ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF ETHANOL AND N - HEXANE EXTRACTS OF WALTHERIA INDICA AND MUCUNA PRURIENS

The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of many Nigerian Medicinal plants used in folk medicine have been reported. In the present study extracts of shoots of Waltheria indica and Mucuna pruriens were evaluated for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities using 2,2 diphenyl - 1 - picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity and paper disc diffusion method respectively. The results showed that the n - hexane extracts of Mucuna pruriens and Waltheria indica showed the best 2,2 diphenyl - 1 - picrlylhydroxyl free radical scavenging activities whereas ethanol extracts of Mucuna pruriens and Waltheria indica gave the best antimicrobial activities, against Salmonella typhi , Bacillus subtillis , Streptococci, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans indicating that the pl ants could be potential sources for antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds needed for the treatment of pathological conditions and various microbial diseases caused by the test organisms.