Kanwagi, Charles2026-08-262026-08-262026Kanwagi, C. (2026). Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of tylosema esculentum leaf extracts against common skin pathogens [Undergraduate, research report]. Busitema University.https://bdears.busitema.ac.ug/handle/123456789/9160Skin infections present a significant public health challenge in East Africa and Africa at large. This issue is worsened by rising antimicrobial resistance among common cutaneous pathogens. Tylosema esculentum known as marama bean is a resilient perennial legume that is currently valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties while the chemical profile some of its parts such as leaves remains unexplored. The therapeutic effectiveness of plant-based preparations is fundamentally dependent on the concentration and diversity of secondary metabolites such as phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids among others which serve as the primary bioactive agents against pathogenic organisms. The main objective of this research was to determine the qualitative secondary metabolite composition and quantitative concentrations of the selected phytochemicals within the leaf tissue matrix of Tylosema esculentum. The leaves of Tylosema esculentum were subjected to ultrasonic-assisted extraction using pure acetone as the extraction solvent at a temperature of 45°C, the crude extract was qualitatively analyzed for the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins, steroids, terpenoids, glycosides, quinones, anthraquinones and phlobatannins. The extraction process yielded 3.492 g of crude extract from an initial sample size of 40g of leaf powder giving a total percentage extraction yield of 8.73% which demonstrated a viable extraction efficiency. The qualitative phytochemical analysis confirmed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins, steroids, glycosides, and quinones, while terpenoids, anthraquinones and phlobatannins were absent. Quantification demonstrated that tannins were the most abundant phytochemicals at a concentration of 629.6 mg/g, followed by alkaloids at 112.2 mg/g, flavonoids at 24.9 mg/g and steroids at 24.8 mg/g. Antimicrobial assays against skin pathogens were not carried out because the required microbiology laboratory chemicals, microbial cultures and biosafety equipment were not readily available. The findings of the study suggest that Tylosema esculentum leaves may be a potential source of antimicrobial agents due to the exceptionally high presence of bioactive alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and steroids and also provide basis for further antimicrobial investigationsenThesis