ABSTRACT
Cashew Nut Shell Oil (CNSO) is a versatile component of the Cashew fruits’ nut. The oil which is a dark reddish-brown in colour is resident in a soft honeycomb shell that is the pericarp of the nut. It is a natural resin that could serve as a valuable raw material for multiple applications. The Cashew plant is of great economic significance to Nigeria and other tropical countries due to its valuable products. These products are utilized in food, medicine, chemical and allied industries. In addition to providing shade, the cashew tree is an embellished ornamental plant that suitably controls soil erosion. The world production of cashew crop, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), was around 2.7 million tons per annum. The major raw cashew producing countries with their production figures in 2005 (as per the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization) were Vietnam (960,800 tons), Nigeria (594,000 tons), cashew grows almost everywhere in Nigeria but its cultivation is concentrated primarily in the south and middle belt regions both in small holder farms and plantations (Olife et al., 2013). Major cashew growing areas in Nigeria include Abia, Abuja, Anambra, Benue, Cross river, Enugu, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Kogi, Kwara, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Sokoto, and Taraba states. The cashew seed was washed in water and allow to dry at room temperature. With the aid of a sterile knife, the nut was separated from the shell and pulverized in an electric grinder and was taken in soxhlet apparatus with 2500ml of 99% hexane and heated at 690 C for 24hrs. Then, the oil was obtained from the hexane by heating in a Rota Vapor. Antimicrobial agents of plant origin have various therapeutic potential. These are highly effective in the treatment of infectious diseases at the same time they have less number of side effects that are often compared with synthetic antimicrobials (Rios and Recio, 2005). Minimum growth inhibitory and bactericidal concentration of cashew nut oil against Staphylococcus aureus shows high concentration on all the zones and Minimum growth inhibitory and bactericidal concentration of cashew shell oil against Salmonella typhi shows high concentration on platev 1 and A. Minimum growth inhibitory and bactericidal concentration of cashew shell oil against Proteus vulgaris shows concentration on 1 and A Minimum growth inhibitory and bactericidal concentration of cashew shell oil against Streptococcus sp. Show high concentration ob plate 1 and A. Antibiotic susceptibility test carried out on staphylococcus aureus and Proteus vulgaris shows high growth in Ciprofloxacin; (100)% and Erythromycin (100). And no growth on the other antibiotic on salmonella typhi shows growth on ciprofloxacin. The morphological and biochemical characteristics of bacterial isolate shows a variety of characters of each isolates. The use of plants to heal diseases including infectious ones has been extensively applied by people. Data from literature as well as the present study results revealed great potential of cashew nut shell extracts/fractions for therapeutic treatment and the importance of cashew nut shell extracts extracts/fractions, when associated with antibiotics to control multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria, a major threat to human health. These antimicrobial characteristics of cashew nut shell of Anacardium occidentale, L. potentially valuable for the future as a bioenhancer in antimicrobial drug resistance reversal therapy.
