Anthelmintic activity and cytotoxic effects of compounds isolated from the fruits of Ozoroa insignis del. (Anacardiaceae)

Ozoroa insignis Del. is an ethnobotanical plant widely used in traditional medicine for various ailments, including schistosomiasis, tapeworm, and hookworm infections. From the so far not investigated fruits of Ozoroa insignis, the anthelmintic principles could be isolated through bioassay-guided isolation using Caenorhabditis elegans and identified by NMR spectroscopic analysis and mass spectrometric studies. Isolated 6-[8(Z)-pentadecenyl] anacardic (1), 6-[10(Z)-heptadecenyl] anacardic acid (2), and 3-[7(Z)-pentadecenyl] phenol (3) were evaluated against the 5 parasitic organisms Schistosoma mansoni (adult and newly transformed schistosomula), Strongyloides ratti, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, Necator americanus, and Ancylostoma ceylanicum, which mainly infect humans and other mammals. Compounds 1-3 showed good activity against Schistosoma mansoni, with compound 1 showing the best activity against newly transformed schistosomula with 50% activity at 1microM. The isolated compounds were also evaluated for their cytotoxic properties against PC-3 (human prostate adenocarcinoma) and HT-29 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma) cell lines, whereby compounds 2 and 3 showed antiproliferative activity in both cancer cell lines, while compound 1 exhibited antiproliferative activity only on PC-3 cells. With an IC50 value of 43.2 microM, compound 3 was found to be the most active of the 3 investigated compounds

Medicinal plant preparations administered by botswana traditional health practitioners for treatment of worm infections show anthelmintic activities

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths are some of the priority neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization (WHO). They are prevalent in Botswana and although Botswana has begun mass drug administration with the hope of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths as a public health problem, the prevalence of schistosomiasis does not meet the threshold required to warrant large-scale interventions. Although Botswana has a modern healthcare system, many people in Botswana rely on traditional medicine to treat worm infections and schistosomiasis. In this study, ten plant species used by traditional health practitioners against worm infections were collected and tested against Ancylostoma ceylanicum (zoonotic hookworm), Heligmosomoides polygyrus (roundworm of rodents), Necator americanus (New World hookworm), Schistosoma mansoni (blood fluke) [adult and newly transformed schistosomula (NTS)], Strongyloides ratti (threadworm) and Trichuris muris (nematode parasite of mice) in vitro. Extracts of two plants, Laphangium luteoalbum and Commiphora pyaracanthoides, displayed promising anthelmintic activity against NTS and adult S. mansoni, respectively. L. luteoalbum displayed 85.4% activity at 1 mug/mL against NTS, while C. pyracanthoides displayed 78.5% activity against adult S. mansoni at 10 mug/mL

Screen-to-Nature: Opening Doors to Traditional Knowledge and Hands-on Science Education

Science teachers continuously struggle to develop hands-on, stimulating pedagological tools that capture the enthusiasm of their students, while simultaneously grappling with issues of cost effectiveness and relevance to real-world situations. These constraints are particularly pronounced when educating indigenous students, who navigate daily between traditional and Western knowledge systems. An innovative “Screens-to-Nature” (STN) system, a portfolio of field-deployable bioassays and practical training, offers a well-designed alternative approach to transdisciplinary education, by immersing students in a guided approach to bioexploratory research. The STN bioassays simply and expediently give students the tools to detect bioactive, healthprotecting properties present in local, indigenous plant materials, microbes, and fungi. The tests are reliable, accurate, low-cost, and relevant for multiple scientific disciplines. Students are transformed from observers into active researchers, able to observe and record their own uncharted scientific discoveries. Because the STN system can be implemented on traditionally-important medicinal herbs and foods, links between indigenous knowledge and Western science, as well as youth-to-elder communications, are fostered. Case studies from multiple global locations have provided positive insights as to how the STN system can stimulate the science education experience and provoke expanded science discovery