The treatment of post-operative wound infections has been exacerbated by frequent evolvement of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. Consequently, this study evaluated the phytochemical and antibacterial properties of methanol, ethanol, and aqueous crude extracts of Alchornea cordifolia leaves for their efficacy against selected MDR bacterial isolates from patients with surgical site infection (SSI). Bacterial isolates obtained within 12 months from patients clinically diagnosed of SSI in five specialist hospitals in Calabar-Nigeria were analyzed and identified using standard techniques. Among the MDR-isolates, eight highly resistant bacterial isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) were selected for further evaluation. The susceptibility profiles of these isolates were assessed against crude extracts of Alchornea cordifolia leaves. Additionally, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC), and phytochemical properties of the extracts were determined to evaluate their antimicrobial potential. The ethanol crude extract of A. cordifolia leaves demonstrated superior broad-spectrum activity against the MDR-SSI isolates compared to the aqueous and methanol extracts, even at the lowest tested concentration of 62.5 mg/mL, and also exhibited an MBC/MIC ratio of ≤4 mg/mL, indicating bactericidal properties. Further qualitative phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed the presence of bioactive compounds including alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, saponins, phenolics, and anthraquinones in varying concentrations. A. cordifolia leaves possesses potent antimicrobial properties and various phytochemical constituents and is therefore recommended for further studies towards potential drug development in order to enhance therapeutic options against MDR bacterial pathogens associated with SSI.
Keywords: Alchornea cordifolia, Antibiotics, Bacteria, infections, multi-drug resistance, phytochemicals, post-operative wounds
