A novel phenolic glycoside from Mondia Whytei skeels

Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop., 5(2), 107-110 (1991)

Phytochemical studies of medicinal plants from Malawi

A symposium paper on the medicinal plant species of Malawi.Medicinal plants from Malawi have been analyzed phytochemically and biologically largely through collaboration with the Universities of Lausanne, Switzerland; of Rome, Italy and the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. The selection of plants for investigation has been based on interviews with traditional healers of the Herbalists Association of Malawi under the Chairmanship of Mr. James Gangire Phiri. A large percentage of the plants selected by the traditional healers gave positive leads to the activity claimed from their medicinal uses. We also used random selection based on literature reviews and chematoxonomic relationships. The studies on these plants included collection, extraction, purification, in vitro activity-guided fractionation, isolation of active principles, derivatization and further in vitro bioassays. Included here are antitumoral, antifungal, antibacterial, molluscicidal, hypoglycemic, antifeedant and, to some extent, immunostimulant activities. Depending on the activity of the compounds, some of them could be used directly after further studies on toxicity, biodegradation and efficacy through standardization. This chapter covers some of the reports on phytochemistry of medicinal plants from Malawi, with emphasis on biologically active compounds. In order to clarify the organization of this chapter, the results have been separated into three main groups: compounds exhibiting molluscicidal activity, fungitoxic natural products and miscellaneous structuresInternational Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the saponins from berries of cultivated phytolacca dodecandra by LC/UV and LC/MS

A conference paper on the medicinal plants of Africa.The dried berries of Endod, Phytolacca dodecandra L'Herit (Phytolaccaceae), are used in Ethiopia as a soap substitute. The molluscicidal properties of their constituents were discovered by Lemma in 1965 and this plant became rapidly of great importance for the local control of bilharzia or schistosomiasis (Lemma, 1970). This parasitic disease affects more than 200 million people in over 70 countries in Africa, South America and in the Far East. As shown in Fig. 19.1. (Marston and Hostettmann 1985), the use of molluscicides affects dramatically the life cycle of the parasitic nematode Schistosoma species.International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD

Mononyasine A and mononyasine B: two glucosides from Hypoxis nyasica

From the rhizomes of Hypoxis nyasica, two monoglucosides having the same aglucones, nyasoside [1-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-3-(4″-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-pentadiene], were isolated. The structures were assigned by comparison of their spectroscopic data (and of the corresponding methyl and tetrahydromethyl derivatives with those of nyasoside (and tetrahydronyasoside)