O.O. Ojo*, A.O. Ajayi and I.I. Anibijuwon
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Ado-Ekiti, P.M.B 5363, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti-State, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
The antibacterial activities of six commonly used chewing sticks – Terminalia glauscens, Veronia amygdalina, Mascularia acuminata, Afzelia africana, Rauwolfia vomitoria and Nauclea latifolia – were tested against five bacterial species using agar dilution technique and zones of inhibition were measured for each of the extracts. Extraction was done using distilled water and ethanol. The chewing sticks were all screened for their phytochemical components. They all showed different antibacterial activities against test organisms with zones of inhibition ranging from 1.0mm-14.0mm. The ethanol extracts showed higher activities than the aqueous extracts. N. latifolia was the most active of all the chewing sticks (2.0mm-14.0mm) while M. acuminata showed the least activity (1.0mm-6.0mm). Escherichia coli was the least sensitive of all the test organisms. Staphylococcus aureus, as well as Klebsiella pneuminiae, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed varied sensitivity to the extracts. The phytochemical screening showed that tannins and phenolics, saponins, reducing compounds and alkaloids are the active components. This study has justified the use of these chewing sticks for the maintenance of oral hygiene in rural communities.
Keywords: Antibacterial properties, Chewing Sticks, Nigeria.