Efficacy of Crude Bark extract of Acacia Polyacantha Against Leishmania Donovani in mice

The template is used to format your paper and style the text. All margins, column widths, line spaces, and text fonts are prescribed; please do not alter them. Paper size is A4 (page layoutà sizeàA4). Use the normal margins (page layoutà marginsànormal). Paragraph sittings (paragraphàline spacing 1.5, after and before the paragraph is automatic). Visceral leishmaniasis (Kala Azar) is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and is the second largest parasitic killer disease in the world after malaria.Conventional treatment of Kala Azar is with Pentavalent antimonials and Amphotericin B but these are toxic, expensive and the causative  parasites are becoming resistant to the drugs. Affordable non- toxic alternative drugs are needed.This study investigated the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of methanolic and aqueous crude bark extracts of Acacia polyacantha against Leishmania donovani .SAB , BALB/c and Swiss Albino mice infected with Leishmania donovani were treated with the extracts and compared with conventional  drugs and PBS.Splenomegaly and parasite loads in the spleens of the mice  were determined and compared between the groups.Analysis of data was done using T test and ANOVA to determine any statistical significant differences in the tested parameters. P values of ≤ 0. 05 were considered to be significant.The study found that the crude bark extract of A .polyacantha is efficacious but less active against L .donovani with promastigote (MIC) of 1.47mg/ml  compared to Pentostam with promastigote (MIC) of 0.03mg/ml and Amphotericin B with promastigote (MIC) 0.08mg/ml. There were no significant differences in reduction of splenomegaly and spleen weights in L. donovani  infected mice that were treated with the crude extracts compared to the controls.However, the study showed that there were significant  differences in reduction of Leishmania donovani Units (LDUs) ,the spleen parasite loads reduced by 34% in SAB mice and by 63% in BALB/c mice when compared  with PBS treated groups when  using methanolic crude bark.There was also significant  reduction of LDUs in SAB mice when treatment was given through the intra-peritoneal route (LDU mean=5.99) compared to the oral route(LDUmean=15.34) .In conclusion the crude bark extract of  A. polyacantha is efficacious but less potent against L. donovani compared to both Penstotam and Amphotericin B. The study recommends that further studies should be done on root and leaf extracts of A. polyacantha to establish if they have better action against L. donovani

Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Malaria-Geohelminth Co-Infection and Syndemics in Pregnancy: A Cross Sectional Study of Pregnant Women Attending Ante Natal Care at Nandi Hills Sub County Hospital, Kenya

Aim: The study investigated the effect of different socio-demographic factors on malaria-geo-helminth co-infections in pregnant women attending Antenatal care at Nandi Hills Sub County Hospital.Methodology: study area lies within latitudes 00 and 0034’ North and Longitudes 34045’’ and 35025’’ East. Study design was a cross sectional study and the participants who consented were selected randomly and requested to fill an informed consent form. About 5 grams of stool sample Stool was collected by the participants and processed immediately at the hospital using formal- ether concentration technique. Participants donated capillary blood sample by a finger prick. Thick and thin blood smears were prepared and stained using Field Stains A and B. Semi structured questionnaires were developed and administered to obtain information regarding individual socio demographics. Chi-square test and Phi and Cramer’s V test of strength of association were used to analyse the data. Results: parasite co-infection was recorded for P. falciparum-A. lumbricoides and P. falciparum-hookworm. There were no co-infections of P. falciparum-T.trichiura parasites or infection with more than two parasites. Factors that significantly (P<.05) affected parasite co-infection by chi-square analysis were being married, residing in own home in the rural, having a small family size and being a middle income earner for P. falciparum-hookworm co-infections. P. falciparum-A. lumbricoides co-infection was significant only with being married. Parasites association by Phi strength of association was negative for P. falciparum-A. lumbricoides co-infection except with being single(rᵠ=.019) and residing in urban rental(rᵠ=.084). P. falciparum-hookworm co-infection association was positive except with being single (rᵠ=-.006) and staying in the estate camp (rᵠ=-.097).Conclusion: socio-demographic factors that were considered impacted differently on parasite co-infection. Association of P. falciparum and geo-helminths became variable with different socio-demographic factors. Keywords: malaria geo-helminths socio-demographics co-infection syndemics pregnanc

Combination and monotherapy of Leishmania major infection in BALB/c mice using plant extracts and herbicides

