Previous chemical analyses of the plant showed the presence of thymol and eugenol that might be responsible for the antibacterial properties. The MIC values of the extract were lower than the MBC values, suggesting that the plant extract is bacteriostatic at lower concentrations but bactericidal at higher concentrations. These results offer a scientific rationale for the traditional use of the aqueous extract for the treatment of diarrhoeal diseases. In Nigeria, where the plant grows wild, the leaves are plucked, squeezed in water, sieved and the aqueous extract is drunk to treat diarrhoea with remarkable successes. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of people in Nigeria depending on herbal drugs because of decline in purchasing power and the increasing fear of purchasing fake orthodox drugs.
Herbal drugs are cheap, readily available and unadulterated.
Their antibacterial activity could be increased by partial purification and subsequent concentration of the active ingredients. World Health Organisation. The promotion and development of traditional medicine. World Health Organization, 1978. Flora of West Tropical Africa.