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ETHNOBIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN OF A TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BARBALHA, CEARÁ, BRAZIL.
Get PDFBackground: The use of natural resources for the treatment of acute respiratory infections in children is a widespread practice
within traditional communities, especially by women by being the primary caregivers. This study aimed to perform ethnobiological
survey of plants and animals used for the treatment of acute respiratory infections in children of a traditional community in the
municipality of Barbalha, Ceará, Brazil. Methods: It is a descriptive exploratory study with a quantitative approach, developed in
Sítio Santo Antônio, in the municipality of Barbalha, Ceará, Brazil. As a tool for data collection, was applied a questionnaire and a
semi-structured interview. Data analysis used descriptive statistics (simple and percentage rate) and the Relative Frequency of
Citation.
Results: The research included a total of 54 informants. In total, there were 38 species cited. According to the Relative Frequency of
Citation the following species were the most cited: Ocimum basilicum L. (0.59), Eucalyptus globulus Labill (0.59), Plectranthus
amboinicus (L.) Spreng (0.42), Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. (0.24), Allium aescalonicum L. (0.22) and Mentha arvensis L. (0.18).
Among the symptoms mentioned by the research subjects to treat the acute respiratory infections in childhood, there were: fever;
cough; coughing with secretions; sore throat; hoarseness; tiredness; nasal congestion.
Conclusions: It is important the knowledge about the usefulness of natural resources as alternative practices in diseases treatment,
seeking to rescue popular knowledge used in the traditional community and fomenting the need to consider cultural aspects in the
full practice to children´s health care
THE PURVIEW OF PHYTOTHERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF KIDNEY DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON NIGERIA AND SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFBackground: The kidney is tasked with a number of metabolic functions in the body. In its role as a detoxifier and primary
eliminator of xenobiotics, it becomes vulnerable to developing injuries. Currently, over 1 million people in the world are living on
renal replacement therapies (RRTs). The case in sub-Sahara African countries like Nigeria and South Africa is not any better than
the global trend.
Materials and Methods: A systematic review of medicinal plants used in the treatment of kidney disorders was conducted.
Information were gathered from published scientific journals, books, reports from national, regional and international institutions,
conference proceedings and other high profile intellectual resources. MeSH words like ‘prevalence of kidney disorders in Africa’,
‘renal replacement therapy’, ‘nephrotoxins or nephrotoxicants’, ‘nephroprotective plants’, ‘nephroprotective plants in Nigeria or
South Africa’ and ‘nephroprotective phytocompounds’ were used to retrieve information from online databases (Google, Pubmed,
MEDLINE, Science Direct, Scopus and SID).
Results: Interestingly, our findings revealed that phytotherapy has emerged and is being employed to protect renal functions and
delay progression of renal pathological conditions into end episodes where the last resort is RRT. In fact, in recent times,
Phytotherapists are not only interested in developing relatively safe, more affordable, easily accessible and potent nephroprotective
formulations but also increasing awareness on the prevalence of the disease and educating the populace on the probable preventive
measures. More importantly, efforts at scientifically elucidating the pharmacological efficacy of the identified nephroprotective
plants yet to be validated must be intensified through informed expert opinions. Till date, there is paucity of information on the
concept of nephroprotection in most developing countries where kidney disorder is a major threat. Although, the concept is just
emerging in South Africa, evidences have given credence to its application in complementary and alternative system of medicine in
Nigeria.
Conclusion: This review, therefore, reawaken researchers’ consciousness in the continuous search for auspicious nephroprotective
plants that could potentially be excellent candidates in developing new lead drugs to manage and treat renal disorders
A STUDY OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF THE ETHYL ACETATE FRACTION OF THE METHANOL EXTRACT OF FORSYTHIAE FRUCTUS
Get PDFBackground: The dried fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. (Oleaceae) are better known by their herbal name Forsythiae Fructus, and have a bitter taste, slightly pungent smell, and cold habit. FF has been widely used to treat symptoms associated with the lung, heart, and small intestine. Recently, bioactive compounds isolated from hydrophobic solvent fractions of FF have been reported to have anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer effects. Traditionally, almost all herbal medicines are water extracts, and thus, extraction methods should be developed to optimize the practical efficacies of herbal medicines. Materials and Methods: In this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of the ethyl acetate fraction of the methanol extract of FF (FFE) were assessed by measuring NO and PGE2 production byand intracellular ROS and protein levels of iNOS and COX-2in RAW 264.7 cells. Results: FFE inhibited COX-2 expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Conclusion: In summary, FFE effectively reduced intracellular ROS and NO levels and inhibited PGE2 production by down- regulating COX-2 levels
ANTIBIOFILM EFFECTS of Citrus limonum and Zingiber officinale Oils on BIOFILM FORMATION of Klebsiella ornithinolytica, Klebsiella oxytoca and Klebsiella terrigena SPECIES
Get PDFBackground: Microbial cells growing in biofilms, play a huge role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, biofilm
formation of Klebsiella strains belonging to 3 different Klebsiella species (K. ornithinolytica, K. oxytoca and K. terrigena),
cooccurences’ effect on biofilm formation amount and anti-biofilm effects of Citrus limon and Zingiber officinale essential oils on
biofilm formations of highest biofilm forming K. ornithinolytica, K. oxytoca and K. terrigena strains were determined.
