Mpetga Simo Deke James*;
Background: Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest public health problems in the world, particularly in developing countries. Plants play a very important role in the fight against the vast majority of diseases worldwide and especially in African countries. Cissus aralioides is a plant species used in the traditional medicine in Cameroon as an anti-microbial and toxicological agent against microorganisms of the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts. The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical constituents and the antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the stems of C. aralioides. Methodology: The ethanol extract obtained by maceration was subjected to repeated column chromatography to afford eight phytoconstituents. Their chemical structures were determined using spectroscopic and spectrometry techniques. The antimicrobial activity was determined using broth microdilution method against four bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli S2(1), Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella flexneri) and three yeasts (Candida parapsilosis ATCC22019, Candida albicans ATCC9002 and Cryptococcus neoformans IP95026). Results: The chemical constituents isolated were aralioidamide A (1), D-mannitol (2), β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), mixture of β-sitosterol (4) and stigmasterol (5), glycerol 1-pentadecanoate (6), parthenocissine A (7) and quadrangularine A (8). The crude ethanol extract, derived fractions and isolated compounds, inhibited the growth of all the tested microorganisms. Depending on the microorganism, the MIC values of the crude extract and fractions B, C and F ranged from 256 to 1024 µg/mL while fractions D and E exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli S2(1) (MIC = 64 µg/mL). The MIC values for pure compounds ranged from 128 to 1024 µg/mL. Conclusion: The results of this study could support the traditional use of C. aralioides in the fight against microbial infections
Keywords: Cissus aralioides, Vitaceae, chemical constituents, antimicrobial activity.
