In vitro antileishmanial and antischistosomal activities of anemonin isolated from the fresh leaves of Ranunculus multifidus forsk

Leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) infecting the world's poorest populations. Effectiveness of the current antileishmanial and antischistosomal therapies are significantly declining, which calls for an urgent need of new effective and safe drugs. In Ethiopia fresh leaves of Ranunculus multifidus Forsk. are traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments including leishmaniasis and eradication of intestinal worms. In the current study, anemonin isolated from the fresh leaves of R. multifidus was assessed for its in vitro antileishmanial and antischistosomal activities. Anemonin was isolated from the hydro-distilled extract of the leaves of R. multifidus. Antileishmanial activity was assessed on clinical isolates of the promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania aethiopica and L. donovani clinical isolates. Resazurin reduction assay was used to determine antipromastigote activity, while macrophages were employed for antiamastigote and cytotoxicity assays. Antischistosomal assays were performed against adult Schistosoma mansoni and newly transformed schistosomules (NTS). Anemonin displayed significant antileishmanial activity with IC50 values of 1.33 nM and 1.58 nM against promastigotes and 1.24 nM and 1.91 nM against amastigotes of L. aethiopica and L. donovani, respectively. It also showed moderate activity against adult S. mansoni and NTS (49% activity against adult S. mansoni at 10 microM and 41% activity against NTS at 1 microM). The results obtained in this investigation indicate that anemonin has the potential to be used as a template for designing novel antileishmanial and antischistosomal pharmacophores

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017 : results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Correction:Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. Methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care.Peer reviewe

In Vivo Anti-inflammatory and Antinociceptive Activities of Extracts of Rosa abyssinica and Salvia nilotica

In vivo Rosa abyssinica Lindley (Rosaceae) and Salvia nilotica Juss. Exjecr (Lamiaceae) using carrageenan-induced paw oedema and formalin test, respectively. It was observed that the 80% methanol extracts of both plants could significantly lower carrageenan-induced paw oedema at doses of 200 mg/kg, p.o. Among the solvent fractions, the acetone, chloroform and methanol fractions of  S. nilotica exhibited anti-inflammatory activity, the strongest being that of the acetone fraction. On the other hand, only the acetone fraction of R. abyssinica was found to be active. The anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts and the fractions were comparable with that of the known anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin at the tested concentrations. The results of the formalin test revealed that the acetone fractions of R. abyssinica and S. nilotica significantly inhibit formalin-induced nociception in mice particularly during the late phase. The results obtained confirmed that the extracts obtained from both R. abyssinica and S. nilotica possess genuine anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities, which support the folkloric use of the herbs to treat inflammatory disorders

Antidiabetic Activity of Samma (Urtica simensis Hochst. ex. A. Rich.) in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem in the world. According to WHO, the number of diabetics in Ethiopia, is expected to increase from about 800,000 cases in the year 2000 to 1.8 million by 2030. In the traditional health care system of Ethiopia, “Samma” (the leaves of Urtica simensis Hochst. ex. A. Rich., Urticaceae), are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and various other ailments. This study reports the antidiabetic activity of the total hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts and the various solvent fractions of U. simensis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. The results revealed that the total hydroalcoholic extract as well as the methanol and aqueous fractions possess significant antidiabetic activity. Blood glucose levels were reduced by 17.9% and 29.9% after oral administration of 300 mg/kg of each of the methanol and aqueous fractions, respectively. At a concentration of 40 ;g/kg, the standard antidiabetic drug glibenclamide displayed a 57.8% reduction in blood glucose level. The aqueous fraction of U. simensis showed antidiabetic activity in a dose dependant manner. However, the petroleum ether, chloroform and acetone fractions did not exhibit any antidiabetic activity. In light of the results obtained from the current study, it could be concluded that the leaves of U. simensis have genuine antidiabetic activity, and their use in traditional medicine to control diabetis mellitus may be justified.Keywords: Urtica simensis, Urticaceae, antidiabetic activity, hydroalcoholic extract, solvent fraction

Antioxidant Activities of Three Rubus Species Growing in Ethiopia

In Ethiopian traditional medical practices some species of the genus Rubus (Rosaceae) are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, one of the disease conditions in which free radicals and oxidative stress have been implicated. In the present study extracts prepared from three members of the genus, namely Rubus apetalus Poir, R. niveus Thunb and R. steudneri Schweinf were investigated for their in vitro radical scavenging activities using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and deoxyribose degradation assays. The 80% methanol extract, and acetone and methanol soxhlet fractions of the three plants tested showed antioxidant activity in a concentration-dependent manner. The 80% methanolic extract of R. steudneri showed the strongest activity in the DPPH radical scavenging assay (IC50 = 6.5 mg/ml). In the deoxyribose degradation assay the 80% methanol, acetone and methanol extracts of R. niveus displayed potent activity with IC50 values of 0.64, 0.6 and 0.61 μg/ml, respectively. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was used as a positive control in the DPPH assay (IC50 = 4.5 μg/ml) and butylhydroxytoluene, in the deoxyribose degradation assay (IC50 = 4.76 μg/ml). The results of the present study suggest that the antioxidant activity of the studied plants may contribute to their purported uses as antidiabetic agents. The work further indicated that the antioxidant active principles of the plants reside in the polar fraction of the extracts. Keywords: Rubus spp., Rosaceae, radical scavenging activity, DPPH assay, deoxyribose degradation assayEthiopian Pharmaceutical Journal Vol. 25 (2) 2007: pp. 103-11