Materials and Methods: Anti-biofilm effects of Citrus limon and Zingiber officinale essential oils on biofilm formations of highest
biofilm forming K. ornithinolytica, K. oxytoca and K. terrigena strains were investigated.
Results: 57% of K. ornithinolytica strains and 50% of K. oxytoca strains were found as Strong Biofilm Forming (SBF), there wasn’t
any SBF strain in K. terrigena species. In addition to this, clinical materials of urine and sperm were found as the most frequent
clinical materials for strong biofilm forming K. ornithinolytica and K. oxytoca isolations respectively (63%; 100%) Secondly, all
K. ornithinolytica strains isolated from surgical intensive care unit and all K. oxytoca strains isolated from service units of urology
were found as SBF. Apart from these, although the amount of biofilm, formed by co-occurence of K. ornithinolytica - K. oxytoca
and K. oxytoca - K. terrigena were more than the amount of biofilm formed by themselves separately, biofilm formation amount of
co-occurrence of K. ornitholytica - K. terrigena strains was lower than biofilm formation amount of K. ornithinolytica but higher
than biofilm formation amount of K. terrigena.
Conclusion: The antibiofilm effects of Citrus limonum and Zingiber officinale essential oils could be used against biofilm
Klebsiella aquired infections
IN VIVO ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF TARAXASTEROL AGAINST ANIMAL MODELS
Get PDFBackground: Traditional Chinese medicine Taraxacum officinale has been widely used to treat various inflammatory diseases.
Taraxasterol is one of the main active components isolated from Taraxacum officinale. Recently, we have demonstrated that
taraxasterol has the in vitro anti-inflammatory effects. This study aims to determine the in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of
taraxasterol against animal models.
Materials and Methods: Anti-inflammatory effects were assessed in four animal models by using dimethylbenzene-induced mouse
ear edema, carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, acetic acid-induced mouse vascular permeability and cotton pellet-induced rat
granuloma tests.
Results: Our results demonstrated that taraxasterol dose-dependently attenuated dimethylbenzene-induced mouse ear edema and
carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, decreased acetic acid-induced mouse vascular permeability and inhibited cotton pellet-induced
rat granuloma formation.
Conclusion: Our finding indicates that taraxasterol has obvious in vivo anti-inflammatory effects against animal models. It will
provide experimental evidences for the traditional use of Taraxacum officinale and taraxasterol in inflammatory diseases
BIOLOGICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF EXTRACTS FROM PTEROCARPUS ERINACEUS POIR (FABACEAE) ROOT BARKS
Get PDFBackground: Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. belonging to Fabacae familly is used as medicinal plant in Burkina Faso’s folk medicine.
Roots of P. erinaceus are used to treat ulcer, stomach ache and inflammatory diseases. The objective of the present study was to
carry out phytochemical composition of methanol (MeOH) and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts from Pterocarpus erinaceus roots,
to isolate pure compounds, and to evaluate their pharmacological activities.
Methods: Chromatographic fractionation led to the isolation of active components of the extracts. The structures were established by
NMR analysis and comparison with data from literature. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using croton oil-induced edema
of mice ear as well as the effect of extracts against lipoxygenase and lipid peroxidation was evaluated. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) and Cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) methods were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the extracts.
Results: Friedelin (1), 3α-hydroxyfriedelan-2-one (2), α-sophoradiol (3) and stigmasterol (4) were isolated from DCM extract and
maltol-6-O-apiofuranoside-glucopyranoside (5) isolated from MeOH. DCM extract and friedelin, 3α-hydroxyfriedelan-2-one, α-
sophoradiol showed a significant anti-inflammatory effect against ear edema. Friedelin (1), α-sophoradiol (3) and maltol-6-Oapiofuranoside-
glucopyranoside (5) exhibited lipoxygenase inhibition. MeOH extract (100 μg/mL) inhibited lipoxygenase and lipid
peroxidation activities at 45.1 ± 3% and 30.7 ± 0.5% respectively. MeOH extract, ethyl acetate fraction and butanol fraction
exhibited antioxidant property with both two methods used.
Conclusion: The results suggested that the extracts and compounds from roots of Pterocarpus erinaceus possessed local antiinflammatory
effect, antioxidant properties and inhibitor effect against lipoxygenase and lipid peroxidation activities
ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANT EXTRACTS AGAINST PHYTOPATHOGENIC FUNGI.
Get PDFBackground: Medicinal plants are used by many ethnic groups as a source of medicine for the treatment of various ailments in both
humans and domestic animals. These plants produce secondary metabolites that have antimicrobial properties, thus screening of
medicinal plants provide another alternative for producing chemical fungicides that are relatively non-toxic and cost-effective.
Materials and methods: Leaf extracts of selected South African plant species (Bucida buceras, Breonadia salicina, Harpephyllum
caffrum, Olinia ventosa, Vangueria infausta and Xylotheca kraussiana) were investigated for activity against selected
phytopathogenic fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Colletotricum gloeosporioides, Penicillium janthinellum, P.
expansum, Trichoderma harzianum and Fusarium oxysporum). These plant fungal pathogens causes major economic losses in fruit
industry such as blue rot on nectaries and postharvest disease in citrus. Plant species were selected from 600 evaluated inter alia,
against two animal fungal pathogens (Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans). Antioxidant activity of the selected plant
extracts were investigated using a qualitative assay (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)). Bioautography assay was used to
determine the number of antifungal compounds in plant extracts.
Results: All plant extracts were active against the selected plant phytopathogenic fungi. Moreover, Bucida buceras had the best
antifungal activity against four of the fungi, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values as low as 0.02 mg/ml and 0.08
mg/ml against P. expansum, P. janthinellum, T. harzianum and F. oxysporum. The plant extracts of five plant species did not possess
strong antioxidant activity. However, methanol extract of X. kraussiana was the most active radical scavenger in the DPPH assay
amongst the six medicinal plants screened. No antifungal compounds were observed in some of the plant extracts with good
antifungal activity as shown in the microdilution assay, indicating possible synergism between the separated metabolites.
Conclusion: The results showed that acetone was the best extractant. Furthermore, our findings also confirm the traditional use of
Breonadia salicina and demonstrate the potential value of developing biopesticides from plants
INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER (ITS), AN IDEAL DNA BARCODE FOR SPECIES DISCRIMINATION IN CRAWFURDIA WALL. (GENTIANACEAE)
Get PDFBackground: DNA barcoding is a technique used to identify species based on species-specific differences in short regions of their DNA. It is widely used in species discrimination of medicinal plants and traditional medicines.
Materials and Methods: In the present study, four potential DNA barcodes, namely rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA and ITS (nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer) were adopted for species discrimination in Crawfurdia Wall (Genetiaceae). Discriminatory ability of these DNA barcodes and combinations were evaluated using three classic methods (Distance, Blast and Tree-Building).
Results: As a result, ITS, trnH-psbA and rbcL regions showed extremely great universality for a success rate of 100%; whereas matK was disappointing for which only 65% samples gained useful DNA sequences. ITS region performed very well in this study which could clearly and effectively identify the five species in Crawfurdia. On the contrary, trnH-psbA and rbcL were much weaker in discrimination among these species.
Conclusion: ITS marker was an ideal DNA barcode in Crawfurdia and it should be incorporated into one of the core barcodes for seed plants
IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF STEVIA EXTRACT.
Get PDFBackground: The current trend globally is the utilization of natural products as therapeutic agents given its minimum side effects.
The leaves of Stevia contain several active ingredient compounds such as rebaudioside. Stevia extract have been used for many
purposes. Active oxygen radicals can induce base modifications, DNA breakage, and intracellular protein crosslink's. This study was
done to evaluate the potential of stevia extract as antibacterial and antioxidants actions.
Materials and methods: Antibacterial activity of different extracts of stevia was tested in vitro against different species of bacteria
and hepato-protective efficacy was testes in rats injected with CCl4 as hepatotoxic.
Results: Acetone extract exhibited antibacterial activity against selected five bacteria species. The acetone extract suppressed the
elevation of serum ALT (
HEPATIC, RENAL AND ENDOGENOUS ANTIOXIDANT STATUS MODULATORY EFFECTS OF CHRONIC CO-SUPPLEMENTATION OF ROOIBOS (ASPALATHUS LINEARIS) AND RED PALM OIL (ELAEIS GUINEENSIS) IN MALE WISTAR RATS
Get PDFBackground: This study investigated the hepatic, renal and endogenous antioxidant status modulatory effects of chronic cosupplementation
of rooibos and red palm oil (RPO) in male Wistar rats.
Materials and Methods: Rats were randomized into four groups (n=10/group) and fed daily either standard rat chow (SRC) and water
(Group I), SRC and the aqueous rooibos extract (2% w/v; Group II), SRC and RPO (200 μL/day) with water (Group III), or SRC and
RPO (200 μL/day) with rooibos (2% w/v; Group IV) for 22 weeks.
Results: Chronic feeding of rooibos, RPO or their combination did not induce any adverse hepatic or renal effects, as shown by serum
levels of alkaline phosphatase, alanine- and aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen
and uric acid. Histopathology analyses showed that liver from the three supplementation groups displayed normal hepatic
histoarchitecture. Chronic feeding of RPO did not influence the redox status in the blood and liver significantly. Supplementation of
rooibos alone for 22 weeks significantly (