Abstract

The drive in search of antimicrobial potential of plant extracts (phytochemicals) has increased in recent years. This has inspired the investigation on some indigenous medicinal in traditional medicine.  The antimicrobial effect of aqueous leaf extract of Pasture weed (Cyathula prostrate) was tested on fungal isolates of Penicillium chrysogenum, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger using the Agar well diffusion method at different extract concentration of 20 ml, 10 ml, 5 ml and 2.5 ml. The conventional antifungal agent Nystatin was used at the same or respective concentrations as positive control standard to determine the sensitivity of the competition. Results obtained showed that all the test isolates were inhibited at varying degrees of the leaf extract concentration. The antimicrobial activities of the plant leaf extract competed with the antibiotics significantly at P<0.05. The greatest activities aqueous leaf extracts at 20ml concentration which infected mycelial growth of fungal isolates ranged from 19.50mm + 0.5 in A. niger to 23.50mm + 0.50 in P. chrysogenum. It was found that the aqueous leaf extracts of the plant C. prostrate possess a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial properties against the test organisms. The aqueous leaf extracts of C. prostrata was screened for bioactive components and the observed phytochemicals were Alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and cardiac glycosides. This findings therefore, that suggest further studies to be carried out on the market of plant extracts in order to isolate, identify so as to maximize the medicinal potential of the plant. These findings highlights the need for further studies to be carried out on the phytochemical components of the leaf extract of C. prostrata that possess antifungal activity so as to maximize the medicinal potentials of the plant.