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

Ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and practice of the Oromo ethnic group in southwestern Ethiopia

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and use by traditional healers in southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Data were collected from 45 randomly selected traditional healers using semi-structured interviews and observations. Sixty-seven ethnomedicinal plant species used by traditional healers to manage 51 different human ailments were identified and documented. Healers' indigenous knowledge was positively correlated with their reported age but not with their educational level. High degree of consensus was observed among traditional healers in treating tumor (locally known as Tanacha), rabies (Dhukuba Seree) and insect bite (Hadhaa). The use of more than one species was significantly cited for remedy preparations. The reported abundance of the ethnomedicinal plant species varied significantly with respect to the presence of multiple uses of the reported species. Our results showed that ethnomedicinal plant species used by healers are under serious threat due to several factors, which indicates the need for urgent attention towards their conservation and sustainable utilization