Awe F.A., Hammed, A. M., Akinyemi A.A, Ezeri, G.N.O and Bankole, M.O.
The study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extract of Acalypha wilkesiana and Peperomia pellucida leaves against Catfish infected with bacterial fin-rot. The menace of fin-rot in fingerlings of Clarias gariepinus is becoming high and this can impair on fish productivity. Agar well diffusion assay was used and Whatman filter paper soaked in plant extracts was placed on inoculated Mueller-Hinton agar plate to determine inhibitory action and zones of inhibition of plant extracts on the isolated bacteria recorded.The identified bacterial pathogen includes Streptococcus sp, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella sp., Enterobacter aerogenes and Escherichia coli. The plant extracts inhibited the organisms using disc agar diffusion test. The highest zone of inhibition was 0.75mm by Acalypha on Streptococcus sp. While the least was 0.50mm Acalypha on klebsiella sp., Enterobacter aerogenes and E. coli. Also Peperomia had 0.50mm on E. aerogenes. Acalypha extract inhibited all the bacterial isolates tested. Gentamycin a positive control inhibited all the isolates except Bacillus cereus while water, a negative control inhibited no bacteria. Preliminary photochemical testing revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, saponin, phylobatanins, alkaloids, glycosides and cardiac glycosides from slightly present to highly present on Acalypha while glycoside and phylobatanins was absent in Peperomia; saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides varied from slightly to highly present. The leaves of these plants has inhibitory action on isolated bacteria and can be used to treat bacterial fin-rot of infected catfish Clarias gariepinus.
Acalypha Wilkesiana, Peperomia Pellucida, Ethanolic Extract, Antibacterial Activity, Abeokuta Ogun State.