Masters Thesis
The study of self-medication in non-human primates sheds new light on the complex interaction of animal, plant and parasite. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial properties and phytochemical profile of crude extracts from Sterculia Africana, Acacia sieberiana and Cassia abbreviata ssp. abbreviata, plants present in the yellow baboon diet in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. Specifically aimed at assessing antibacterial activity of the crude extracts through in vitro studies using standard strains and to establish the phytochemical profile of the crude extracts using chromatography methods. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) technique was employed to assess antibacterial activity whereas Thin layer Chromatography (TLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) techniques were used to assess the plants’ chemical profile. Acacia sieberiana and Cassia abbreviata ssp. abbreviata showed the lowest MIC values of 0.31mg/ml against the Gram negative strains whereas 0.63 mg/ml was the lowest value against the Gram positive strains used in this study. Total extraction was done by maceration and the highest extraction yields of 9.66% and 6.22% were obtained from the root bark of Cassia abbreviata ssp. abbreviata and the leaves of Acacia sieberiana respectively. Findings from Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) indicated presence of saturated and unsaturated compounds while colour reactions with Vanillin reagent inferred presence of triterpene group of compounds in the ethanolic crude plant extracts. The chemical profile obtained from the HPLC for the plant extracts was comparable to the one from the TLC profile. Antibacterial studies revealed presence of pharmacological activity in the crude plant extracts suggesting that non–human primates feed on the nutrient poor parts of these plants for self-medication. Chromatography analysis offers a starting point in isolation of pure compounds for the purpose of drug development since these plant extracts exhibit activity against bacteria of medical and veterinary importance.
INTRA-ACP