In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Leaf Latex of Aloe melanacantha against Plasmodium berghei Infected Mice

Aloe juvenna Brandham & S.Carter as α-Amylase Inhibitor and Hypoglycaemic Agent with Anti-inflammatory Properties for Diabetes Management

Despite Aloe's traditional use, Aloe juvenna Brandham & S.Carter is poorly characterized. Other Aloes are known for their antidiabetic activity. This study describes the antidiabetic potentials and phytoconstituents of the A. juvenna leaves methanolic extract (AJME). Twenty-six phytoconstituents of AJME were described using HPLC/MS-MS. Lupeol and vitexin were isolated using column chromatography. The antidiabetic activity of AJME was investigated using an in vivo high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model and in vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activity assays. AJME demonstrated its α-amylase inhibitory activity (IC50=313±39.9 ppm) with no effect on α-glucosidase. In vivo, AJME dose-dependently improved hyperglycaemia in a high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model. Notably, the higher dose (1600 mg/kg) of AJME significantly downregulated serum interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and matrix metalloproteinase-1 genes, suggesting its anti-inflammatory effect. These findings indicate AJME's potential as a significant antidiabetic agent through its α-amylase inhibition, hypoglycaemic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Evaluating the activity of N-89 as an oral antimalarial drug

Despite the recent progress in public health measures, malaria remains a troublesome disease that needs to be eradicated. It is essential to develop new antimalarial medications that are reliable and secure. This report evaluated the pharmacokinetics and antimalarial activity of 1,2,6,7-tetraoxaspiro[7.11]nonadecane (N-89) using the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei in vivo. After a single oral dose (75 mg /kg) of N-89, its pharmacokinetic parameters were measured, and t1/2 was 0.97 h, Tmax was 0.75 h, and bioavailability was 7.01%. A plasma concentration of 8.1 ng/ml of N-89 was maintained for 8 h but could not be detected at 10 h. The dose inhibiting 50% of parasite growth (ED50) and ED90 values of oral N-89 obtained following a 4-day suppressive test were 20 and 40 mg/kg, respectively. Based on the plasma concentration of N-89, we evaluated the antimalarial activity and cure effects of oral N-89 at a dose of 75 mg/kg 3 times daily for 3 consecutive days in mice harboring more than 0.5% parasitemia. In all the N-89- treated groups, the parasites were eliminated on day 5 post-treatment, and all mice recovered without a parasite recurrence for 30 days. Additionally, administering oral N-89 at a low dose of 50 mg/kg was sufficient to cure mice from day 6 without parasite recurrence. This work was the first to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics and antimalarial activity of N-89 as an oral drug. In the future, the following steps should be focused on developing N-89 for malaria treatments; its administration schedule and metabolic pathways should be investigated.

In vivo antimalarial activity of the 80% methanolic crude fruit extract of Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. against Plasmodium berghei infected mice

Background

Malaria is a public health menace. Resistance to therapeutic armamentarium is impeding its control. Therefore, research targeting the discovery of novel antimalarial drug arsenals is a priority. The important point to begin the search for such drugs is the folkloric medicinal plants. Ripe fruit of Lagenaria siceraria is bored, rinsed with cold water, and one glass is used as a drink early in the morning for the treatment of malaria in Ethiopian folk medicine. In vivo antimalarial efficacy of the plant was not affirmed scientifically, though. Consequently, the present study was conducted to assess the in vivo antiplasmodial effect of Lagenaria siceraria in P. berghei infected mice.

Methods

The fruits were extracted using 80% methanol in water. Acute toxicity test was conducted on the extract. Secondary phytochemicals were assessed. The four day suppressive test was employed in mice infected with P. berghei. Thirty mice were grouped in to five and inoculated with P. berghei. After 3 h, three of the groups received the extract at doses 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg. The remaining groups served as negative (2% Tween80) and positive control (chloroquine). Parasitemia, packed cell volume, weight, temperature and survival time were monitored. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis.

Results

No toxicity was seen in mice. The crude extract elicited significant suppression (p < 0.05) of the parasite compared to the negative control. The highest parasite suppression (77.37%) was measured at the upper dose. Furthermore, the crude extract significantly (p < 0.05) prevented body weight loss, anemia, reduction in temperature and prolonged the survival time compared to the negative control.

