Background: Medicinal plants will continue to be relevant in the production of lead compounds that can be utilized for its antibacterial activity directly or through chemical modification (s). Aims: The present study is conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity vis-à-vis phytochemical constituents of Globimetula oreophila and Phragmanthera capitata. Materials and Methods: Cup plate agar diffusion assay was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the extracts of both plants against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Shigella spp., Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by plotting the diameters of zones of inhibition against the logarithm of concentrations and the straight line graph so generated extrapolated to the value equivalent to the diameter of the cork-borer. The antilog of the corresponding value of concentration was taken as the MIC value. Statistical Analysis: All the values of the results of cup plate diffusion assay were expressed as means of two replicates ± standard deviation. Results: Preliminary phytochemical screening reveals the presence of saponin, tannins, alkaloids, anthraquinones and flavonoid in both plants. Antibacterial screening of both plants showed that both of them were active against all clinical bacterial isolates tested with P. capitata having a higher activity than G. oreophila on most of the isolates. The ability of both plants to inhibit the growth of S. typhi is a major breakthrough in the control of incidence of typhoid fever notwithstanding the reports of resistance to existing antibiotics. Conclusion: It therefore follows that the importance of both plants in the management and control of infections with which all the bacterial isolates used for this study were associated cannot be underestimated.

Purpose: This work was aimed at evaluating four brands of mouthwash marketed in Nigeria for their anticaries activity. Method: The susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates obtained from 30 patients having carious teeth to the selected mouthwash was determined using the cup-plate method. The zones of inhibition produced by the mouthwash against the bacterial isolates were measured to determine the degree of susceptibility. Results: The organisms isolated from the patients were Staphylococccus aureus, Klebsiella sp, Streptococcus sp, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the following proportions: 30, 27, 20, 17 and 7 %, respectively. Anticaries evaluation revealed that 0.047 % thymol in ethanol displayed the highest degree of anticaries activity against all the Streptococcal species tested. Incorporation of preservatives in mouthwashes may adversely affect their anticaries activity as indicated by the fact that the preserved mouthwash exhibited lower activity than the unpreserved mouthwash. Conclusion: Anticaries activity is optimally achieved by using appropriate mouthwash combinations as this prevents both the initiation and progression of dental caries. The use of preservatives in mouthwash formulations should be done with caution as this may interfere with mouthwash activity.

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This work aims to improve the functionality of Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary) polyphenols by encapsulation in an optimized proliposome formulation. A 2 3 Box-Wilson central composite design (CCD) was employed to determine lone and interaction effects of composition variables on moisture content (X p); water activity (A w); concentration and retention of rosemary polyphenols-rosmarinic acid (ROA), carnosol (CAR), and carnosic acid (CNA); and recovery of spray-dried proliposomes (SDP). Processing conditions which generate proliposomes with optimum physicochemical properties were determined by multi-response analysis (desirability approach). Antioxidant and antifungal activities were evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH •) sequestering and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)/minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) assays, respectively. SDP exhibited high polyphenol retention, ranging from 62.0 to 100.0% w/w, showing dependence on composition variables and polyphenol lipophilicity. SDP recovery ranged from 20.1 to 45.8%, with X p and A w of 1.7 ± 0.14-2.5 ± 0.23% w/w and 0.30 ± 0.004-0.47 ± 0.003, respectively, evidencing product with good chemical and microbiological stability. Optimum liposomal composition was determined, namely, lipid concentration (4.26% w/w), lyophilized extract (LE) concentration (4.48% w/w), and drying aid:(lipid+extract) ratio (7.55% w/w) on wet basis. Relative errors between experimental and predicted values for SDP properties showed concurrence for all responses except CAR retention, being 22% lower. SDP showed high antioxidant activity with IC 50 of 9.2 ± 0.2 μg/ mL, superior to results obtained for LE (10.8 μg/mL) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a synthetic antioxidant (12.5 μg/mL). MIC and MFC against Candida albicans (ATCC1023) were 312.5 μg/mL and 1250 μg/mL, respectively, a moderate antimicrobial activity for phytochemical-based products. SDP is shown as a veritable tool to encapsulate hydrophilic and lipophilic rosemary polyphenols generating a product with optimal physicochemical and biological properties.