This work was aimed at studying the antibacterial activity of Alchornea cordifolia and Moringa oleifera against four meningitis-causing bacteria namely: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococus spp and Escherichia coli. The technique employed was agar well diffusion and spread plate inoculation. The aqueous extract of A. cordifolia inhibited all the bacteria tested with a range of zones of inhibition of 7.0mm to 17.5mm. On the other hand, the aqueous extract of the stem bark of M. oleifera did not inhibit any of the test bacteria. However, the ethanolic extract inhibited S. aureus, B. subtilis and Micrococcus at a range of zone of inhibition of 3.0-9.0mm but E. coli was resistant to all concentrations of the extract, while all the test bacteria were resistant to the ethanolic extract of A. cordifolia. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the aqueous extract of A. cordifolia ranged from 50 mg/ml to 200 mg/ml for the susceptible bacteria. On the other hand, the minimum inhibitory concentration of M. oleifera for the susceptible bacteria was at a range of 100 mg/ml to 200 mg/ml. The gram negative bacteria, E. coli, displayed the most resistance for both extracts. In conclusion, the aqueous stem bark extract of A. cordifolia and the ethanolic extract of the stem bark of M. oleifera can respectively be exploited for use as antibacterial agent against the susceptible bacteria.
Keywords: Alchornea cordifolia, Moringa oleifera, stem bark, extract, susceptibility