Antibiotics Effect Of Advertised Traditional Medicines Against Candida Albicans

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The use and history of herbs dates back to the time of early man, who had the crudest tools as his implements and used stones to start his fire. Herbs were used in a raw state and cooked forms to keep fit. Since that time, the use of herbs has been known and accepted by all nations and has been known also as the first art of treatment available to man (Kafaru, 1994). The search for natural products to cure diseases has received considerable attentions in which plants have been the most important source (Okwu, 2001). Herbal preparations form the basis for many therapeutic drugs and are the first line treatment for many of the world’s population, being readily available and relatively inexpensive (Olaniyi, 1998; Okparaet al., 2007). Herbal medicinal products are assuming greater roles in the lives of the people across the world in the face of global upsurge of drug resistance, toxicity, adverse effects and increasing costs of synthetic products (Mbi, 1998). In Nigeria, several thousands of plant species have been claimed to possess medicinal properties and employed in the treatment of many ailments (Oludare, 2011). 

Many of these indigenous medicinal plants are used as spices and food plants and for medicinal purposes (Nwaogu, 20l7). Medicinal plants are believed to be an essential source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects (Winston, 2008). Medicinal plants are defined as plants in which one or more of its organs contain substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or which its precursors for the manufacturing of drugs are useful for disease therapy (Sofowora, l982; Balandrin, 1985). Since medicinal plants do not just nearly save people from the effect of the pathogenic organism but permit them to emerge unscathed, they deserve investigation. The local use of natural plants as primary health remedies as a result of their pharmacological properties is quite common in Asia, Latin America, and Africa (Bibitha, 2002). 

The importance of herbs in the management of human ailments cannot be over emphasized. It is clear that the plant kingdom harbours an inexhaustible source of active ingredients invaluable in the management of many intractable diseases. Furthermore, the active components of herbal remedies have the advantage of being combined with other substances that appear to be inactive. However, these complementary components give the plant as a whole a safety and efficiency much superior to that of its isolated and pure active components (Ahmad, 2001). An increasing reliance on the use of medicinal plants in the industrialized societies has been traced to the extraction and development of several drugs and chemotherapeutics from these plants as well as from traditionally used rural herbal remedies (UNESCO, 1998). Moreover, in these societies, herbal remedies have become more popular in the treatment of minor ailments; this is partly because of the increasing costs of personal health maintenance. Indeed, the market and public demand have been so great that there is a great risk that many medicinal plants today face either extinction or loss of genetic diversity (Idu, 2007). There is no plant that does not have medicinal value.

The active components are normally extracted from all plant structures, but the concentrations of these components vary from structure to structure. However, parts known to contain the highest concentration of the bioactive components are preferred to therapeutic purposes and it can either be the leaves, stems, barks, roots, bulks, corms, rhizomes, woods, flowerers, fruits or the seeds (Kafaru, 1994). The bitter tastes, pungent and repulsive smell in some plants; have been found to have repressive ability over the metabolic activities of a wide range of microorganisms (Mitscheret al., 1992). The genus Acalypha comprises of about 570 species (Riley, 1963). Acalypha wilkesianabelongs to Euphorbiaceae family. The plant is popularly used for the treatment of malaria, dermatological disorders, gastrointestinal disorders (Akinde and Odeyemi, 1987) and for its antimicrobial property (Adesinaet al., 1980; 2000, Kabir et al., 2005, 0ladunmoye, 2006; Erute and Oyibo, 2008). It is widely used in southern Nigeria as a remedy for the treatment of skin infections in children (Alade and Irobi, 1992).Candida albicansbelongs to the family Saccharomycetaceae, it is an opportunistic pathogenic and a common member of the human gut flora. It does not proliferate outside the human body.

It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40 – 60% of healthy adults. It is usually a commensal organism, but can become pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals under a variety of conditions. Children at their tender stage suffer a lot of skin irritation caused by fungi especially Candida, among these infections is “Nlacha” as proudly called by the Igbo speaking part of Nigeria. Medicinal plant  have been used by people including educated and local women in treating this infection, this necessitated this research work to find out the active components of this plant that confers such therapeutic agent. Also, not many studies have been conducted on this plant to know its antimicrobial activity against C. albicans.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In order to provide high standard patient care at a minimum cost, herbal products need to be safe, effective and of high quality. Herbal products are currently not well regulated in Nigeria due to the diversity of their constituents, routes of entry into the Nigerian market and insufficient surveillance mechanisms by regulatory agencies. Although herbal medicine play a considerable role in the primary health care, they may inadvertently cause serious health implications and fatalities if left unregulated. This study sought to investigate the microbial and heavy metal contamination of these products.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES. 

Aim: To determine the Antibiotics effect of advertised traditional medicines against candida albicans

Objectives:

1. To determine the phytochemical components of traditional medicines

2. To determine the susceptibility of common human pathogen of clinical origin to extracts of traditional medicines from Acalypha wilkesiana plant

3. To determine the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of the plant extracts against the test organism.

1.4 Justification of the Study
The use of herbal medicine is rapidly expanding across the world. These products are either taken on their own or concomitantly with conventional medicines by a greater percentage of the world’s population. Historically, the knowledge of traditional medicine was developed and selfishly guarded within the community, then passed down from generation to generation orally. Natural products are believed to be safe and compatible with the human body, however, there are reports of serious adverse reactions linked to the use of herbal medicines worldwide. There has been an increasing concern over the safety and toxicity of natural products due to scanty traceable data on their routes of manufacture and quality assurance.

Despite the existence of herbal medicines from ancient times and their immense contribution to primary healthcare of the greater percentage of the population, most African countries do not officially recognize herbal medicines and therefore lack well established regulatory policies for these products. Ingestion of herbal medicines contaminated with heavy metals and microbes over a long period adds up to the total concentration of these contaminants in the body.

NAFDAC directed local manufacturer to come up with quality specifications and regulatory policies to standardize herbal medicine utilization and practice. However, this was almost impossible because of lack of documented information on the efficacy, quality, safety and rational use of these products.

The results obtained from this study will provide informative data to the regulatory authorities on the microbial quality of the herbal products in Nigerian market and may be used to inform policy formulation to ensure adequate quality control measures are adhered to by all stakeholders.

1.5 Scope of the study
This study will concentrate on the Antibiotics effect of advertised traditional medicines against candida albicans.  The researcher selected 20 areas in Port Harcourt where there are presence of herbal medicine.

1.6 Limitations of the Study
Financial Constraints: The researcher was with limited funds and cannot visit all the areas to get responses from respondents but was able to get good information concerning the research topic.

Time Constraints: The researcher was involved in other departmental activities like seminars, attendance of lectures et.c which limited the time for the research but the researcher was able to meet up with the time assigned for the completion of the research work.