Comparative Studies on the Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of the Ethanolic Extracts of Lemon Grass Leaves and Stems

The aim of this study is to examine the phytochemical screening, chemical composition and antimicrobial activities of ethanol extracts of both the leaves and stems of Cymbopogon citratus. For proximate analysis, results for the leaves on the Moisture content, ash content, fat content, crude fibre, crude protein and carbohydrate were: 13.50, 11.17, 10.00, 19.54, 17.50 and 28.29% while that of the stem were: 7.98, 14.29, 13.50, 12.5, 17.50 and 34.23%, respectively. Also, the extracts was screened against two gram-negative bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris, two gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus and fungi strain Penicillium and mucor at three different concentrations [1:1, 1:2 and 1:3] using Disc diffusion method. For both the leaves and stem extracts, the phytochemical analysis revealed the present of tannins, flavonoid, phlobotannins and cardiac glycosides but absence of alkaloid and saponin.