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Asoso et al. Release of sodium and potassium ions of Calotropis procera pp. 26-30
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Liberación de iones sodio y potasio en extracto de Calotropis procera
Linn en determinados microorganismos patógenos
Release of sodium and potassium ions of Calotropis procera extract on
selected pathogenic organisms
Resumen
Se investigó la tasa de liberación de iones de sodio y potasio para los extractos acuoso, etanólico, metanólico y en acetona de
hojas y tallo de Calotropis procera procera L en microorganismos patógenos seleccionados de los géneros de Salmonella typhi,
Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Malazzesia furfur ATCC 44349 y sus tipos de
aislantes, usando la técnica de fotometría de llama. Se encontró que el extracto acuoso era más efectivo para algunos organismos
en la salida de sodio e iones del potasio; mientras que otros extractos con solventes como acetona y metanol, también eran ecaces
para otro tipo de organismos. Por ejemplo, la cantidad de sodio liberado por los extractos de tallo, mostró que S. typhi y C. albicans
presentaron la mayor cantidad de 23 y 24 mg/ml respectivamente. A diferencia de E. coli, que tuvo la mayor cantidad de sodio libe-
rada de 20 mg/ml por extractos de tallo. La comparación de la cantidad de iones de sodio y potasio liberados por los extractos de la
planta con dos antibióticos comerciales (tetraciclina y amoxicilina), mostró que la cantidad de sodio liberado por amoxicilina y tetra-
ciclina de Calotropis procera, usando organismos patógenos seleccionados, fue mayor que la cantidad de iones de potasio liberados.
Palabras Clave: Calotropis procera; bacterias; extracto de plantas; iones de sodio; iones de potasio; organismos patógenos.
Abstract
The rate of release of sodium and potassium ions by aqueous, ethanol, methanol and acetone extract of leaves and stem of
Calotropis procera were investigated on selected pathogenic microorganisms in the genera of Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli,
Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Malazzesia furfur ATCC 44349 and their typed isolates using
ame photometer. The aqueous extract was found to be more effective in some organisms in the leakage of sodium and potassium
ions whereas other solvent like acetone and methanol extract also were more effective in other type of organisms. For example;
the amount of sodium released by stem extracts showed that S. typhi and C. albicans had the highest amount of 23 and 24mg/ml
respectively while E. coli had the highest amount of sodium released by stem extracts of 20mg/ml. The comparison of the amount
of sodium and potassium ions released by the plant extracts with two commercial antibiotics (Tetracycline and Amoxycillin) showed
that the amount of sodium released by both amoxicillin and tetracycline of Calotropis procera using selected pathogenic organisms
were higher than the amount of potassium ion released.
Keywords: bacteria; Calotropis procera; pathogenic organisms; sodium ions; potassium ions; plant extracts.
Oluwakemi-Sola, Asoso
1
; K.O., Oladunmoye M.K.
2
; A.O., Ogundare
2
(Recibido: Febrero - 2018, Aceptado: Mayo - 2018)
1
Department of Biological Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, E-mail address:oyesolakemi@gmail.com
2
Department of Microbiology, School of Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. E-mail:
chourlar@yahoo.com.
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INTRODUCTION
Calotropis. procera holds a reputed position as a
medicinal plant in different systems of medicine In
India. All parts possess valuable medicinal properties.
According to Ayurvedic medicine, the whole plant is
alexipharmic and cures leprosy, ulcers, and spleen
and liver diseases. The juice is laxative, anthelmintic
and cures piles. Root bark is diaphoretic ad cures
asthma and syphilis. Flowers are analgesic, astringent
and cure inammations ad tumors. Basu and
Chaudhuri (1) found anti-inammatory activity in rats
of a chloroform-soluble fraction from the roots. Jain et
al. (2) investigated antimicrobial activity of C. procera.
The maximum inhibitory activity was observed in
ethanol extracts of root bark against Enterobacter
cloaceae and of stem against Fusarium moniliforme.
