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The antimicrobial activity of Spondias mombin, Croton zambesicusand Zygotritonia croceasourced from herbalists through an ethnobotanical survey of Egbado‐South in Ogun State in Nigeria is reported. The extracts of the leaf of Spondias mombinand the stem bark of Croton zambesicusexhibited wide spectrum antibacterial effects comparable to those of ampicillin and gentamycin. The antifungal effect of extracts of Zygotritonia croceaand Croton zambesicuswere comparable to those of tioconazole. There is justification for the use of these little studied medicinal plants as antiinfective agents in traditional medicine. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The antimicrobial activity of Spondias mombin, Croton zambesicus and Zygotritonia crocea sourced from herbalists through an ethnobotanical survey of Egbado-South in Ogun State in Nigeria is reported. The extracts of the leaf of Spondias mombin and the stem bark of Croton zambesicus exhibited wide spectrum antibacterial effects comparable to those of ampicillin and gentamycin. The antifungal effect of extracts of Zygotritonia crocea and Croton zambesicus were comparable to those of tioconazole. There is justification for the use of these little studied medicinal plants as antiinfective agents in traditional medicine. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Probucol is a cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant drug that has been shown to inhibit or delay the progression of atherosclerosis. This antiatherosclerotic effect may result from the removal of oxidized cholesterol on the surface of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). To investigate whether probucol transfers oxidized cholesterol from LDL to urine, urine samples were obtained from five patients with hypercholesterolaemia treated with 500-mg probucol orally daily and from five healthy controls. Using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry, we identified cholesteryl-6-(2,6-di-tertiary butylphenol-4)-thioether (CT) in the urine samples from patients with hypercholesterolaemia but not from healthy controls. This result suggests that probucol is hydrolysed to form 4-mercapto-2,6-di-tertiary butylphenol (MBP) which conjugates with cholesterol-5α,6α-epoxide, oxidized cholesterol, resulting in the formation of CT in vivo.In addition to its hypolipidaemic and antioxidant actions, probucol may act to prevent atherosclerosis by increasing the urinary excretion of oxidized cholesterol.