ABSTRACT

 Oral and Skin infections are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Pathogenic bacteria are becoming resistance to the existing antibiotics and many of the commercially available antimicrobial drugs. Therefore, there is need to explore medicinal plants as rich reservoir for the discovery of a safe complementary and alternative drugs that can be harnessed for human benefit. The present work aimed at investigating the total phenolic, total flavonoid, antibacterial, antioxidant and TLC profiling of some medicinal plants used traditionally for the treatment of oral and skin infections in Ohafia, Abia State. Such plants are: lpomoea involucrata, Acalypha hispida, Breynia nivosa, Jatropha curas, Chromolaena odorata, Macrolobium macrophyllum, Eleusine indica, Baphia nitida, Burkea africana, and Cassia a/ata. The antioxidant potential, antibacterial, total phenolic and flavonoid of methanolic extract were investigated using in vitro standard bioassays methods. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP were used to evaluate the antioxidant ability of the extract. Disc diffusion agar and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were used to evaluate the antibacterial activities. TLC profiling using silica gel coated on a glass with a solvent ratios of chloroform and methanol (6:4) and toluene, ethyl acetate and acetic acid (5:4:1) were used to separate polar and mid-polar compounds respectively. The plant extracts demonstrated a robust antioxidative potential and a potent antibacterial activity against the clinically isolated bacteria. The result of this study partly lend credence to the ethno-medicinal use of these plant by the traditional healers. Further work is suggested to isolate, characterize, and identify active principles in these botanicals via bio-guided assays and their toxicological studies for drug discovery.