Plants remain the most common source of
antimicrobial agents. Their usage as traditional
health remedies is the most popular for 80% of
world population in Asia, Latin America and
Africa and is reported to have minimal side
effects1,2. In recent years, pharmaceutical
companies have spent a lot of time and money
in developing natural products extracted from
plants, to produce more cost effective remedies
that are affordable to the population. The rising
incidence in multidrug resistance amongst
pathogenic microbes has further necessitated
the need to search for newer antibiotic sources.
Tamarindus indica Linn. (commonly called
Tamarind), family Fabaceae, subfamily
caesalpiniaceae is a tropical evergreen tree
native to fertile areas throughout Africa and
Southern Asia. It is widely cultivated as an
ornamental tree and for its acidic fruits used in
making drinks and a popular component of
many decoctions used as health remedies. In
Northern Nigeria, the fresh stem bark and fresh
leaves are used as decoction mixed with potash
for the treatment of stomach disorder, general
body pain, jaundice, yellow fever and as blood
tonic and skin cleanser. Because of its wide
usage and availability, this study was set out to
investigate the antimicrobial activity of the plant
and to determine the effect of temperature and
pH on the efficacy of the plant as an
antimicrobial agent.