Background & objectives: Leishmaniasis is a growing health problem in many parts of the world. Efforts to findnew chemotherapeutics for leishmaniasis remain a priority. This study was carried out to determine the effect ofcombination and monotherapies using plant extracts and herbicides on Leishmania major infection in BALB/cmice.Methods: The herbicides and saponin extract were purchased from Sigma. Roots of Plumbago capensis werecollected from Karura forest, Nairobi, Kenya. Plant extractions were done in KEMRI at Center for TraditionalMedicines and Drugs Research.Results: Lesion sizes after infection of BALB/c mice were similar in all the experimental groups till the onset oftherapeutic treatments (p >0.05). At 15 days post-treatment, significant differences (p < 0.05) were discerned inthe lesion sizes of the BALB/c mice in all the mono- and combined-treated groups. However, the combinedtherapies caused total elimination of the parasites from the lesions and significantly reduced parasite burden inliver and spleen compared to the untreated controls at the end of the experiment.Interpretation & conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that combination therapy using alternativeadministration of saponin, acriflavine, trifluralin and plumbagin is effective in treating L. major infection inmice. In this regard, an investigation into the efficacy of these combined therapies against other Leishmaniastrains should be explored further. Furthermore, studies with these combination therapies should be done onnon-human primates such as the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops)

Experimental chemotherapy with Allium sativum (Liliaceae) methanolic extract in rodents infected with Leishmania major and Leishmania donovani

Background & objectives: Several plant products have been tested and found to possess antileishmanialactivity. The present study was undertaken to establish whether methanolic extract ofAllium sativum Linn has antileishmanial activity in comparison to standard drugs.Methods: Methanolic extract of A. sativum bulbs was screened for in vitro and in vivo antileishmanialactivity against Leishmania major strain (NLB 145) and L. donovani strain (NLB 065). Pentostam®and Amphotericin B® were used as standard drugs. BALB/c mice and golden hamsters(Mesocricetus auratus) were used in in vivo studies on L. major and L. donovani respectively.Results: The extract exhibited very low cytotoxicity (IC50 >450 μg/ml) against Vero cells. Theextract had significantly better (p <0.001) leishmanicidal activity against both species (IC50 34.22μg/ml to L. major, 37.41 μg/ml to L. donovani) than Pentostam. However, the activity wassignificantly lower (p <0.001) than that of Amphotericin B against both the species. At aconcentration of 250 μg/ml, the extract induced the production of 60 μM of nitric oxide, a ten-foldup-regulation in activated macrophages. The multiplication indices for L. major amastigotes treatedin 100 μg/ml were significantly different (p <0.05). Treatment with the extract, daily for 28 daysled to a significant reduction (p <0.05) in footpad swelling in BALB/c mice; similar activitynoticed in the treatment with standard drugs. The Leishman-Donovan Units (LDU) for the extracttreated animals were significantly higher (p <0.05) than those of standard drugs, but lower comparedto the negative control.Interpretation & conclusion: Since the mechanism of action for the methanolic extract is apparentlyimmunomodulatory, garlic compounds could be purified and tried as complementary medicine inthe management of leishmaniases

Experimental therapeutic assays of Tephrosia vogelii against Leishmania major infection in murine model: in vitro and in vivo

Abstract Background Conventional targeted leishmanicidal chemotherapy has persistently remained prohibitive for most economically deprived communities due to costs, associated time to accessing health services and duration for successful treatment programme. Alternatives are bound to be incorporated in rational management of leishmaniasis by choice or default due to accessibility and cultural beliefs. Therefore, there is need to rigorously investigate and appraise the activity of medicinal compounds that may have anti-leishmanicidal activity especially in the context of products that are already being utilized by the populations for other ailments but have limited information on their therapeutic value and possible cytoxicity. Hence, the study examined both in vivo and in vitro response of L. major infection to Tephrosia vogelii extracts in BALB/c mice as the mouse model. Methods A comparative study design was applied for the in vivo and in vitro assays of the extract with Pentostam (GlaxoSmithKline, UK) and Amphotericin B [Fungizone™, X-Gen Pharmaceuticals (US)] as standard drugs. Results In BALB/c mice where the chemotherapeutic extract was administered intraperitoneally, there was significantly (p < 0.05) larger reduction in lesion size and optimal control of parasite burden than those treated orally. However, standard drugs showed better activity. Tephrosia vogelii had 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) and IC90 of 12 and 68.5 μg/ml respectively, while the standard drugs had IC50 and IC90 of 5.5 and 18 μg/ml for Pentostam and 7.8 and 25.5 μg/ml for Amphotericin B in that order. In the amastigote assay, the infection rates decreased with increase in chemotherapeutic concentration. The multiplication indices for L. major amastigotes in macrophages treated with 200 µg/ml of the standard drugs and extract were significantly different (p < 0.05). 200 µg/ml of T. vogelii extract showed a multiplication index of 20.57, 5.65% for Amphotericin B and 9.56% for Pentostam. There was also significant difference (p < 0.05) in levels of Nitric oxide produced in the macrophages. Conclusions The findings demonstrated that T. vogelii extract has anti-leishmanial activity and further assays should be done to ascertain the active compounds responsible for anti-leishmanial activity