The Latex of C. procera is used in traditional medicine
as a purgative, antisyphylitic and antiodontalgic agent
and as a cure for verrucas.
Extracts from latex, leaves and owers in Morocco
had more effect on yeasts than on fungi. According
to the Unani system of Medicine (3), this plant is
useful against leprosy, scabies, and ringworm of the
scalp, piles, asthma, liver and spleen enlargement
and dropsy. Calotropis procera extracts can be used
as a coagulant in cheese-making (4) (5). The uses of
this plant from NIF (National Innovation Foundation)
database for Asthma; the ower powder is been used,
Ear Ache; the latex of the plant is used, according to
literature the plant extract is used as bronchodilator
(6); ower buds of Calotropis, along with black pepper
seeds and salt, are crushed to make pills the size of
small peas.
The number of mechanisms exists for the antimicrobial
activities of many antimicrobial agents including plant
extracts (7).There has not been any information on
the release of sodium and potassium ions by extract
from Calotropis procera. The present studies was
aimed at determining the leakage of sodium ions
by extracts of Calotropis procera on some selected
pathogenic bacteria so as to determine whether the
antimicrobial activities and medicinal properties of the
plants is due to leakage of protoplasmic materials or
not (8)(9).
Materials and method
Collection of plant samples
Apparently healthy plant namely C. procera were
collected from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria.
Preparations of Plant Extracts
The plants parts leave and stem were air-dried
for 5 weeks at room temperature (25 + 2 oC) and
then ground to powder with a mechanical grinder
(Thomas Wiley machine, model 5 USA). Powders
(200gs) of each plant were extracted with 1litre
of sterile aqueous water, ethanol, methanol and
acetone separately at room temperature (25 + 2
oC). They were labeled as crude extracts.
Sources of test isolates
They include type cultures of bacteria and fungi
from American type culture collection center
(ATCC) at NIMR (Nigeria Institute of medical
research) and the clinical isolates from the stock
Bacteria
Shigella dysenteriae, S. dysenteriae ATCC 24162,
E. coli, E. coli ATCC 35218, Staphylococcus
aureus, S. aureus ATCC 25923, Salmonella typhi,
S. typhi ATCC 22648, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P.
aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella pneumoniae,
and K. pneumoniae ATCC 34089
Determination of sodium and potassium ion
leakage
Exactly 0.5 ml each of the standardized organism
was added to 4.5 ml of the prepared concentration
of the leaf extracts and then incubated for 18 hours.
The solution was centrifuged at 7000 revolutions
per minute (r. p. m.) and the supernatant analyzed
using a flame photometer at 589 nm and 766 nm
for sodium and potassium ion leakage respectively.
The sodium and potassium ion leakage was
determined using the method of Oladunmoye et al.
(10).
RESULTS
The amount of sodium released by leaf extract
using some typed isolates namely S. dysenteriae
ATCC 24162, K. pneumonia ATCC 34089 and E.
coli ATCC 35218; E. coli ATCC 35218 had the
highest amount of sodium in methanol-leaf extract
(Figure 1a). The content of potassium released by
leaf extracts especially for methanol leaf extracts
was higher for both E. coli ATCC 35218 and S.
dysenteriae ATCC 24162 with value of 0.9 mg/ml
(Figure 1b).
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Plant extracts: Ace- acetone extract (ACE), Aqe- aqeuous extract(AQE), E- ethanol extract (EE), Me- methanol extract (ME)
Figure 1. Amount of ions (mg/ml) released by leaf extracts of Calotropis procera using
some typed cultures: (a) sodium (b) potassium.
Ace- acetone extract (ACE), Aqe- aqeuous extract(AQE), E- ethanol extract (EE), Me- methanol extract (ME)
Figure 2. Amount of ions (mg/ml) released by leaf extracts of Calotropis procera by leaf
extracts using some clinical isolates: (a) sodium (b) potassium.
