SCREENING FOR ANTIMICROBIAL

ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL FROM

GYNANDROPSIS GYNANDRA

BY: ODUOR STEPHEN OWINO

U29/2531/2014
SUPERVISED BY: DR. K.O. ABUGA
DATE: 28TH AUGUST 2019
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Objectives
 Experimental
 Results and discussion
 Conclusion and Recommendations
 Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
ESSENTIAL OIL: The use of essential oil dates back to more
than 4000 years ago when they were used as perfumes for
cosmetic, medical, funerary rites and spiritual purification by
the Mesopotamians, Indians, and Chinese
GYNANDROPSIS GYNANDRA: A leafy African vegetable
that belongs to the Cleomaceae family. It is an erect, branching
plant generally between 25cm and 60cm tall
PREVIOUS STUDIES: A study by Lwande et al 1999 found
the essential oil of G. gynandra to be as a tick repellant.
ETHNOMEDICAL USES
 Luhyas in Kakamega use infusion of the leaves to treat
chest pain and diarrhea in infants.
 In Ayurveda, the plant is used to treat epilepsy, IBS,

protozoal, ear disease, GIT infections, pruritus, prostate

enlargement and diverticulosis.
 Luos in Migori use the seeds and leaves as rubefacient

and vesicant to treat rheumatism.

OBJECTIVES
GENERAL OBJECTIVE: To determine the
antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from
Gynandropsis gynandra.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE
• To carry out extraction of essential oil by

hydrodistillation method.
• To carry out in-vitro antibacterial tests on the extracted

essential oil.
EXPERIMENTAL
 Plant material was collected from Siaya County and air
dried for 7 days.
 Hydrodistilation was carried out for over four hours.
 Agar diffusion assay for antimicrobial activity was

carried out using Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli,

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans.
 Gentamicin 0.4 mg/ml and nystatin 0.3 mg/ml were

used as positive control.

 Zones of inhibition were measured using vernier

callipers.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 Pale yellow oil that turned to dark brown on
exposure to air was obtained.
 Pale yellow crystalline solid that turned

white on standing deposited on the

condenser.
RESULST AND DISCUSSION

Microorganism Average Activity

Index (%)
Essential oil Solid Solid distillate
distillate(100mg/ml (50mg/ml)
)
E. coli 61.19 79.33 66.97
S. aureus 63.54 73.55 63.20
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 The solid distillate was more active than the essential
oil against S.aureus and E.coli
 Both the esential oil and solid distillate were inactive

against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida

albicans
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
 The essential oil and solid distillate exhibited elaborate
activity against Staphylococcus aureus and E.coli
 The activity against E. coli is consistent with the traditional
use of the plant to treat diarrhea in infants

RECOMMENDATION
• Phytochemical analysis to determine the composition of the

essential oil and the chemical identity of the solid distillate

• Screening for other pharmacological activities

• In vivo bioassay of the essential oil and the solid distillate

using animal models

ACKNOLEDGEMENTS
 Dr. Abuga for his intellectual support and guidance
throughout this project.
 Mr. Mugo (Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry)
 Mr. Rafael ( Department of Pharmacology and
pharmacognosy) for their technical assistance.