Abstract
Background: The rapidly growing use of herbal drugs or supplements in complementary and alternative medicine as substitute for orthodox medicine both in developed and developing countries is fast gaining ground.Aim: This study evaluated both qualitative and quantitative phytochemical constituents of Diodia scandens and Phyllanthus amarus vis-à-vis their synergistic effects on clinically isolated staphylococci.Methods: A total of 200 wounds and burns samples were obtained from patients in the accident and emergency unit of different tertiary hospitals. Staphylococci were isolated and characterised using standard microbiological procedures. Whole plants of D. scandens and P. amarus were Soxhlet extracted with absolute ethanol. The phytochemical analysis was carried out using standard methods. Also, the minimum inhibitory concentration and bactericidal effect of the combined extracts were determined.Results: The phytochemicals present in D. scandens include saponin (6.58%), tannin (2.27 mg/100g), alkaloids (10.53%) and phytin phosphorus (1.80 mg/g), while phytochemicals in P. amarus include saponin (9.99%), tannin (5.82 mg/100g), alkaloids (9.67%) and phytin phosphorus (2.44 mg/g), revealing their antibacterial properties and phytonutrients. The combination study showed that a synergistic effect exists between the two plants on the isolates tested compared with individual extracts alone at the concentrations used.Conclusion: It is noteworthy that the traditional use of these plants was not only confirmed but the combination of D. scandens and P. amarus also proved more effective as antibacterial agent compared with a previous study on the same plants using single determination.
Highlights
The Current and universally recognised effective health care delivery includes primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems
Β-lactamase assay Strips of starch paper measuring 4 cm × 7 cm were cut and sterilised with 70% ethanol. These were soaked for 10 min in a solution of 0.1 g benzyl penicillin dissolved in a sufficient amount of phosphate buffer to make up 100 mL
The rate of isolation of staphylococci from 200 wounds and burns sources revealed a high prevalence of S. aureus (85%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (15%)
Summary
The Current and universally recognised effective health care delivery includes primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems. The Primary health care recognises the importance of alternative, complementary and traditional medicines both in developed and developing countries (WHO 2003). Flexibility, easy accessibility, broad continuing acceptance in developing countries and increasing popularity in developed countries, relative low cost, low levels of technological input, relative low side effects and growing economic importance are some of the positive features of traditional medicine (WHO 2002). Diodia scandens belong to the family Rubiaceae, a straggling herb with slender angular stems of 1–3 m in length and scabrid leaves. It is commonly dispersed in tropical Africa, tropical Asia and America. The rapidly growing use of herbal drugs or supplements in complementary and alternative medicine as substitute for orthodox medicine both in developed and developing countries is fast gaining ground
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