Antimicrobial Activities and Phytochemical Screening of Five Nigerian Chewing Sticks
Keywords:
Phytochemical screening, Chewing sticks, antimicrobial screening, Oral microbesAbstract
Chewing sticks are important non-timber forest products widely used for dental cleaning in Nigeria. This work was intended to study the antimicrobial activities and phytochemical screening of some indigenous Nigerian chewing sticks which will serve as scientific support for the use of chewing sticks for oral hygiene in rural areas. Ethanol and aqueous extracts of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, Massularia acuminata, Khaya ivorensis, Terminalia glaucescens and Azadirachta indica were obtained through soxhlet and maceration respectively. Qualitative and quantitative testing of bioactive compounds using standard procedures revealed the presence of tannins, reducing compounds, alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, saponins and cardiac glycosides. Antimicrobial screening of the extracts was carried out on Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans which were isolated from mouth swabs. The ethanolic extract of K. ivorensis and A. indica had the highest antibacterial activity against Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The aqueous extract of Massularia acuminata exerted an antimicrobial effect only on Candida albicans. The variation in the antimicrobial activities of the extracts could be attributed to the concentration of the various bioactive compounds present in the chewing sticks. This study has confirmed the effectiveness of these chewing sticks and toothbrushes against certain microorganisms.
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