Background: Triterpenoids derived from isoprene units, with diverse medicinal uses acting as a vital compound in ethnomedicine and modern drug research. The aim of this study is the assessment of potential synergistic activity of n-hexane fractions of A. sativa and methanolic fraction of C. papaya in combination with ketoconazole and ciprofloxacin against test organisms. Method: About 800 g of Avena sativa (oat) and 500 g of Carica papaya were extracted with 500 mL each of 80% methanol, n-hexane, ethyl acetate and chloroform separately. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of triterpenoids was determined. The samples extract were fractionated using column chromatography. The antimicrobial susceptibility assessment was done using agar well diffusion method while minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was performed using broth microdilution method. Evaluation of synergistic potential of A. sativa and C. papaya bark was done using agar diffusion checker board (ADCB) method. Results: The result shows the presence of terpenoids in both samples with total terpenoids in A. sativa (9.31%) and C. papaya (2.18%) respectively. Synergistic activity of A. sativa in combination with ketoconazole was observed at 10:0, 1:9 and 0:10 combinations. Combination that shows synergistic activity of bark of C. papaya combined with ketoconazole is 10:0, 1:9 and 0:10 respectively against C. albicans. Conclusion: A combination of n-hexane fraction of A. sativa and methanolic fraction of bark of C. papaya and Ketoconazole possesses synergistic activity against C. albicans while combination of plant extract and ciprofloxacin showed no synergistic activity against bacterial isolates.
Onyeloni et al. (Wed,) studied this question.