An overview of anti-diabetic plants used in Gabon: Pharmacology and Toxicology

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ethnopharmacological relevance: The management of diabetes mellitus management in African communities, especially in Gabon, is not well established as more than 60% of population rely on traditional treatments as primary healthcare. The aim of this review was to collect and present the scientific evidence for the use of medicinal plants that are in currect by Gabonese traditional healers to manage diabetes or hyperglycaemia based here on the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of plants with anti-diabetic activity. There are presented in order to promote their therapeutic value, ensure a safer use by population and provide some bases for further study on high potential plants reviewed. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical studies were sourced using databases such as Online Wiley library, Pubmed, Google Scholar, PROTA, books and unpublished data including Ph.D. and Master thesis, African and Asian journals. Keywords including ‘Diabetes’ ‘Gabon’ ‘Toxicity’ ‘Constituents’ ‘hyperglycaemia’ were used. Results: A total of 69 plants currently used in Gabon with potential anti-diabetic activity have been identified in the literature, all of which have been used in in vivo or in vitro studies. Most of the plants have been studied in human or animal models for their ability to reduce blood glucose, stimulate insulin secretion or inhibit carbohydrates enzymes. Active substances have been identified in 12 out of 69 plants outlined in this review, these include Allium cepa and Tabernanthe iboga. Only eight plants have their active substances tested for anti-diabetic activity and are suitables for further investigation. Toxicological data is scarce and is dose-related to the functional parameters of major organs such as kidney and liver. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding on the pharmacology and toxicology of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is lacking yet there is a great scope for new treatments. With further research, the use of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is important to ensure the safety of the diabetic patients in Gabon.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Synergistic Hepatoprotective Effect of Methanolic Extracts of Urtica Dioica LINN. Leaves and Silymarin CCL4 - Induced Hepatic Damage in HEPG2 Cells

In this current study, the methanolic leaves extract of Urtica dioica Linn. (UDLE-M) was tested for its hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties. The extract's hepatoprotective activity was assessed in HepG2 cell lines against CCl4-causedhepatic injury. Additionally, in order to assess the antioxidant activityof UDLE-M in vitro, the assessment of total antioxidant activity was looked at.The synergistic effect of UDLE-M + Silymarin was also investigated in HepG2 cell lines. The extract exhibited noteworthy antioxidant activity, matching that of common antioxidant chemicals such as BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and α-tocopherol, according to the data. A notable hepatoprotective profile was also noted, with an enhanced level of % cell viability suggesting that the dose of 110 µg/mL would result in the highest hepatoprotection. A significant synergistic hepatoprotective effect had also been observed for UDLE-M + Silymarin

Antiatherosclerotic Activity of Methanolic Extract of Woodfordia fructicosa Flowers

In the present investigation the methanolic extract of Woodfordia fructicosa flowers at the doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg was investigated for antiatherosclerotic against high fat diet induced atherosclerosis and triton induced atherosclerosis. In high fat diet induced atherosclerosis several parameters of lipid profile such as total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG), lipoprotein profile such as low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDLc) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), atherosclerotic markers such as alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and atherogenic index parameters such as TC/HDLc, LDLc/HDLc were determined and found to significantly altered in induction control group treated with high fat diet. The histopathological studies of liver and heart tissue were also performed wherein high fat diet showed toxic effects on cardiac and hepatic tissue. Similarly, in triton induced atherosclerosis parameters of lipid profile such as total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein levels were determined and were found to be significantly increased in induction control group. methanolic extract of Woodfordia fructicosa flowers showed protection against the atherosclerosis by bringing back the altered parameters to normal I both the models and showing ameliorating effects against high fat diet induced hepatic and cardiac damage. The multistep putative action of methanolic extract of flowers of Woodfordia fructicosa is attributed to the prominent phytoconstituents namely ellagic acid estimated through HPTLC analysis of the extract. Thus the study exhibited the protective effect of methanolic extract of flowers of Woodfordia fructicosa against atherosclerosis.</jats:p

Development, Validation of RP-HPLC Method and GC MS Analysis of Desloratadine HCL and IT"s Degradation Products

Introduction: Efficacy and safety of drug therapy is directly related to the stability of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and drug product used. Forced degradation studies (also called stress testing) are performed for better understanding of API and drug product stability. Thus, stress testing is a prognostic research tool used to ascertain stability of drug molecules and provide support for developing a stability-indicating method. Aim: The research aim is Development, Validation of RP-HPLC Method and GC MS Analysis of Desloratadine HCL and Its Degradation Products. Objective: The objective of the current study was to develop a validated specific stability-indicating reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of Desloratadine HCl in bulk samples in the presence of degradation products. Method: Desloratadine HCL was subjected to variable pH, oxidative, dry heat and photolytic stress condition as per ICH guideline for the stability study. Stressed samples were further studied by the validated RP-HPLC method and also studied by GC-MS to characterize degradation products (Fig 15). Result: At oxidative stress, degradation products were generated and detected by GCMS. Slight degradation was observed in acidic and alkaline stress while no degradation was observed in other stress conditions. Separation of degradation products from pure drug was achieved on C18 column 5µ (4.6 X 250 mm) using the mobile phase consists a mixture of Orthophosphoric acid (0.1%V/V), Acetonitrile and Methanol (50:35:15 V/V/V). The detection was carried out at 242 nm. The proposed validated LC method was used to quantify the stressed test solutions in order to ascertain stability-indicating potential of the method. Conclusion: The established LC approach has been shown to be suitable for determining the quality of Desloratadine HCl from its dosage form and assessing its stability when required.</jats:p