PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF CRUDE EXTRACT OF LEPIDIUM SATIVIUM SEEDS GROWN IN ETHIOPIA

Lepidium sativum Linn. locally known as ‘fetto’ is a fast-growing edible herb which belongs to the family Brassicaceae is traditionally used for the treatment of various human ailments including cold, headache, colic, abdominal pain, dysentery, swellings and aphrodisiac in Ethiopia. Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activities were conducted on seeds of Lepidium sativium grown in Ethiopia. Qualitative phytochemical screening test of chloroform/ methanol crude extract showed the presence of phytochemicals: flavonoid, cholesterol, terpenoids, steroids, carbohydrates, glycosides, tannins, alkaloids, phenols, phytosterols, proteins, and saponins. Antimicrobial activities of crude extract were tested against four bacteria: two Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) and two Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtillis) and three fungi (Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium solani). The crude extracts of the seeds of the plant were active against the tested bacteria and fungi. The antimicrobial activities of plant seeds crude extract were compared with that of chloramphenicol against bacteria and bavistin against fungi as reference antibiotics. The ethnopharmacological knowledge of Lepidium sativum was documented. It was concluded that Lepidium sativum seeds crude extract used for the treatment of various diseases possess antibacterial and antifungal and this also justify its use in the traditional medicine.