Evaluation of Antimalarial Activity of Methanolic Root Extract of Myrica salicifolia A Rich (Myricaceae) Against Plasmodium berghei-Infected Mice.

BACKGROUND: The management and control of malaria has become gradually challenging due to the spread of drug-resistant parasites, lack of effective vaccine, and the resistance of vector to insecticides. Consequently, novel agents are urgently needed from different sources including from medicinal plants. In Ethiopia and Uganda, Myrica salicifolia root is traditionally claimed for the treatment of malaria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo antimalarial activity of root crude extract of M salicifolia. METHODS: The parasite, Plasmodium berghei was used in this study since it is an appropriate parasite that is most commonly used because of its higher accessibility. A 4-day suppressive test was employed to evaluate the antimalarial effect of crude extract against early infection. The curative and prophylactic effect of the crude extract was further tested by Rane's test and residual infection procedure. Parasitemia, survival time, packed cell volume, body weight, and rectal temperature of mice were used as evaluation parameters. Windows SPSS version 24 was used to analyze the data and analysis of variance followed by Tukey's honestly significant difference to compare results between groups. RESULTS: The root crude extract of M salicifolia significantly (P < .05-.0001) suppressed parasitemia. The crude extract exhibited a chemosuppression of 40.90. CONCLUSION: The development of new antimalarial agents and the finding supports the traditional claims and previous in vitro studies.

Evaluation of the Wound Healing Activity of the Crude Extract of Leaves of Acanthus polystachyus Delile (Acanthaceae).

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants play indispensable roles to treat various ailments. Acanthus polystachyus is one of the medicinal plants used traditionally for treatment of wounds. However, there were no scientific reports documented so far on the wound healing activities of this plant. Thus, the present study provides a scientific evaluation for the wound healing potential of the crude extract of A. polystachyus leaves. METHODS: The crude extraction was carried out using 80% methanol. The crude extract was prepared in 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w) ointment and evaluated for wound healing activity using excision, infected, and incision wound models in Swiss albino mice. RESULTS: Both 5% and 10% (w/w) ointments significantly reduced period of epithelialization and increased wound contraction rate and tensile strength compared to the negative control group (P < 0.05). The wound healing activity of 10% (w/w) ointment treated group was greater than 5% (w/w) and nitrofurazone ointment treated groups in S. aureus infected wound model. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the crude extract of A. polystachyus leaves possesses wound healing activities. This justifies the traditional claimed use of the plant for treating uninfected and infected wounds caused by S. aureus.

Pattern of acute organophosphorus poisoning at University of Gondar Teaching Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Despite the apparent benefits of organophosphate compounds (OPCs) acute organophosphate (OP) pesticide poison is an increasing problem worldwide. In a country like Ethiopia, where agriculture is a major component of the economy, these compounds are readily available to the general public. There is paucity of evidence from Ethiopia showing the pattern of organophosphate poisoning (OPP) in healthcare facilities. The objective of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the pattern of acute OPP at the University of Gondar Teaching Hospital in northwest Ethiopia, during September 2010 through December 2014 was conducted. Data was collected through chart review of patients who were admitted due to poisoning. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Organophosphate poisoning in University of Gondar teaching hospital accounts for about 38.46% of all emergency room admissions for poisoning. Out of the 90 cases studied 60% (54) were women, with male to female ratio of 1:1.5. The mean age of the patients was 25.5 with a standard deviation of 9.45. 56.7% of the cases studies lived in an urban environment compared to 43.3% who lived rurally. In the vast majority of patients, 90% (81) patients had ingested OP as an act of suicide. Regarding the route of exposure, oral ingestion was most common in suicidal cases (88.9%). The elapsed time between the time of poison ingestion and the start of the treatment, ranged from 13 min to 1 day. Health care professionals' useds decontamination methods such as gastric lavage and activated charcoal (45.6%) and 36.7% use atropine for OPP treatment. The mean hospital stay was 0.74 days. In the present study family problems were a leading cause of suicides and accounted for 45.8% of all cases. CONCLUSION: As a developing nation who economy relies heavily on agriculture, Ethiopia continues to have OP compounds remain a common cause of acute poisonings. This is particularly concerning for younger generation who have high rates of OPP and whose numbers continue to raise. This data suggests that it is essential to strengthen Ethiopians regulatory policy concerning the availability of OPCs. Additionally, it will be important to design an appropriate health education program for the prevention of both suicidal and accidental OPPs for the benefit of the public at large.

