Use of Medicinal Plants in Africa: A Case Study From the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Although medicinal plants are beneficial, they also can be important risk factors for the development of acute and chronic kidney injury, as well toxicity of other solid organs. There are a lack of reports of adverse kidney events and drug interactions resulting from medicinal plants owing to a lack of professional surveillance and specific data on kidney toxicity, especially in low-resource settings. Within the context of increased medicinal plant use and lack of effective regulatory control, safety is a key priority issue. We review the benefits and adverse effects of medicinal plants with particular reference to nephrotoxicity encountered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in sub-Saharan Africa.

Effective Antimalarial Activities of α-Hydroxy Diynes Isolated from Ongokea gore.

Three diynes, octadec-17-ene-9,11-diynoate ethyl (1: ), 8-hydroxy-octadeca-13,17-diene-9,11-diynoate ethyl (2: ), and 8-hydroxy-octadec-13-ene-9,11-diynoate ethyl (3: ), were isolated from Ongokea gore seed oil. The structure assignment of these three compounds was based according to chemical and spectroscopic data. They were screened against Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria. In vitro micro-test (Mark III, supported by the World Health Organization) was developed to assess the response of P. falciparum to the isolated three compounds, and statistical analysis were performed for determination of the concentration that inhibits 50% of the parasite maturation (IC50). Two of the three diynes (2: and 3: ) showed a very effective in vitro antimalarial activity with an IC50 of 4.5 and 1.7 µM, respectively. Compound 3: exhibited better activity than quinine (IC50 1.9 µM), the drug reference, while compound 1: had no antimalarial activity (IC50 > 125 µM). In the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) cytotoxicity screening, all compounds showed no toxicity (mean IC50 of 90 µM for each compound).

Isolation of a series of fatty acid components of Ongokea gore seed (Isano) oil and their detailed structural analysis.

The total oil production capacity of isano oil is estimated at about 10,000 tons annually. Previous studies of this oil revealed that it is rich in fatty acids including a conjugated diyne moiety. This makes isano oil an excellent candidate for sustainable applications development. However, only a few of its fatty acids have been isolated and identified so far. In this study, we have reinvestigated this oil by characterizing its physicochemical properties and isolating several of its fatty acids as ethyl esters for their detailed structural analysis and identification. Six ethyl esters of fatty acids constituting isanic oil were isolated by flash column chromatography and semipreparative HPLC. The detailed structural analysis of these fatty acid esters by infrared, high resolution, mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (1-D and 2-D) allowed determining unequivocally their chemical structure. The main fatty acid component of the oil (35.7 %) was identified as isanic acid. Four minor acids were found to possess also two conjugated triple bonds, while the sixth fatty acid does not contain carbon-carbon triple bonds nor double bonds but possessed a cis epoxide function. Results obtained in this study are currently being used to explore potential applications of isano oil.

Antisickling activity of butyl stearate isolated from Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae).

OBJECTIVE: To perform phytochemical analyses on the leaves of Ocimum basilicum L. (O. basilicum), to elucidate the structure of isolate and then perform the antisickling activity on the crude extract and on the isolate. METHODS: The Emmel test performed on the acidified methanolic extract of this plant was used to evaluate the antisickling activity. The structure characterization of the active compound was performed using chromatographic techniques for the separation and the spectroscopic ones for structure elucidation (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, COSY, HMBC). RESULTS: The chemical screening on the crude extract revealed the presence of polyphenols (flavonoids, anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins, tannins, quinones) alkaloids, saponins, triterpenoids and steroids. The obtained extract after evaporation yielded 34.50 g (11.5%) out of 300 g of powdered leaves of O. basilicum. The acidified methanolic extract and butyl stearate showed an interesting antisickling activity. CONCLUSIONS: The acidified methanolic extract and butyl stearate from O. basilicum displayed a good antisickling activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to report the antisickling activity of this compound in this plant. The synthesized compound presented the same spectroscopic characteristics than the natural one and the antisickling activities of its derivatives are understudying.