Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities and Phytochemical Screening of Some Yemeni Medicinal Plants

The traditional medicine still plays an important role in the primary health care in Yemen. The current study represents the investigation of 16 selected plants, which were collected from different localities of Yemen. The plants were dried and extracted with two different solvents (methanol and hot water) to yield 34 crude extracts. The obtained extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria, one yeast species and three multiresistant Staphylococcus strains using agar diffusion method, for their antioxidant activity using scavenging activity of DPPH radical method and for their cytotoxic activity using the neutral red uptake assay. In addition, a phytochemical screening of the methanolic extracts was done. Antibacterial activity was shown only against Gram-positive bacteria, among them multiresistant bacteria. The highest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by the methanolic extracts of Acalypha fruticosa, Centaurea pseudosinaica, Dodonaea viscosa, Jatropha variegata, Lippia citriodora, Plectranthus hadiensis, Tragia pungens and Verbascum bottae. Six methanolic extracts especially those of A. fruticosa, Actiniopteris semiflabellata, D. viscosa, P. hadiensis, T. pungens and V. bottae showed high free radical scavenging activity. Moreover, remarkable cytotoxic activity against FL-cells was found for the methanolic extracts of A. fruticosa, Iris albicans, L. citriodora and T. pungens. The phytochemical screening demonstrated the presence of different types of compounds like flavonoids, terpenoids and others, which could be responsible for the obtained activities

Survival of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) sealants and restorations: a meta-analysis

The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic investigation plus meta-analysis into survival of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) sealants and restorations using high-viscosity glass ionomers and to compare the results with those from the 2005 ART meta-analysis. Until February 2010, four databases were searched. Two hundred four publications were found, and 66 reported on ART restorations or sealant survival. Based on five exclusion criteria, two independent reviewers selected the 29 publications that accounted for the meta-analysis. Confidence intervals (CI) and or standard errors were calculated and the heterogeneity variance of the survival rates was estimated. Location (school/clinic) was an independent variable. The survival rates of single-surface and multiple-surface ART restorations in primary teeth over the first 2 years were 93% (CI, 91–94%) and 62% (CI, 51–73%), respectively; for single-surface ART restorations in permanent teeth over the first 3 and 5 years it was 85% (CI, 77–91%) and 80% (CI, 76–83%), respectively and for multiple-surface ART restorations in permanent teeth over 1 year it was 86% (CI, 59–98%). The mean annual dentine lesion incidence rate, in pits and fissures previously sealed using ART, over the first 3 years was 1%. No location effect and no differences between the 2005 and 2010 survival rates of ART restorations and sealants were observed. The short-term survival rates of single-surface ART restorations in primary and permanent teeth, and the caries-preventive effect of ART sealants were high. Clinical relevance: ART can safely be used in single-surface cavities in both primary and permanent teeth. ART sealants have a high caries preventive effect

Planning health care in South Africa--Is there a role for traditional healers?

Developing health policies for the 'post-apartheid' era has become an urgent task of the early 1990s in South Africa. A neglected policy issue thus far has been the question of whether traditional healers have a role to play in future health care, and if so what this should be. Rather than developing positions on these questions, this paper sets out the main debates which need the consideration of health care planners. Arguments for and against traditional healers in health care are presented, and alternatives which could be chosen are outlined. Options adopted by countries on South Africa's borders, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland are briefly considered.traditional healers South Africa health policy

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIC FERTILISER APPLICATION ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

The use of medicinal plants has increased significantly due to their known biological activity against common human, animal and plant pathogens. The increased use of these plants has led to some of these plants facing extinction in the wild due to a lack of cultivation to maintain sustainable populations. When plants are removed from their natural environment, changes in their chemical composition can be observed. Changes may occur due to environmental and geographical changes that the plants are exposed to. Cultivation of these plants under irrigation with the application of fertilisers also changes the chemical composition of their active compounds. A selection of important medicinal plants were subjected to organic fertiliser treatments, which included bone meal, gypsum, and an organic nitrogen source that was applied separately and in different combinations to obtain seven treatments. The fertiliser trials were harvested for two years. For all the treatments, ethanolic water and petroleum ether extracts were prepared. Successive fractions of ethyl acetate and methanol for the petroleum ether extracts were also prepared. All these extracts were evaluated for chemical differences by TLC and HPLC analysis. Many differences were observed, but it was not clear if the changes affected the biological activity of the plants. Bioassays using three different human bacteria were performed to test the activity of the extracts. Distinct differences in the biological activity were observed with extracts from the different organic fertiliser treatments