Poisoning cases and their management in emergency centres of government hospitals in northwest Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: With the widespread availability of a vast number of chemicals and drugs, acute poisoning is a common medical emergency worldwide. In spite of the success of interventions to prevent toxic ingestions, acute poisoning continues to be an important public health problem. Because of weak regulations and limited health care services in developing countries, adverse outcomes from poisoning are more prevalent than in the developed world. Due to the limited Ethiopian literature on this topic, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate and report poisoning cases, their management and outcome in northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of all poisoning cases admitted and managed in the emergency centres of Gondar Teaching Referral Hospital and Metema and Debark district hospitals, from September 2010 to December 2014. Data was collected through retrospective chart review of patients who were admitted due to poisoning. RESULTS: There were 543 registered poisoning cases listed in the registry during the study period, of which 344 cases (63.4%) had complete data and were included in the final analysis. There were 48,619 emergency centre visits during the study period, with poisoning cases accounting for 1.1%. Females (60%) were predominant among intentional as well as unintentional poisoning cases. Patients between 15 and 24 years of age accounted for 55% of the cases. Patients poisoned with organophosphate and bleaching agents accounted for 35% and 25%, respectively. Among the poisoning patients, 74% were treated with decontamination, while those exposed to organophosphate were treated with atropine 45.5% (55/121) of the time. DISCUSSION: Young females comprise a group at increased risk for suicidal poisonings. As a developing nation, pesticide and bleaching agents remain a significant cause of acute poisonings in Ethiopia. Intentional poisoning remains the most significant identified cause of poisoning overall.

INTRODUCTION: Avec la disponibilité largement répandue d'un grand nombre de produits chimiques et de médicaments, les intoxications aiguës constituent une urgence médicale fréquente partout dans le monde. En dépit du succès des interventions visant à prévenir l'ingestion de substances toxiques, l'intoxication aiguë reste un problème de santé publique important. En raison de la faiblesse des réglementations et des services de soins de santé limités dans les pays en voie de développement, les effets indésirables des intoxications y prévalent davantage que dans le monde développé. En raison des limites de la littérature éthiopienne sur cette question, le principal objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer et de rendre compte des cas d'intoxication, de leur traitement et de leurs conclusions dans le Nord-ouest de l'Ethiopie. MÉTHODES: Cette étude est une étude rétrospective de tous les cas d'intoxication ayant fait l'objet d'une admission et d'un traitement dans les services des urgences de l'hôpital universitaire de Gondar et des hôpitaux de district de Metema et de Debark de septembre 2010 à décembre 2014. Des données ont été recueillies au moyen d'un examen rétrospectif des dossiers de patients admis pour intoxication. RÉSULTATS: 543 cas d'intoxication ont été inscrits dans le registre au cours de la période couverte par l'étude, 344 dossiers (63,4%) qui disposaient de données complètes ont été inclus dans l'analyse finale. Au cours de la période à l'étude, 48 619 visites ont été enregistrées aux services des urgences, les cas d'intoxication totalisant 1,1% de ces visites. Les femmes (60%) étaient prédominantes, tant pour les cas d'empoisonnement intentionnel que d'intoxication non intentionnelle. Les patients âgés de 15 à 24 ans constituaient 55% des cas. Les patients souffrant d'une intoxication aux organophosphates et agents blanchissants totalisaient respectivement 35% et 25% des cas d'intoxication. Parmi les patients souffrant d'intoxication, 74% étaient traités par voie de décontamination et ceux exposés aux organophosphates étaient traités à l'atropine dans 45,5% des cas (55/121). DISCUSSION: Les jeunes femmes constituent un groupe présentant un risque accru de suicide par empoisonnement. En raison de sa situation de pays en voie de développement, les pesticides et agents de blanchiment restent une cause significative d'intoxication aiguë en Ethiopie. Les empoisonnements intentionnels restent la cause d'intoxication globale la plus importante.

Antidiarrheal activity of methanolic extract of the root bark of Cordia africana.

