Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Study of Mistletoe (Agelanthus dodoneifolius) Growing on Shea Butter Tree (Vitellaria paradoxa)

Abstract

This study aimed to conduct a preliminary phytochemical screening and antimicrobial investigation of mistletoe (Agelanthus dodoneifolius) that grows on shea butter trees (Vitellaria paradoxa). The objective was to identify the phytochemicals and assess the antimicrobial activity present in the leaves of Agelanthus dodoneifolius using the methods described by Edeoga (2005) and Aliyu et al. (2009). Plants have long been a source of various compounds used in medicine. Agelanthus dodoneifolius is a hemiparasitic plant that typically grows on the branches of host trees, particularly indigenous trees of economic importance. Among the Hausa and Fulani tribes of Northern Nigeria, Agelanthus dodoneifolius is renowned for its ethnomedicinal use in treating ailments such as dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and stomachaches. The phytochemical analysis of this plant revealed the presence of phenol (with the highest amount detected at 180.51), tannin, saponin, flavonoid, and terpenoid. The antimicrobial investigation of the plant extract against S. aureus, B. cereus, and A. flavus demonstrated that A. flavus exhibited the highest resistance to the methanolic extract of Agelanthus dodoneifolius, producing the largest diameter zone of inhibition (69mm) at a concentration of 80mg/ml. These findings support the traditional use of Agelanthus dodoneifolius.