Antimicrobial Effects Of Three Species Of Mangifera Indica

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Continuous spread of infectious diseases is a major apprehension for health institutions, pharmaceutical companies and government think tanks all over the world. Failure of treatment, particularly with the current escalating trends of multi-drug resistance (MDR) to the available modern drugs or antibiotics among emerging and re-emerging bacterial pathogens leads to serious risks (Olasehinde et al., 2016). Around 1900, 80% of the drugs were derived from plants, however, in the decades that followed, the development of synthetic drugs from petroleum products caused a sharp decline in the pre-eminence of drugs from live plant sources (Singh et al., 2010).

However, with the recent trend of high percentage resistance of microorganisms to the present day antibiotics, efforts have been intensified by researchers towards a search for more sources of antimicrobial agents (Barie, 2012). Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of nutrients with a lot of potential health benefits in preventing several chronic diseases (Slavin and Lloyd.,2012). Plant derived products like gums, oils and extracts have been used for therapeutic purpose before the introduction of modern drugs (Lima et al., 2006) and continues to provide health coverage for over 80% of the worldÂ’s population (Kafaru,2008). Serious attention is being given to medicinal plants as evidenced by the recommendation given by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1970.

It gave emphasis on the need to include traditional remedies within national drug policies as these plants serve as the best sources of a variety of drugs. It is important to study plants so that a better understanding of their properties, safety and efficacy is derived for improved benefit. The presence of phytochemical constituents in medicinal plants made them useful for healing as well as for curing of human diseases (Nostro et al., 2000). Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds in the medicinal plants, (Abdul et al., 2003). Large populations of the world, especially in developing countries depend on the traditional system of medicine to treat variety of diseases (McGaw et al., 2000). Several hundred genera of plants were utilized traditionally for medicinal purposes.

The world health organization reported that 80% of the world population relies chiefly on traditional medicine and a major part of the traditional therapies which involve the use of plant extract and their constituents (W.H.O., 2004).

Traditional or herbal medicine has always been the first line of treatment long before the advent of modern medicine in its synthetic forms. Most of these medicines were gotten from the vast majority of medicinal plants which were easily available in the forests and the green savannahs that surrounded the world. In the last few years there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal medicine andthese drugs are gaining popularity both in developing and developed countries because of their natural origin and less side effects.

Many traditional medicines in use are derived from medicinal plants, minerals and organic matter (Grover et al., 2002). The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed 21,000 plants, which are used for medicinal purposes around the world (Seth and Sharma, 2004). At present nearly 30% or more of the modern pharmacological drugs are derived directly or indirectly from plants (Sharif and Banik, 2006).

1.1 AIMS

To demonstrate and compare the antimicrobial activities of three species of Mangifera indica on selected organisms.

1.2 JUSTIFICATION

Medicinal plants are a rich source of drugs that form a vital component in traditional and modern medicines, and as well serve as pharmaceutical intermediates in drug production. This current research tries to reveal the most effective species of mango for drug production, from the many available species common to the Nigerian environment. The species are examined using in-vitro testing.

1. 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
2. 1. 1. BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Mangoes (Mangifera indica) belong to genus Mangifera which consists of about 30 species of tropicalfruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae.

It is cultivated on an area of approximately 3.7 million ha worldwide and conquers the second position as a tropical crop, in terms of production (Masud Parvez., 2016). Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a juicy stone fruit belongs to the family of Anacardiaceae in the order of Sapindales and is grown in many parts of the world, particularly in tropical countries.

It is the national fruit of India and Philippines and the national tree of Bangladesh. Over 1000 mango varieties are available worldwide. Of the available varieties, only a few are grown on commercial scales and traded (Solis-Fuentes et al., 2011). Mango is now commercially grown in more than 87 countries.

It has been well documented that mango fruits are an important source of micronutrients, vitamins and other phytochemicals. Moreover, mango fruits provide energy, dietary fibre, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and phenolic compounds (Tharanathan  et al., 2006), which are vital to normal human growth, development and health (Jahurul  et al., 2015).Due to its popularity and importance, M. indica is often named “King of fruits” for its luscious flavour and taste. Its social and economic impact are most relevant in developing and emerging countries, where mango is a high-valued component in diet, rich in vitamins and minerals (Ribeiro  et al., 2007).

Mangifera indica has been an important component of the Ayurvedic (Indian traditional medicine) and indigenous medical systems for over 4000 years (Joshi  et al., 2013).Mangifera indica occupies a unique position among edible fruit crops in Nigeria as it grows in all ecological zones of the country (Aguoru  et al., 2016).

Trees of mango cultivars in Nigeria are often distinguished by their fruit characteristics and therefore assigned common names. In the north central part of the county, the common cultivars are the Big-no-fibre, Small-fibre, Julie and Opioro where as Saigon, Kent, Julie, German, Sherry, Palaba, Opioro, Kerosene, amongst others are mainly found in south-western Nigeria (Aguoru et al., 2016). According to the FAO report of 2004, Nigeria is the largest mango producing country in Africa and seventh in the world, but on the contrary not listed among the 10 leading mango fruit exporters (Ugese et al., 2012).

However, information on the exact number of cultivars in Nigeria has not been accurately documented leading to a lack of accurately named germplasm and cultivars. This has been a major limitation on the effective study and communication regarding the general biology of the cultivars. The common names used are often misleading, confusing and taxonomically inconsistent (Aguoru et al., 2009; 2016; I.C.B.N., 2015).

In addition, despite its popularity, limited scientific attention has been directed towards the characterization of the numerous cultivars found in Nigeria (Aguoru et al., 2009; 2016). Research to date has mainly focused on the relative food crop value and time of maturity of mango fruits. Illoh, 1986 recorded the anatomical and electrophoretic mobility of seed proteins of Mangifera indica. Other studies include: numerical taxonomic studies of mango (Mangifera indica L.) varieties in Nigeria, Illoh and Olorode, (1991); Fruit production and production constraints of Mangifera indica in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State (Ugese et al., 2012); micro-anatomical investigation of four varieties of Mangifera (Aguoru et al., 2016) and phytochemical screening for active compounds and chemosystematics studies on six cultivars of Mangifera indica L. (Aguoru et al., 2017).

Some common names by which Mangifera indica is called include: mango (English), manako (Hawai‘i),manggoÂ’am (Fiji), tharyetthi (Myanmar), mangot, mangue or manguier (French), aam, am or amb(Hindi), bobbiemanja, kanjannamanja, magg, manggaboomormanja (Dutch), mamung (Thailand), manga or mango (Spanish), manga (Portuguese), manga, mempelamorampelam (Malaysia), manggaormempelamn (Indonesia), mangobaum (German), paho (Philippines) and xoài (Vietnam), mongoro (Yoruba, Nigeria), mangolo (Igbo, Nigeria) and mangoro (Hausa, Nigeria) (Olasehinde et al., 2018).

1.3.2 TAXONOMICAL CLASSIFICATION of Mangifera indica 

Kingdom         :           Plantae

Class                :           Mangoliopsida

Phylum            :           Mangoliophyta

Order               :           Sapindales

Family             :           Anarcadiaceae

Genus              :           Mangifera

Species            :           indica