Abstract:
In Ethiopia there are many species of medicinal plants which may contain disease curing bioactive compounds which are distributed all over the country. The traditional
medicine still plays an important role in the primary health care in Ethiopia. Aloe
ankoberensis is one of the most common endemic plants in Ethiopia used in
traditional medicines. In this study the leaves of Aloe ankoberensis were extracted
using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol using maceration. The
antibacterial activities of the extracts were investigated against Gram positive, and
Gram negative bacteriausing Muller Hinton Agar medium by disc diffusion method.
Ethanol extract of aloe ankoberensis indicated a good antibacterial activity against a
Staphyloccus aures, Listerial monocytogenes Escherichia coli and, candida albicans
with zone of inhibition 11, 11, 13 and 10, respectively. Chloroform extract of Aloe
ankoberensis also showed a medium antibacterial activity against a Staphyloccus
aureus and listerial monocytogenes and Escherichia coli and, candida albicans with
zone of inhibition 9, 7, 8, and 8, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the extracts
of Aloe ankobernsis was determined using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
assay. DPPH radical scavenging activity of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and
ethanol extracts were 83.73%-96.04%, 72.14%- 95.43%, 67.57%-91.64%, 42.61%-
90.47%, respectively. Generally ethanol crude extract had good antibacterial and
antioxidant activities than ethyl acetate, chloroform and hexane extracts due to the
presence of saponins and phenolics compounds.
