PHARMACOGNOSTIC, MYCOBACTERICIDAL, AND MUTAGENIC INVESTIGATIONS OF THE LEAVES OF CLERODENDRUM SPLENDENS G. DON

C. splendens is a medicinal plant used for various ailments within the West-African Community. This study sought to investigate the pharmacognostic characteristics, mycobactericidal, and mutagenic activities of the hydro-ethanolic leaves extract C. splendens. The organoleptic, microscopic, macroscopic and physicochemical characteristics were investigated according to WHO, 2011 quality control methods for herbal materials. The mycobactericidal and mutagenic activities were investigated by the agar well diffusion assay and the Ames test (Muta-ChromoPlateTM) respectively. Present in C. splendens are tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, steroids and alkaloids which are comparable to published literature. The leaves of had anomocytic stomata, and starch granules, while calcium oxalate crystals were visibly absent. The 50% ethanol extract of C. splendens was not active against M. smegmatis at the highest concentration of 100 mg/mL. C. splendens was also non-mutagenic. Though the extract exhibited no mycobactericidal activity at the highest tested concentration, the documented pharmacognostic characteristics can be used for the purposes of authentication. Also, the non-mutagenic potential indicates a lack of toxicity in that respect.