Current and future prospects of integrating traditional and alternative medicine in the management of diseases in Tanzania

Traditional medicine and medicinal plants, in general, continue to be a powerful source of new drugs, now contributing about 90% of the newly discovered pharmaceuticals. Traditional medicine continues to provide health coverage for over 80% of the world population, especially in the developing world. The past and the present are all full of living examples of discoveries of drugs, ranging from anticancer, antiasthma, antidiabetic, antihypertensives and many others which owe their origin to traditional medicine. The current era of HIV/AIDS is not short of contributions from traditional medicine. The recent discovery of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), calanolide A, is a new addition from traditional medicine. Many more such discoveries are yet to come. While this potential is much acknowledged, little has been done in African countries, to utilize the plants that are already known and proven to be safe for use by patients. A number of plants could be widely cultivated for local industrial production of medicines and herbal nutritional supplements. There is need to ensure that what is known is made use of, for financial gain, and for improvement of the health of our people. We need to establish the necessary expertise for development of traditional medicines and deliberate efforts should be made to encourage local industrial production of traditional/herbal medicines so that cultivation may become possible and hence contribute to poverty reduction. Keywords: traditional medicine, alternative medicine, diseases, Tanzania Tanzania Health Research Bulletin Vol. 7(3) 2005: 159-16

The Effect of Phyllanthus Amarus Aqueous Extract on Blood Glucose in Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetic Patients

The glycaemic response to 124.5 ± 9.3 (mean ± SD) g of pancakes was monitored in 21 non-insulin dependent diabetic (NIDDM) patients while on oral hypoglycaemics, after a one week washout period and after a one week twice daily treatment with 100 ml of an aqueous extract from 12.5 g of powdered aerial parts of Phyllanthus amarus. After the one week washout period, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial blood glucose increased significantly compared to when on oral hypoglycaemics (P ≤ 0.05). After one week herbal treatment no hypoglycaemic activity was observed. Both FBG and postprandial blood glucose remained very similar to that recorded after the washout period (P > 0.05). Both liver and renal functions based on alanine transaminase (ALAT) and serum creatinine, respectively, were not significantly affected by the use of the extract. Although lymphocyte and monocyte levels were significantly decreased (P ≤ 0.05) and granulocyte level was significantly increased after treatment (P ≤ 0.05) overall total white blood cell (WBC) count and haemoglobin (Hb) were not significantly affected by the one week herbal treatment. We conclude that one week treatment with the aqueous extract of Phyllanthus amarus was incapable of lowering both FBG and postprandial blood glucose in untreated NIDDM patients

Brine shrimp lethality of a glutarimide alkaloid from Croton sylvaticus Hochst

No Abstract.The East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 8(1) 2005: 3-

Cytotoxic Screening of Some Tanzania Medicinal Plants

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.6(3) 2003: 52-5

Anticonvulsant Activity Of Diospyros fischeri Root Extracts

Diospyros fischeri Gurke (Ebenaceae) is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of epilepsy. Dichloromethane, ethylacetate, and ethanol extracts of the roots, at doses between 100 and 1600 mg/kg BW,  inhibited convulsions induced by the γ‐aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor antagonist, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), in a dose dependent manner. The extracts also exhibited low toxicity against brine shrimps giving LC50 values between 45 .4 and 95.4 μg/ml.  These results provide evidence for the potential of D. fischeri extracts to treat absence seizures, especially given their seemingly innocuous nature. Keywords: Diospyros fischeri; Pentylenetetrazole; Anticonvulsant activity; Brine shrimp toxicity African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines Vol. 4 (2) 2007: pp. 226-23

Antimicrobial activity and brine shrimp toxicity of extracts of Terminalia brownii roots and stem

