The study investigated the antimicrobial potencies of the aqueous and ethanolic leaves extracts of Ficus platyphylla D. on some selected microorganisms namely Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albican. The methods used were paper disc and agar well diffusion. In both methods the aqueous leaves extracts did not show any antimicrobial activity against the tested organisms but the ethanolic extract markedly inhibited the growth of K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis at the concentrations used (100, 200 and 400mg/ml).The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the ethanolic extract was 12.5mg/ml, 25mg/ml and 100mg/ml for P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis and K. pneumoniae respectively in paper disc method. In Agar well diffusion method, the MIC was 6.25mg/ml, 12.5mg/ml and 50mg/ml against P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis and K. pneumoniae. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extract was 12.5mg/ml 50mg/ml and 100mg/ml in paper disc method and 12.5mg/ml, 25 mg/ml and 100mg/ml in Agar well method against P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis and K. pneumoniae respectively. The result of this study showed that ethanol was a better extractive solvent for the antimicrobial active component(s) of the leaves of the plant and may be a good candidate for drug development which could be a cure for some ailments.