An ethnobotanical study in Agew-Awi and Amhara peoples in northwest Ethiopia reported that Cordia africana is used traditionally in the treatment of liver disease, amebiasis, stomachache, and diarrhea. The root and root bark are reported to be used in the treatment of diarrhea. Therefore, this study was intended to evaluate the antidiarrheal effect of C. africana against castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. The antidiarrheal effect of the plant was tested on castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice (23-25 g) of either sex. Number of diarrheic defecations, intestinal length traveled by the charcoal meal, and weight of intestinal fluid were taken as important parameters to evaluate the antidiarrheal activity of the plant extract. In preliminary phytochemical screening tests, the methanolic extract of C. africana was found to contain phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, and saponins. Reduction in the number of diarrheic drops was observed in groups of mice that received 200 mg/kg (P<0.05) and 400 mg/kg (P<0.01) of the extract compared to the negative controls. The percent inhibition of intestinal fluid accumulation was 26.83%, 46.34%, and 53.66% at the doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of the extract, respectively. Relative to the negative control group, the mean percent of intestinal length moved by the charcoal meal was decreased by 24.41%, 39.89%, and 51.66% in groups of mice given 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of the plant extract, respectively. To iterate the finding, the root bark extract of C. africana was found to be effective in preventing castor oil-induced diarrhea and intestinal motility in a dose-dependent manner. This reveals that the plant material has promising antidiarrheal activity as it is claimed in traditional medical practice.

Antidiarrheal activity of crude methanolic root extract of Idigofera spicata Forssk.(Fabaceae).

BACKGROUND: Till now many of medicinal plants having claimed therapeutic value traditionally are waiting scientific verification of their efficacy and safety. Accordingly this study is conducted to evaluate the antidiarrheal activity of hydromethanolic root extract of Indigofera spicata Forssk. in castor oil induced diarrhea model, misoprostol induced secretion model and its antimotility activity using charcoal as a marker. METHODS: In all the three models the animals were randomly allocated into five groups of six animals each and then group I mice were received 1 ml/100 g normal saline, group II were treated with standard drug as a positive control whereas group III, IV and V were treated with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg extract doses, respectively. Statistical significance of differences in the mean of number of defecations, fluid content of faces, intestinal fluid accumulation ratio, intestinal fluid weight and distance travelled by charcoal between groups was analyzed by SPSS version-21 using one way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc multiple comparison. RESULT: The hydromethanolic crude extract of Indigofera spicata at 200 and 400 mg/kg mg/kg doses showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of the frequency of defecation and weight difference of the fluid content of the faces compared to the negative controls. For those doses the percentage inhibition of diarrheal feces was 43.62 and 53.51 %, respectively. The antisecretary activity of the extract in terms of fluid accumulation ratio was not found significant but in terms of intestinal fluid weight, all the extract doses revealed significant (p < 0.05) inhibition. Unlike the standard drug, the antimotility activity of the extract was not found statistically significant compared to the negative control. CONCLUSION: Root of Indigofera spicata Forssk. has shown promising antidiarrheal activity which validates its traditional use. Further studies are needed and possibly the plant may serve as a potential source of new agent in the therapeutic armamentarium of diarrhea.

Antimalarial activity of 80 % methanolic extract of Brassica nigra (L.) Koch. (Brassicaceae) seeds against Plasmodium berghei infection in mice.

BACKGROUND: Resistances to currently available drugs and insecticides, significant drug toxicities and costs and lack of vaccines currently complicated the treatment of malaria. A continued search for safe, effective and affordable plant-based antimalarial agents thus becomes crucial and vital in the face of these difficulties. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antimalarial activity of 80 % methanolic extract of the seeds of Brassica nigra against Plasmodium berghei infection in mice. METHOD: Chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei (ANKA strain) was used to test the antimalarial activity of the extract. In suppressive and prophylactic models, Swiss albino male mice were randomly grouped into five groups of five mice each. Group I mice were treated with the vehicle, group II, III and IV were treated with 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of the extract, respectively and the last group (V) mice were treated with chloroquine (10 mg/kg). The level of parasitemia, survival time and variation in weight of mice were used to determine the antimalarial activity of the extract. RESULTS: Chemosuppressive activities produced by the extract of the seeds of Brassica nigra were 21.88, 50.00 (P < 0.01) and 53.13 % (P < 0.01), while the chemoprophylactic activities were 17.42, 21.21 and 53.79 % (P < 0.05) at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of the extract, respectively as compared to the negative control. Mice treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg extract were significantly (P < 0.05) lived longer and gained weight as compared to negative control in 4-day suppressive test. CONCLUSION: From this study, it can be concluded that the seed extract of Brassica nigra showed good chemosuppressive and moderate chemoprophylactic activities and the plant may contain biologically active principles which are relevant in the treatment and prophylaxis of malaria, thus supporting further studies of the plant for its active components.