Plants in Kano Ethnomedicine; Screening for Antimicrobial Activity and Alkaloids

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Abstract
Kano is a region of Nigeria located between latitude 10° 30′N and 13° 03′N. It has the Sudan savannah type of climate and vegetation that gradually gives way to semi-arid conditions northward. It is a part of the Hausaland where ethnomedicine is recognized and practiced. From our previous work (Hussain and Karatela, 1989) and additional information from herbalists, plants used to treat microbial diseases or disorders were selected. In addition Tapinanthus species growing on hosts that have been implicated in antibiosis (Lewis and Elvin-Lewis, 1979; Oliver, 1959 and Sofowora, 1982) were also included. Thus we thought it might be appropriate and useful, as with the flora of other lands (Al-Shamma and Mitscher, 1979; Chhabra et al, 1981 and Van Puyelde et al., 1981) to screen these plants to ascertain their antimicrobial efficacy and potential economic value. In this paper, alcoholic extracts of some plants have been tested for an in vitro antimicrobial activity against thirteen indicator organisms and the presence of alkaloids.