NGURARI SAMSON WAINAINA2025-02-122025-02-122023-10https://repository.chuka.ac.ke/handle/123456789/16405The prevalence of bacterial infections and inflammatory-related diseases is increasing. As an alternative, the pharmaceutical sector is currently focusing on studying medicinal plants to generate alternative therapies for these health concerns. Solanum incanum and Tamarindus indica are among the plant species utilized in traditional medicine to address these issues. Most conventional drugs used to manage inflammation and bacterial infections have side effects, while some are expensive, hence the need to have alternative plant-based therapies. Additionally, there is limited information on the potency of Solanum incanum and Tamarindus indica, which is vital in process of commercializing its active metabolites to improve disease management. Therefore, this study analyzed phytochemicals present in aqueous and dichloromethane leaf extracts of the two plants and tested their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic properties. The phytochemical analysis was done using standard chemical tests followed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy of dichloromethane extracts. The antibacterial activity of the extracts was tested against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus using disc diffusion method, minimum inhibitory Concentration, and minimum bactericidal concentrations assays. The anti-inflammatory potency of the extracts was tested using an Erythrocyte stabilization assay, while the toxicity of the extract was tested using brine shrimp lethality tests. Phytochemical analysis indicated presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, phenols, and alkaloids in all the plant extracts. Additionally, the T. indica dichloromethane and S. incanum water extracts had no glycosides, while anthraquinones were absent in all the extracts. The antibacterial assay revealed significant difference in antibacterial activity between the plant extracts at different concentrations. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations of T. indica extracts ranged between 62.5 μg/mL and 125 μg/mL, while those of S. incanum ranged between 62.5 μg/mL and 250 μg/mL. The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration of both plants ranged between 125 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL. The S. incanum dichloromethane extracts had the highest percentage erythrocyte stabilization at 1000 μg/ml, 57.64 ±13.90%, while S. incanum water extract had the lowest stabilization at 2000 μg/ml, 19.06 ±14.43%. T. indica dichloromethane extract has the highest toxicity (LD50 of 113.57 μg/mL) while S. incanum DCM extract was the least toxic (LD50 of 2341 μg/mL). The plant extracts have demonstrated the potential of being used for therapeutic purposes after further analysis for the identification of the active compounds. Therefore, this research provides preliminary data on their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity of the extracts, which is foundational for further research.enThesis