Pharmacological Evaluation of Selected Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Oral and Skin Infections in Ebem-Ohafia District, Abia State, Nigeria

Oral and skin infections contribute signifcantly to the global health challenges responsible for the current trend of increased morbidity and premature death. The purpose of this study was to document medicinal plants used in the management of oral and skin infections in Ebem-Ohafa Local Government Area (LGA), Abia State, and to characterize the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity. The thin layer chromatography (TLC) profling of ten of the selected folklore medicine was carried out using a various solvent system of different polarity index. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was evaluated using chemicalbased methods, and its antibacterial efect was investigated using disc difusion and microdilution methods. Sixty-one plant species belonging to 26 families were discovered, and the most frequently cited species are Euphorbiaceae (18.03%), Fabaceae (11.47%), and Asteraceae (11.47%). All the plant extracts showed a promising free radical scavenging activity and efcient ferric reducing antioxidant power in a concentration-dependent manner possibly due to their richness in polyphenol with TLC profling showing maximum three bands of phytochemicals. Also, the plant extracts exhibited a mild to weak antibacterial activity against our panel of bacterial strains having MIC values ranging from 256 to > 512 �g/ mL refected in their zone of inhibition at 10 �g/disc. The data obtained for Breynia nivosa (BN), Eleusine indica (EI), Cassia alata (CA), Chromolaena odorata (CO), and Acalypha hispida (AH) extracts substantiate the traditional use of these herbal remedies in the region and open the possibility for the development of cheaper and afordable drugs in the treatment of oral and skin infections. Further studies are needed to identify active ingredient with strong antibacterial and antioxidant capacities along with their molecular mechanisms.