BACKGROUND: Ternimalia brownii Fresen (Combretaceae) is widely used in traditional medicine to treat bacterial, fungal and viral infections. There is a need to evaluate extracts of this plant in order to provide scientific proof for it's wide application in traditional medicine system. METHODS: Extraction of stem bark, wood and whole roots of T. brownii using solvents of increasing polarity, namely, Pet ether, dichloromethane, dichloromethane: methanol (1:1), methanol and aqua, respectively, afforded dry extracts. The extracts were tested for antifungal and antibacterial activity and for brine shrimp toxicity test. RESULTS: Extracts of the stem bark, wood and whole roots of T. brownii exhibited antibacterial activity against standard strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, and Bacillus anthracis and the fungi, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Aqueous extracts exhibited the strongest activity against both bacteria and fungi. Extracts of the roots and stem bark exhibited relatively mild cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp larvae with LC(50 )values ranging from 113.75–4356.76 and 36.12–1458.81 μg/ml, respectively. The stem wood extracts exhibited the highest toxicity against the shrimps (LC(50 )values 2.58–14.88 μg/ml), while that of cyclophosphamide, a standard anticancer drug, was 16.33 (10.60–25.15) μg/ml. CONCLUSION: These test results support traditional medicinal use of, especially, aqueous extracts for the treatment of conditions such as diarrhea, and gonorrhea. The brine shrimp results depict the general trend among plants of the genus Terminalia, which are known to contain cytotoxic compounds such as hydrolysable tannins. These results warrant follow-up through bioassay-directed isolation of the active principles

Brine Shrimp Toxicity Evaluation Of Some Tanzanian Plants Used Traditionally For The Treatment Of Fungal Infections

Plants which are used by traditional healers in Tanzania have been evaluated to obtain preliminary data of their toxicity using the brine shrimps test. The results indicate that 9 out of 44 plant species whose extracts were tested exhibited high toxicity with LC50 values below 20μg/ml. These include Aloe lateritia Engl. (Aloaceae) [19.1μg/ml], Cassia abbreviata Oliv. (Caesalpiniaceae) [12.7μg/ml], Croton scheffleri Pax (Euphorbiaceae) [13.7μg/ml], Hymenodactyon parvifolium Brig (Rubiaceae) [13.4μg/ml], Kigelia Africana L. (Bignoniaceae) [7.2μg/ml], and Ocimum suave Oliv. (Labiatae) [16.7μg/ml]. Twelve plants gave LC50 values between 21 and 50μg/ml, 11 plants gave LC50 values between 50 and 100 μg/ml, and 18 plants gave LC50 values greater than 100 μg/ml. Keywords: Brine shrimp test; Toxicity evaluation; Traditional antifungal plants African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines Vol. 4 (2) 2007: pp. 219-22

Antimicrobial Activity, Acute Toxicity and Cytoprotective Effect of Crassocephalum Vitellinum (Benth.) S. Moore Extract in a Rat Ethanol-HCl Gastric Ulcer Model.

A decoction of Crassocephallum vitellinum (Benth.) S. Moore (Asteraceae) is used in Kagera Region to treat peptic ulcers. This study seeks to evaluate an aqueous ethanol extract of aerial parts of the plant for safety and efficacy. An 80% ethanolic extract of C. vitellinum at doses of 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body wt was evaluated for ability to protect Sprague Dawley rats from acidified ethanol gastric ulceration in comparison with 40 mg/kg body wt pantoprazole. The extract and its dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions were also evaluated for acute toxicity in mice, brine shrimp toxicity, and antibacterial activity against four Gram negative bacteria; Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Salmonella typhi (NCTC 8385), Vibrio cholera (clinical isolate), and Streptococcus faecalis (clinical isolate). The groups of phytochemicals present in the extract were also determined. The ethanolic extract of C. vitellinum dose-dependently protected rat gastric mucosa against ethanol/HCl insult to a maximum of 88.3% at 800 mg/kg body wt, affording the same level of protection as by 40 mg/kg body wt pantoprazole. The extract also exhibited weak antibacterial activity against S. typhi and E. coli, while its ethyl acetate, dichloromethane and aqueous fractions showed weak activity against K. pneumonia, S.typhi, E. coli and V. cholera. The extract was non-toxic to mice up to 5000 mg/kg body wt, and the total extract (LC50 = 37.49 μg/ml) and the aqueous (LC50 = 87.92 μg/ml), ethyl acetate (LC50 = 119.45 μg/ml) and dichloromethane fractions (88.79 μg/ml) showed low toxicity against brine shrimps. Phytochemical screening showed that the extract contains tannins, saponins, flavonoids, and terpenoids. The results support the claims by traditional healers that a decoction of C.vitellinum has antiulcer activity. The mechanism of cytoprotection is yet to be determined but the phenolic compounds present in the extract may contribute to its protective actions. However, the dose conferring gastro-protection in the rat is too big to be translated to clinical application; thus bioassay guided fractionation to identify active compound/s or fractions is needed, and use of more peptic ulcer models to determine the mechanism for the protective action

