In vitro anti-Neisseria gonorrhoeae activity of Terminalia macroptera leaves

We used the agar dilution method to evaluate the antibacterial effect of Terminalia macroptera leaf (Tml) extract against nine reference and clinical Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains, including penicillin- and tetracycline-resistant and -susceptible strains. Tml possesses anti-N. gonorrhoeae activity against all of the strains and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were between 100 and 200 mug ml(-1). We then used a liquid-liquid partition method to divide the Tml extract into five fractions and determined the anti-A gonorrhoeae activity of each of the fractions. All of the fractions showed antibacterial activity. The most active one was identified as the diethyl ether fraction and had MIC values of between 25 and 50 mug ml(-1) against all of the strains. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies.