RESUMEN
Aim: To investigate the antisickling potentials of two Calliandra species namely C. portoricensis (Jacq) Benth and C. haematocephala Hassk in vitro. Study Design: Evaluation of antisickling activities of medicinal plants on human sickled red blood cells in vitro. Place and Duration of Study: Research Laboratory of Drug Research and Production Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria. September 2010 to November, 2011. Methodology: After obtaining ethical clearance, fresh blood samples (5ml) each were collected from confirmed sickle cell anaemia patients who were in a steady state and were attending the routine clinic. Water and 70% ethanol were used separately for the extraction of the leaves and roots of the two plants. The extracts were assessed using the inhibitory and reversal methods in vitro. Results: It was observed that there was linear increase in inhibitory and reversal activities of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the parts used as the concentration increased. The ethanolic root extract of C. portoricensis exhibited the highest activity for inhibitory (90.19%) and reversal activities (92.63%) both at 4mg/ml. Conclusion: Calliandra species possessed antisickling properties in vitro with C. portoricensis being the more active plant.
RESUMEN
This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of Calliandra portoricensis extracts in ameliorating the histopathological changes in the heart, liver and kidney of wistar rat challenged with venom of Echis ocellatus. A total of 30 rats were randomly assigned into 5 treatment groups of 6 rats each. Group 1 (control) received nothing. Group 2 received 200μg venom/rat. Groups 3, 4 and 5 received, in addition to the same amount of venom, 0.5 ml of 100mg/100g body weight of rat as “antidote” concentration 4 hours after the administration of the venom. The dosages of the venom and the extracts were administered intramuscularly and after 4 hours the heart, liver and kidney were harvested for histopathological study of the changes in these organs. The groups treated with the extracts showed reduction in tissue injury compared to the venom alone, though not as good as the control group. This reduction is more marked in treatment group 4, which is polyphenol-rich and which is believed to be the component that is involved in complexation with the venom. This implies a restoration of these organs to a near normal state after the viperian envenomation.