Comparative Antibacterial Activities of Garcina Kola and Cola Acuminata Powdered Seed Extracts on Clinical Bacterial Isolates

The emergence of bacterial infection and how quick these bacteria acquire resistance to antibiotics, have given rise to scholars exploring the efficacy of natural antibiotics to inhibit the growth of or destroy these bacteria. This study was aimed at comparing antibacterial activities of Garcina kola and Cola acuminata, a natural source and some commercial antibiotics (Ciprofloxacin, Ertapenem and Cefpodoxin) on clinical bacterial isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp. And Escherichia coli). Garcina kola and Cola acuminata extract was obtained by soxhlet extraction method using ethanol as solvent. Test bacteria isolates were obtained from Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri and reconfirmed using cultural, microbiological and biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out using the agar diffusion method. Results revealed that the extracts exhibited zone of inhibition against test organisms when seeded against them but Garcina kola is more susceptible in number of zone of inhibition compared to Cola acuminata, the zone of inhibition varied from organism to organism along concentration gradient. The extracts showed greatest activity against Staphylococcus aureus at 200 mg/ml concentration. In comparison to some broad spectrum antibiotics, the result showed that some of the clinical isolates were resistant to some broad spectrum antibiotics at their various in-use concentrations but sensitive to Garcina kola and Cola acuminata extract. This implies that in diseases caused by these isolates, Garcina kola and Cola acuminata may serve as a better therapeutic option than the test commercial antibiotics. The result of the two-way analysis of variance, which examined the relationship between specific isolates and the different concentration of Garcina kola and Cola acuminata extracts shows that the p-Value for the interaction between the bacterial isolates and plant extract concentration with regards to the observable zones of inhibition was 0.007451. This value being less than the significance level, i.e. when (p