Abstract Six out of forty plants attested to be utilized in antimalarial in South West Nigeria by herbal traders and native doctors were collected. The plants are Sphenocentrum jollyanum, Spathodea campanulata, Kigelia africana, Harungana madagascariensis, Ficus exasperata and Antiaris africana. Their methanol extracts were obtained by cold extraction. Extracts were subjected to phytochemical tests using standard methods. Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) were determined against five microbes [Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicans]; to assess antibacterial and antifungal activities of each extract. All the eighteen extracts contain saponins, almost all have reducing sugars. Five of the plants contain alkaloids and resins. Flavonoids and phenols were moderately present in the extracts. Phlobatannins and anthraquinones were not abundant in the plant extracts. Antibacterial activities of the extracts are more pronounced than their antifungal potentials.
Keywords Secondary metabolites, bacteria, fungi, ethno-medicine, bioactivity, MIC.