Conclusion

This study asserted that the fruit of Lagenaria siceraria is enriched with in vivo antimalarial activity. Hence, further in depth antimalarial investigations on the plant is strongly recommended.

Ethnopharmacological survey of endemic plants used in ethnomedicinal knowledge of Soqotra Island

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Due to the long biogeographical isolation since ancient times, Soqotra Island (southern Yemen) is rich in medicinal endemic plants. However, information on their traditional therapeutic knowledge is scarce in scientific literature and still not completely documented.

AIM OF THE STUDY

(1) Documentation and search the native traditional therapeutic knowledge focusing on the medicinal plants which are endemic to Soqotra (2) Identification of the important endemic plants treating diseases by quantitative analysis of the collected data.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ethnobotanical data were collected from 105 local informants through open interviews, semi-structured questionnaires and field survey in February 1990 to document the traditional medicinal plants in Soqotra Island. Of them we reported in this study the data of the endemic species, due to their wide biodiversity in the island. The quantitative data were analyzed for use reports (URs) and the informant consensus factor (ICF). The reported diseases were classified according to the International Classification of Primary Care-2 (ICPC-2). New reported medicinal plants in this study were identified compared to literature review. The level of traditional Soqotri knowledge among Islanders was observed during 1990-2003.

RESULTS

In the study, 86 medicinal endemic plants with 7654 therapeutic URs were explored for 69 ailments types belongs to 11 (ICPC-2) groups. The highest ICF value (0.99) were calculated for both eye and ear diseases categories, followed by general and unspecified ailments (0.98), digestive and skin (0.97 for each), and musculoskeletal ailments (0.96) among all diseases categories. While the highest URs (2276) were identified for skin diseases, followed by digestive diseases (URs = 2146). All the 86 recorded medicinal plant species were endemic to Soqotra, belonging to 57 genera and 29 families. Euphorbiaceae and Burseraceae were the dominant families, followed by Apocynaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae. Shrubs were the dominant growth form (41 species, 47.67%), followed by herbs (27; 31.4%), and trees (14; 16.28%). Leaves (45 species; 31.25%) were the most frequently used parts, followed by stems (34 species; 23.61%) and barks (species 23; 15.97%). The most cited preparation method was paste for 51 species followed by liquid exudates (48 species) and powder (26 species). Based on the comparative literature review, we recorded 36 new endemic medicinal plants and reported new traditional therapeutic uses for the remaining 50 endemic plants for the first time. On the other hand, all the reported endemic medicinal plants have been enlisted in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, of them 21 endemic species enlisted as highest threatened species.

CONCLUSION

According to the quantitative data analyzed, Soqotra Island has a valuable traditional knowledge in several medicinal endemic plants that used by local people in the primary health care until the study time at 1990. This study emphasizes the importance of early time in documenting traditional indigenous knowledge before losing and to protect and conserve the endemic plants against highly endangered. Consequently, these ethnomedicinal data could be used in the future as guide for pharmacological and phytochemical studies to discover new therapeutic drugs.

In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Trichosanthes cucumerina Against Plasmodium berghei NK65 in Mice

Undoubtedly, malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is increasingly being given attention by many researchers in their efforts to find the best drugs for its treatment. Four groups of mice (6-8 weeks old, 20-25 gram body weight (g bw) were inoculated with Plasmodium berghei NK65 intraperitoneally (i.p.) at 1.0 × 106 infected red blood cells (RBC) before being orally treated for the prophylactic and curative treatment regime with 0.2 mL of 100 mg/kg bw freeze-dried T. cucumerina aqueous extract. Parasitemia levels and inhibition rates were microscopically measured using Giemsa stained blood smear method. Trichosanthes cucumerina possessed strong antimalarial activities against P. berghei NK65 infection in mice. A significant correlation was successfully recorded between the survival time of the seven-day prophylactic treatment group (P7) with its ability to inhibit parasite growth as compared to the curative treatment groups. However, these values ​​are still incomparable to the control group treated with the commercial drugs primaquine and chloroquine. In addition, blood biochemical toxicity analysis of ALT, AST, ALP, and STP showed that acute and sub-acute toxicity treatments of T. cucumerina did not cause liver injury and were non-toxic to the animals. Thus, this study significantly proves (p≤0.05, n=6) that T. cucumerina has antiparasitic properties that can be manipulated as an alternative antimalarial drug.