Landolphia owariensis leaf extracts reduce parasitemia in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice.

Context Landolphia owariensis P. Beauv. (Apocyanaceae) leaf is used in southeast Nigeria to treat malaria. Objective This study evaluated the antiplasmodial activity of L. owariensis leaf extract and fractions, also the phytoconstituents were standardized and analyzed. Methods The effects of daily, oral administrations of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg of L. owariensis leaf extract (LOE), its hexane (LOHF), ethyl acetate (LOEF) and methanol (LOMF) fractions on early, established and residual infections in Plasmodium berghei-infected albino mice were evaluated in vivo. The extract and fractions were subjected to phytochemical analysis and HPLC fingerprinting, and the acute toxicity of LOE was evaluated. Results The extract and fractions elicited 29-86, 18-95 and 75-96% significant (p < 0.001) suppression of parasitemia in early, established and residual infections, respectively. The ED50 values for suppressive activity of LOE, LOHF, LOEF and LOMF were 266.56, 514.93, 392.95 and 165.70 mg/kg, respectively. The post-day 30-survival index was 16.7-50, 16.7, 16.7-66.7 and 50-83.3% for LOE, LOHF, LOEF, and LOMF, respectively. Extract-treated mice significantly (p < 0.001) gained weight and had reduced mortality compared with negative control (untreated) mice. An oral LD50 value >5000 mg/kg in mice was established for LOE. The LOMF showed the greatest antiplasmodial activity in all the models, suggesting that the antimalarial activity of the plant may be attributed to alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and tannins present in the fraction. Conclusion Results demonstrate the antiplasmodial activity of L. owariensis leaf, and provide a pharmacological rationale for its ethnomedicinal use as an antimalarial agent.

Satisfaction of HIV patients with pharmaceutical services in South Eastern Nigerian hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists play an important role in the care of HIV patients especially by providing pharmaceutical care. Thus it is imperative to assess the experience and satisfaction of HIV patients with the pharmaceutical services they receive as this will ensure that quality care is provided. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess HIV-infected patients' satisfaction with pharmaceutical services provided in South-Eastern Nigeria's HIV/AIDS clinics. A secondary aim was to repeat the validation process in order to confirm the initial validation of 'Patient Satisfaction with Pharmaceutical Service' (PSPS) questionnaire. METHODS: The survey was conducted in six HIV/AIDS clinics in South-Eastern Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the clinics. The level of satisfaction of the participants was determined. Variance in satisfaction score among the different demographic variables was also assessed. Re-validation techniques employed include factor analysis, reliability test, and construct validity. Results The response rate was 81.85 % (1,637 patients). With the exception of item 12 which examined provision of written information by pharmacists, the average score obtained in the survey was high. Most of the average scores ranged from 4 to 5, signifying that responses ranged from agree to strongly agree. Re-validation of the PSPS questionnaire revealed the same result obtained in the original validation exercise. CONCLUSION: HIV patients were highly satisfied with services rendered by the pharmacists in South-Eastern HIV clinics in Nigeria and PSPS proved to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring satisfaction of HIV patients with pharmaceutical services.

Antimicrobial Effects of a Lipophilic Fraction and Kaurenoic Acid Isolated from the Root Bark Extracts of Annona senegalensis.

Root bark preparation of Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae) is used in Nigerian ethnomedicine for treatment of infectious diseases. Extraction of the A. senegalensis powdered root bark with methanol-methylene chloride (1 : 1) mixture yielded the methanol-methylene extract (MME) which was fractionated to obtain the ethyl acetate fraction (EF). The EF on further fractionation gave two active subfractions, F1 and F2. The F1 yielded a lipophilic oily liquid while F2 on purification, precipitated white crystalline compound, AS2. F1 was analyzed using GC-MS, while AS2 was characterized by proton NMR and X-ray crystallography. Antibacterial and antifungal studies were performed using agar-well-diffusion method with 0.5 McFarland standard and MICs calculated. GC-MS gave 6 major constituents: kaur-16-en-19-oic acid; 1-dodecanol; 1-naphthalenemethanol; 6,6-dimethyl-bicyclo[3.1.1]hept-2-ene-2-ethanol; 3,3-dimethyl-2-(3-methylbuta-1,3-dienyl)cyclohexane-1-methanol; 3-hydroxyandrostan-17-carboxylic acid. AS2 was found to be kaur-16-en-19-oic acid. The MICs of EF, F1, and AS2 against B. subtilis were 180, 60, and 30 µg/mL, respectively. AS2 exhibited activity against S. aureus with an MIC of 150 µg/mL, while F1 was active against P. aeruginosa with an MIC of 40 µg/mL. However, the extracts and AS2 exhibited no effects against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Therefore, kaurenoic acid and the lipophilic fraction from A. senegalensis root bark exhibited potent antibacterial activity.