Antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxicity studies of medicinal plants used in the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
Context: The World Health Organization reported that more than 1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired daily, with an estimated 357 million new infections caused by either chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis or trichomoniasis. Aim: The present study was aimed to evaluate antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities of ethanol extracts of ten ethnobotanical selected plant species used to treat STD's and related symptoms. Methods: The determination of antimicrobial susceptibility of plant extracts was done using the broth micro dilution assay against five microorganisms. The free radical scavenging activity was determined by using DPPH (2, 2 diphenyly 1 picrylhydrazyl) Cytotoxicity activity of the plant extracts was done on Vero African monkey cells lines with 2, 3 bis [2 methoxy 4 nitro5 sulfophenyl] 2H tetrazolium 5 carboxanilide (XTT) reagents. Results: Our results suggest that extracts of Acacia karroo and Rhoicissus tridentata subsp. cuneifolia are potential candidates with a good antimicrobial, antioxidant and low cytotoxicity activities. This results may support the anecdotal claims for the use of the selected plant species to treat venereal diseases.