Ace- acetone extract (ACE), aqe- aqeuous extract(AQE), ee- ethanol extract (EE), me- methanol extract (ME)
Figura 3. Amount (mg/ml) released by stem extracts of Calotropis procera using some
typed isolates: (a) sodium (b) potassium.
The aqueous leaf extract had the highest amount
of sodium especially in K. pneumoniae followed by
methanol leaf extract in almost all the organisms
(Figure 2a). The amount of potassium leakage by
Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and other isolates
were tested on stem extracts of Calotropis procera;
the amount of sodium in C. albicans ATCC 10231
was higher than other isolates in all the stem
leaf extracts for clinical isolates was also carried
out; whereby aqueous and methanol leaf extracts
had highest amount of potassium compared to
other leaf extracts (Figure 2b).
extracts (Figure 3a). The amount of potassium
released by the stem extracts especially aqueous
and methanol had the highest amount of potassium
of about 1.8mg/ml in C. albicans (Figure 3b).
Asoso et al. Release of sodium and potassium ions of Calotropis procera pp. 26-39
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Ace- acetone extract, aqe- aqeuous extract, ee- ethanol extract, me- methanol extract
Figure 5. Amount of ions (mg/ml) released by antibiotics (tetracycline) of Calotropis
procera using some typed and clinical isolates: (a) potassium (b) sodium.
Figure 6. Amount of ions (mg/ml) released by antibiotics (amoxicilin) of Calotropis
procera using some typed and clinical isolates: (a) sodium (b) potassium.
Ace- acetone extract (ACE), aqe- aqeuous extract(AQE), ee- ethanol extract (EE), me- methanol extract (ME)
Figure 4. Amount of ions (mg/ml) release by stem extracts of Calotropis procera using
some clinical isolates: (a) sodium (b) potassium.
Antibiotics (Tetracycline) was used as a control,
the amount of sodium released was lower in all the
The amount of sodium ion released by amoxicillin using
some isolates was also determined and it was observed
that all the isolates had almost the same amount of
sodium (Figure 6a).
Figure 4a shows that the amounts of sodium released
by stem extracts of C. procera were higher in S. typhi
compared to other isolates. The amount of potassium
released by stem extracts using some clinical isolates
organisms compared to the extracts; whereby S. typhi
had the highest amount of sodium (Figure 5a).
like S. typhi, E. coli, S. dysenteriae and C. albicans
was also determined; it was observed that aqueous
extract had highest amount of potassium in S. typhi
isolates (Figure 4b).
Potassium leakage released by antibiotics (amoxicilin)
shows that E. coli ATCC 35218, K. pneumoniae ATCC
34089 and S. dysenteriae had the highest amount of
potassium (Figure 6b).
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DISCUSSION
Generally, the release of these ions might be
responsible for the bacteriostatic and bactericidal
activities of the extract. Na and K ions had been
shown to activate enzyme which in turn mediate
the biosynthetic processes in bacteria. The rate of
leakages of these ions varies from one organism
to other and the variation might be due to the
difference in the nature of cell wall composition
(Oladunmoye et al. (10). The amount of sodium
ion released is different from amount of potassium
which may be due to the difference in the molecular
size of these ions. The leakage of these ions might
be responsible for the inhibitory activities of the
extracts. Mailard (7) has reported that one of the
mechanisms of action of antimicrobial agents
might be due to the release of these ions.
The amount of sodium is greater than the amount
of potassium which may be due to the differences
of the molecular size of the two ions. Generally,
sodium ions are readily released into the medium
than potassium ions and this might be due to the
fact that sodium ions content (24g) is much smaller
than that of potassium ions (34g) (11). The amount
of ions released varies in different extracts which
may be due to the capability of how each of the
solvent and aqueous can extract.
Usually, the release of the ions may explain the
antimicrobial activity of Calotropis procera and
thus may justify its use for ethnomedicine (12).
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