Oral and skin infections contribute significantly to the global health challenges responsible for the current trend of increased\nmorbidity and premature death. The purpose of this study was to document medicinal plants used in the management of oral\nand skin infections in Ebem-Ohafia Local Government Area (LGA), Abia State, and to characterize the in vitro antioxidant and\nantibacterial activity.The thin layer chromatography (TLC) profiling of ten of the selected folklore medicine was carried out using\na various solvent system of different polarity index. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was evaluated using chemicalbased\nmethods, and its antibacterial effect was investigated using disc diffusion and microdilution methods. Sixty-one plant species\nbelonging to 26 families were discovered, and the most frequently cited species are Euphorbiaceae (18.03%), Fabaceae (11.47%),\nand Asteraceae (11.47%). All the plant extracts showed a promising free radical scavenging activity and efficient ferric reducing\nantioxidant power in a concentration-dependentmanner possibly due to their richness in polyphenol with TLC profiling showing\nmaximum three bands of phytochemicals. Also, the plant extracts exhibited a mild to weak antibacterial activity against our panel\nof bacterial strains having MIC values ranging from 256 to > 512 ..mL reflected in their zone of inhibition at 10 disc. The\ndata obtained for Breynia nivosa (BN), Eleusine indica (EI), Cassia alata (CA), Chromolaena odorata (CO), and Acalypha hispida\n(AH) extracts substantiate the traditional use of these herbal remedies in the region and open the possibility for the development\nof cheaper and affordable drugs in the treatment of oral and skin infections. Further studies are needed to identify active ingredient\nwith strong antibacterial and antioxidant capacities along with their molecular mechanisms.
Loading....