SYNERGISM AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF KIGELIA AFRICANA, CERATONIA SILIQUA AND KALAHARIA UNCINATA AGAINST NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE

Crude extracts were obtained via Maceration for 4 days. To test for antimicrobial activity, a pure culture was initially sourced. Chocolate agar was prepared by dissolving 9.19 g in 100 mL distilled water prior to autoclaving. The sample was then streaked onto chocolate agar and incubated at 37°C in a 5-10 % CO2 incubator for 24 hours. Isolated colonies were transferred to Mueller-Hinton Agar and incubated again under similar conditions to obtain a fresh culture for testing. Disc diffusion and Agar well diffusion method were adopted to carry out susceptibility tests. Disc diffusion method showed inhibition zones (diameters) of 26 mm, 26 mm and 28 mm while Well method showed inhibition zones (diameters) of 26 mm, 28 mm and 40 mm for Kigelia africana, Ceratonia siliqua and Kalaharia uncinata respectively. The combination of Kigelia africana and Kalahari uncinata exhibited the greatest antibacterial activity, while the pairing of Kigelia africana and Ceratonia siliqua showed the lowest activity. Interestingly, the combination of all three extracts did not result in the highest inhibition zone, suggesting possible antagonistic interactions or reduced potency due to compound dilution. These findings highlight the importance of specific plant pairings in enhancing antimicrobial activity and support the potential for synergistic effects between certain extracts, warranting further investigation into their bioactive compounds and mechanisms of action.