The Ethnomedicine of the Haya people of Bugabo ward, Kagera Region, north western Tanzania

\ud The Kagera region, in north western Tanzania, is endowed with a strong culture of traditional medicine that is well supported by a rich diversity of medicinal plants. However, most of the plants in this region have not been documented nor evaluated for safety and efficacy. As an initiative in that direction, this study documented the knowledge on medicinal plant use by traditional healers of Bugabo Ward in Bukoba District. Key informants were selected with the help of local government officials and information on their knowledge and use of plants for therapeutic purposes was gathered using a semi-structured interview format. In this study 94 plant species representing 84 genera and 43 families were found to be commonly used in the treatment of a variety of human ailments. The family Asteraceae had the highest number of species being used as traditional medicines. The study revealed that Malaria is treated using the highest number of different medicinal species (30), followed by skin conditions (19), maternal illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases (14), respiratory diseases (11) and yellow fever, Herpes simplex and peptic ulcers (10). Majority of the species are used to treat less than five different diseases/conditions each and leaves were the most commonly used part, comprising 40% of all the reports on use of plant parts. Trees comprised the most dominant growth form among all plants used for medicinal purposes in the study area. Bugabo Ward has a rich repository of medicinal plants and this reinforces the need for an extensive and comprehensive documentation of medicinal plants in the area and a concomitant evaluation of their biological activity as a basis for developing future medicines.\u

Antibacterial, Anti-HIV-1 Protease and Cytotoxic Activities of Aqueous Ethanolic Extracts from Combretum Adenogonium Steud. Ex A. Rich (Combretaceae).

\ud \ud Records have shown that Combretum adenogonium Steud. Ex A. Rich (Combretaceae) is used in traditional medicine systems of several tribes in Tanzania. This study focused on the investigation of antibacterial activity, anti-HIV-1 protease activity, toxicity properties and classes of phytochemicals in extracts from C. adenogonium Steud. Ex A. Rich (Combretaceae) to evaluate potential of these extracts for development as herbal remedies. Dried plant material were ground to fine powder and extracted using 80% aqueous ethanol to afford root, leaf and stem bark extracts. The extracts were assayed for anti-HIV-1 protease activities, antibacterial activities using microdilution methods and cytotoxicity using brine shrimps lethality assay. Screening for major phytochemical classes was carried out using standard chemical tests. All extracts exhibited antibacterial activity to at least one of the test bacteria with MIC-values ranging from 0.31-5.0 mg/ml. Two extracts, namely, root and stem bark exhibited anti-HIV-1 PR activity with IC50 values of 24.7 and 26.5 μg/ml, respectively. Stem bark and leaf extracts showed mild toxicity with LC50 values of 65.768 μg/ml and 76.965 μg/ml, respectively, whereas roots were relatively non-toxic (LC50 = 110.042 μg/ml). Phytochemical screening of the extracts indicated presence of flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides and saponins. These results provide promising baseline information for the potential development of C. adenogonium extracts in treatment of bacterial and HIV/AIDS-related opportunistic infections