Comparative Study of the Effects of Diospyros Lycioides and Ozoreaschinziion Oral Hygiene

The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Botanists, microbiologists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and “leads” which could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases. While 25 to 50% of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants, none are used as antimicrobials, over 80% of the world's population still relies on traditional medicine using plant extracts to provide health coverage, this is especially so in the developing world. This is a study of two plants indigenous to Namibia that are locally used for oral hygiene. The plants were collected and screened for known phytochemicals that have antimicrobial properties. Two extracts were done on each plant, one organic extract and an aqueous extracted. The phytochemical screening of plant extracts revealed the presence of saponins, anthraquinones, alkaloids and flavonoids. These compounds are known to be biologically active and therefore aid the antimicrobial activities of Diospyros lycioides and of Ozoreaschiinzi. Both plants showed antimicrobial properties against Candida albicans and Staphalococcus aureus however the most activity was noted in the organic extract.