Natural products from Nigerian plants are significant in the search for drug compounds, as they contribute new compounds with biological properties to the fight against resistant pathogens, hence the study. Fresh leaves of M. indica were prepared for fungal isolation, identification, fermentation, and secondary metabolites extraction. The extract, subjected to HPLC analysis revealed presence of two bioactive compounds: p-Hydroxylbenzoic acid, and Protocatechuic acid. The extract exhibited antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa and E. coli producing IZD of 4 mm respectively at 1 mg/ml. It produced an interesting antioxidant activity in the DPPH assay with 86.7% activity at 0.5 mg/ml. At 0.01 mg/ml, the extract showed 85.3% cytotoxic activity against L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells and showed 96.5% ± 0.173 HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition activity at 0.25 mg/ml. This study confirms Aspergillus sp. from M. indica produces bioactive compounds that could serve as novel drug molecules in the fight against drug resistance.

This study aimed to achieve an in vitro quantification of the effects of composition and formulation factors on the killing rates of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The killing rates of 85% ethyl alcohol (ET) and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) were studied under different conditions such as pH, electrolyte concentration, or inclusion of herbal extracts (cucumber, carrot, and aloe vera), a quaternary ammonium compound, or thickener over different time intervals. Changes in the activities were retested after 3 months as an indication of stability. From two-way ANOVA, both the time of exposure and the sanitizer type affected the activity against Staphylococcus aureus (P = 0.001 for both alcohols), whereas for Escherichia coli, time of exposure was significant (P = 0.027), while sanitizer type was less significant (P = 0.063). Extreme pHs, the presence of ions, and the inclusion of additives such as benzalkonium chloride (BAC), plant extracts, or carbomer impacted the 3-month activity of the samples differently. Important differences existing in the activities of ET and IPA, as a function of formulation factors or use conditions have been quantified using in vitro methods. Formulations should best be tailored for particular purposes and the all-purpose hand sanitizer may not exist. Graphic Abstract