Heavy metal poisoning as a possible cause of massive fish mortality and mongoose in the gold mining area around Khutsong, North west province , South Africa

Abstract: Ten composite samples each of water, sediment, fish and organs samples of mongoose from the Wonderfontein area were analysed for the presence of As, Pb, Cd and Cr using atomic absorption spectrophotomery in order to investigate the massive fish mortality in the Wonderfontein stream. Follow up samples of water and sediment were similarly analysed a year later. Abundance of metals followed the trend As>Pb>Cd>Cr, Cr>As>Pb>Cd and As>Cd>Pb>Cr in water, fish and mongoose respectively. The concentrations of As, Pb, Cd and Cr in the initial water samples were 510, 121, 90 and 73 ppm respectively. Water samples collected 12 months later had lower levels of metals at 256, 60, 60, and 50ppm respectively. Cr was highest in fish samples at 56 ppm, while As was highest in mongoose kidney at 25.7ppm. Water concentrations of As, Pb, Cd and Cr were 10 205, 8 020, 2 425 and 733 times higher than the EC/WHO/EPA recommended threshold for potable water while those of Cd and Pb were 36 and 11.2 times higher than those recommended for fish. Levels of metals in sediments were generally higher than those in water. Severe heavy metal pollution with As, Pb, Cd and Cr was revealed in this study, and was also most linked to the mortality of fish and mongoose in the stream. Frequent biomonitoring is therefore recommended in order to safeguard public and animal health in the area. [Nyirenda M, Thekiso V.V, Dzoma B.M, Motsei L.E, Ndou R.V, Bakunzi F.R. Heavy metal poisoning as a possible cause of massive fish mortality and mongoose in the gold mining area around Khutsong, North west province, South Africa. Life Sci J 2012;9(3

Isotopic composition and elemental concentrations in groundwater in the Kuiseb Basin and the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin, Namibia

We assessed environmental tracers in groundwater in two contrasting basins in Namibia; the Kuiseb Basin, which is a predominantly dry area and the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin, which is prone to alternating floods and droughts. We aimed to determine why the quality of groundwater was different in these two basins which occur in an arid environment. We analysed groundwater and surface water for the stable isotope ratios of hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) by cavity ring-down spectroscopy and metals by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The δ2H and δ18O of surface water in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin plot on an evaporation trend below the global meteoric water line (GMWL) and the local meteoric water line (LMWL). The δ2H and δ18O of some groundwater samples in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin also plot on the evaporation trend, indicating recharge by evaporated rain or evaporated surface water. In contrast, the δ2H and δ18O of groundwater samples in the Kuiseb Basin plot mostly along the GMWL and the LMWL, indicating direct recharge from unevaporated rain or unevaporated surface water. Fifty percent of groundwater samples in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin was potable (salinity < 1 ppt) compared to 79 % in the Kuiseb Basin. The high salinity in the groundwater of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin does not appear to be caused by evaporation of water (evapo-concentration) on surface prior to groundwater recharge, but rather by the weathering of the Kalahari sediments. The low salinity in the Kuiseb Basin derives from rapid recharge of groundwater by unevaporated rain and limited weathering of the crystalline rocks. The order of abundance of cations in the Kuiseb Basin is Na > K > Ca > Mg vs. Na > Mg > Ca > K for the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin. For metals in the Kuiseb Basin the order of abundance is Fe > Al > V > As > Zn vs. Al > Fe > V> As > Zn for the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin. The relative abundance of cations and metals are attributed to the differences in geology of the basins and the extent of water-rock interaction. Our results show that the quality of groundwater in Cuvelai-Etosha Basin and Kuiseb Basin which vary in the extent of aridity, is controlled by the extent of water-rock interaction at the surface and in the groundwater aquifer