Effect of some plants' extracts used in Sudanese folkloric medicines on carrageenan-induced inflammation

Investigations for anti-inflammatory potential and categorization of Sudanese medicinal plants according to their potency. Anti-inflammatory effect of plants' extracts of 17 genera were studied using the carrageenan induced inflammation in rats' paws. The plant extracts were obtained using methanol and dichloromethane as solvent and administered intra peritoneally at the concentration of 2g/kg body weight. The results obtained in this experiment strongly support and validate the traditional uses of these Sudanese medicinal plants to treat various inflammatory diseases. 63.9% of plants extracts showed marked inhibition of inflammation induced by carrageenan [78.3% out of this percentage represented by methanolic extract], 27.8% showed no activity and 8.3% enhanced the carrageenan induced inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect of many of these plants has not been reported previously, yet they have been extensively used in Sudanese folkloric medicine. The result of this study justify the traditional medicinal use of the evaluated plants species in treating inflammatory disorders and helped in categorizing the investigated plants into most useful, moderately useful and least useful category for inflammatory diseases. Out of the 17 investigated plant species 05 belongs to most useful and 06 belongs to moderately useful category. However, toxicity studies are required to prove the safety of these plant materials

Effect of Babul and alum on salivary flow and oral bacterial growth

Objectives: Compare the effect of Babul and Alum on salivary flow, and saliva micro-organisms

Materials: Ninety volunteers, 20-25 years of age, were recruited. They were divided into 3 groups. Mouthwashes used: 25% aqueous Babul solution, 6.2% aqueous Alum solution, or distilled water. Unstimulated and stimulated saliva were collected for five minutes. The first change to visit one sample was a base line then after one week [visit 2]. Each subject was given 15 ml of randomized assigned mouthwash to rinse for one minute daily, then measurements were done after 2 and 4 weeks [visit 3,4]. Count of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli were performed

Results: Results showed that unstimulated saliva in visit one had significantly higher mean values than visit 3 and visit 4 [p<0.05]. However, mean stimulated saliva in visit 2 was significantly lower than visit 3 and visit 4 [p<0.05]. There was an observable difference in the count of Streptococcus mutans. The number of cases with high count was reduced in final assessment to zero, while subjects with low count increased similarly relative to one use of Babul mouthwash. Although there were no significant differences among count of Lactobacillus, both mouthwashes showed a progressive decrease in the subjects with high bacterial count of Lactobacillus

Conclusions: Babul and Alum reduced salivary flow rate after the repeated use, which could be used in moisture control for dental procedures. Both mouthwashes had antibacterial effect against Streptocuccus mutans and Lactobacilli indicating the promising use of these natural substances as antibacterial compounds