Effect of Fresh Leaf and Stem Pith Extracts of Alchornea Cordifolia on Oral Bacteria

C. O. Akpo^1* and U. B. Owhe-Ureghe²

¹Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

²Department of Microbiology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/1092

ABSTRACT: Some common oral infections in most parts of the world are treated traditionally by plant products because they are cheap and give little or no side effects. In this research, the effects of the crude leaf and stem pith extracts of Alchornea cordifolia was studied in vitro against four oral bacteria (Actinomyces viscosus, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus mutans) using the agar well diffusion method. Results show that the fresh juice from the stem pith of A. cordifolia displayed the highest antibacterial activity by significantly inhibiting all four bacterial species with zones of inhibition ranging between 28.7 ± 1.7 mm and 43.0 ± 2.0 mm. However, the leaf juice of the plant did not inhibit S. aureus and S. mutans. The concentrated leaf extracts at 575 mg/ml inhibited all the isolates significantly with zones of inhibition ranging from 14.0 ± 1.0 mm to 25.3 ± 0.5mm. S. aureus was most susceptible to both the pith juice and the concentrated leaf juice. The in vitro potency of the fresh stem pith of Alchornea cordifolia is by this investigation, found to be an effective antibacterial agent against these organisms and so may be a good treatment for oral infections. The traditional use of the leaves for the management of dental caries and toothache caused by these bacteria is also scientifically validated in this research.

KEYWORDS: Alchornea cordifolia; stem pith; crude extract; fresh juice; oral bacteria

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