IN-VITRO ANTIMICROBIAL SCREENING OF SOME COMMERCIALIZED UNREGISTERED HERBAL MIXTURES SOLD IN ANAMBRA AND ENUGU STATES, NIGERIA.

Author's Name: Victoria I. Anyaoha, Joachim O. Ezeadila, Onyekachukwu I. Udemezue & Evelyn A. Kyrian-Ogbonna
Subject Area: Life Sciences
Subject Immunology and Microbiology
Section Research Paper

Keyword:

Antimicrobial activity, herbal mixtures, unregistered, human pathogens


Abstract

This study was carried out to screen the antimicrobial activities of some herbal mixtures used for treating typhoid fever, gastrointestinal infections, bronchitis, dental carries and venereal diseases. The Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used to screen fifteen unregistered herbal mixtures (coded H1-H15) purchased from Enugu and Anambra States in Nigeria, against clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. Ciprofloxacin (5µg/ml) and fluconazole (25µg/ml) were used as standards for comparison. Results showed H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5 were active against one or more of the test organisms. Herbal mixtures H6-H15 exhibited no activity. The highest zone of inhibition (21.25±2.20mm) in this sturdy was produced by H5 against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC and MBC of 1.25mg/ml and 5.00mg/ml respectively while H1 showed the least activity (9.50±1.29mm) against Salmonella typhi. The herbal mixtures H3 and H4 respectively produced inhibition zone diameters of 20.50±2.38mm and 20.0±2.16mm against Candida albicans which favourably compared with that (21.0±2.58mm) of the standard drug fluconazole. Streptococcus mutans and Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited resistance to all the herbal mixtures except H4 to which Klebsiella pneumoniae was sensitive. Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive with an overall sensitivity of 35.0%. Statistically, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the sensitivity of test organisms. However, 67% of the herbal mixtures showed no activity as claimed. This study has shown herbal mixtures possess some antimicrobial activity against some human pathogens and thus, recommends the regulation and monitoring of their production process to aid standardization.

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