1. Pharmacological Evaluation of Selected Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Oral and Skin Infections in Ebem-Ohafia District, Abia State, Nigeria
- Author
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S.O. Oyedemi, Ifeoma I. Ijeh, Ayobami O. Aiyegoro, Johnson V. Chibuzor, Blessing O. Oyedemi, and R. M. Coopoosamy
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Free Radicals ,Article Subject ,030106 microbiology ,Chromolaena odorata ,Nigeria ,lcsh:Medicine ,Microbial Sensitivity Tests ,lcsh:Technology ,Antioxidants ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Phenols ,Cassia ,Animals ,Humans ,Agar diffusion test ,Skin Diseases, Infectious ,lcsh:Science ,Medicinal plants ,Acalypha hispida ,General Environmental Science ,Flavonoids ,Plants, Medicinal ,biology ,Traditional medicine ,Plant Extracts ,lcsh:T ,lcsh:R ,Euphorbiaceae ,Free Radical Scavengers ,General Medicine ,biology.organism_classification ,030104 developmental biology ,Polyphenol ,lcsh:Q ,Chromatography, Thin Layer ,Mouth Diseases ,Antibacterial activity ,Research Article - Abstract
Oral and skin infections contribute significantly to the global health challenges responsible for the current trend of increased morbidity and premature death. The purpose of this study was to document medicinal plants used in the management of oral and skin infections in Ebem-Ohafia Local Government Area (LGA), Abia State, and to characterize the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity. The thin layer chromatography (TLC) profiling of ten of the selected folklore medicine was carried out using a various solvent system of different polarity index. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was evaluated using chemical-based methods, and its antibacterial effect was investigated using disc diffusion and microdilution methods. Sixty-one plant species belonging to 26 families were discovered, and the most frequently cited species are Euphorbiaceae (18.03%), Fabaceae (11.47%), and Asteraceae (11.47%). All the plant extracts showed a promising free radical scavenging activity and efficient ferric reducing antioxidant power in a concentration-dependent manner possibly due to their richness in polyphenol with TLC profiling showing maximum three bands of phytochemicals. Also, the plant extracts exhibited a mild to weak antibacterial activity against our panel of bacterial strains having MIC values ranging from 256 to > 512 μg/ mL reflected in their zone of inhibition at 10 μg/disc. The data obtained for Breynia nivosa (BN), Eleusine indica (EI), Cassia alata (CA), Chromolaena odorata (CO), and Acalypha hispida (AH) extracts substantiate the traditional use of these herbal remedies in the region and open the possibility for the development of cheaper and affordable drugs in the treatment of oral and skin infections. Further studies are needed to identify active ingredient with strong antibacterial and antioxidant capacities along with their molecular mechanisms.
- Published
- 2018
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