Evaluation of the antibacterial and antifungal activity of 80% methanol crude extract and hexane, chloroform, butanol, and aqueous fractions of Suregada procera against selected microbial strains

Abstract Background Medicinal plants are potential sources for developing novel antibiotics due to the declining effectiveness and associated side effects of synthetic drugs. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal activities of 80% methanol crude extract and hexane, chloroform, butanol, and aqueous fractions of Suregada procera. Methods The dried roots of Suregada procera were macerated with 80% methanol and successively fractionated using hexane, chloroform, butanol, and aqueous solvents. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of both crude extract and the fractions were determined using agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data, followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test. Ciprofloxacin 5 µg and amphotericin B 12.5 µg served as positive controls, while 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) served as the negative control. Results The Suregada procera crude extract exhibited the largest zone of inhibition (12.67 ± 0.33) against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes at 200 mg/mL. Among the six bacterial strains, Enterococcus faecalis was the most susceptible to hexane and aqueous fractions at 0.33 mg/mL. In contrast, the butanol fraction exhibited the highest inhibitory activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes at 0.5 mg/mL. Conclusion The results of the present study support the traditional use of Suregada procera against bacterial and fungal pathogens.