhibition zones in nutrient agar plates inoculated with S. aureus. The aqueous extract exhibited a dose-dependent antibacterial effect, with inhibition zones ranging from 14.75 ± 3.94 mm to 21.50 ± 4.43 mm, while the methanolic extract showed zones from 9.50 ± 4.20 mm to 17.00 ± 4.76 mm. Gentamicin and tetracycline served as a positive control. Gentamicin yielded the highest inhibition zone of 25.37 ± 0.25 mm and 25.50 ± 0.00 mm with methanolic and aqueous extracts of S. aromaticum respectively. While tetracycline yielded zero zones of inhibition with methanolic and aqueous extracts. The results indicate that clove extracts possess significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus at 90mg/ml and 30mg/ml concentrations of methanolic and aqueous extracts of S. aromaticum respectively, suggesting their potential as an alternative or complementary therapy in combating antibiotic-resistant infections. The study supports the further exploration of clove extracts as a viable source for developing new antimicrobial agents.

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