John Eljay O. Abdon^1,, Justien P. Abaya¹, Nikkafeb P. Pepito¹, Ian Jay P. Saldo¹

Agricultural residues have been evident worldwide and can seriously threaten the environment after harvesting crops. This study aimed to develop two organic ointments from corn (Zea mays L.) silk (CS) and rice (O. sativa) hull (RH) liquid extracts. It quantitatively assessed the extracts’ phytochemical compositions and antibacterial properties while the product’s sensory profiles were also assessed in addition to commercial ointment (CO). The phytochemical activity was determined in terms of alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins, flavonoids, quinones, sterols, tannins, and terpenoids. Also, this study analyzed the zone of inhibition of the liquid extracts and positive control (amoxicillin) against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria. Meanwhile, the sensory evaluation of the three ointment products was done using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire on 30 healthcare workers within Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. The result of the phytochemical screening showed positive remarks in all five (5) trials on the tests of coumarins, quinones, sterols, tannins, and terpenoids but negative in alkaloids, anthraquinones, and flavonoids. Furthermore, antibacterial analysis showed a susceptible interpretation in the mean zone of inhibition of both extracts and positive control. CS extract has mean inhibition zones of 23.1 mm against S. aureus and 10.28 mm for E. coli bacteria, while RH extract inhibited 21.57 mm and 15.77 mm, respectively. In addition, the positive control also inhibited 21.33 mm and 16.34 mm. On the other hand, the sensory evaluation in terms of appearance, fragrance, and texture resulted in an overall mean and standard deviation (SD) of 4.48 (SD=0.11), 4.49 (SD=0.37), and 4.54 (SD=0.21) for products CS, RH, and COs, respectively. Thus, all products have a rating of ‘‘very high acceptability (VHA)’’ as the means are more significant than the 4.21 (mean > 4.21) rating for VHA interpretation. Moreover, the independent T-test showed a significant difference with p-values of 0.00, 0.03, and 0.03 between the two bacteria tested in CS, RH extracts, and positive control. Subsequently, the One-way ANOVA of the sensory evaluation yielded a p-value of 0.96, indicating no significant difference in the sensory evaluation of the three ointments as it was greater than 0.05 level of significance. These results comprehensively give knowledge about the samples that can be used in future research. To expand the knowledge about these samples, it is recommended that more research and tests be conducted to investigate their efficacy, improve the concentration and safety of the ointments, and achieve better results for commercial use.

Antibacterial, Corn (Zea mays L.) Silk, Kirby-Bauer technique, Ointments, Phytochemicals, Rice (Oryza sativa) Hull, Sensory evaluation