ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION OF NIGERIAN EUPHORBIACEAE PLANTS 1: PHYLLANTHUS A-MARUS AND PHYLLANTHUS MUELLERIANUS LEAF EXTRACTS

In vitro antimicrobial properties of leaf chloroform and methanol extracts of Phyllanthus amarus and Phyllanthus muellerianus using human pathogenic microorganisms (6 bacteria and 2 fungi) were evaluated respectively. The leaf methanol extract of P. amarus and the leaf chloroform extract of P. muellerianus exhibited antimicrobial properties. The leaf methanol extract of P. amarus displayed antifungal activity against Candida albicans and inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive), Streptococcus pyogenes (gram positive), Escherica coli (gram negative) and Proteus sp (gram negative) in the agar cup plate diffusion technique, exhibiting greater antibacterial activity with three of the microorganisms than the reference compound ampicillin. The chloroform extract of P. muellerianus on the other hand, displayed sensitivity higher than P. amarus against Candida albicans but inhibited the growth of only Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive) and Escherica coli (gram negative). The antibacterial study of the leaf extracts of both plants showed that the leaf methanol extract of P. amarus exhibited a concentration dependent activity against four of the microorganisms used in the study while P. muellerianus inhibited two of the microorganisms at high concentrations only. Key Words:Phyllanthus amarus, Phyllanthus muellerianus, Euphorbiaceae, antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial . Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine Vol.7 2003: 9-1

CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF ANTHOCLEISTA DJALONENSIS AND THEIR DERIVATIVES

Crude methanol extracts obtained from the stem, roots and leaves of Anthocleista djalonensis and three natural plant constituents (djalonenol 1, sweroside 3 and djalonensone 9 respectively) isolated from these extracts were evaluated invitro against ST-57 brain tumor transformed fibroblasts. In addition, six semisynthetic derivatives (djalonenol diacetate 2, sweroside tetraacetate 4, dihydrosweroside 5, dihydrosweroside tetraacetate 6, 1-methoxy sweroside 7 and hydrolytic dimmer of sweroside 8 respectively) were also evaluated to assess the effect of derivitization on cytotoxicity of natural plant constituents. The primary culture of fibroblasts was prepared by the method of explantate culture. Comparatively, the three crude extracts as well as compounds 1, 3 and 7 exhibited low cytotoxicity (ED50 40-70μg ml-1). Derivitization of the plant constituents only enhanced the cytotoxicity of compound 8 (ED50 4μg ml-1). Compounds 2, 4, 5, 6 and 9 were not significantly cytotoxic against the brain tumor transformed fibroblasts. However the extracts and compounds exhibited concentration and time dependent activities. This is consistent with the observed toxic effect of the use in large doses of A. djalonensis in traditional medicine. Key Words: Anthocleista djalonensis; Loganiaceae; Cytotoxicity; fibroblasts; djalonenol; djalonensone and Sweroside. Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine Vol.7 2003: 58-6

Maternal health in Central America: The role of medicinal plants in the pregnancy-related health and well-being of indigenous women in Central America

Over the past 20 years, Central America (CA) has made considerable progress in improving the health status of its populations. However, in some countries, the overall health status remains below average with poor outcomes concentrated geographically among the poor and Indigenous populations. Although Indigenous people make up the second largest population in CA, these populations have less access to healthcare, and funding for initiatives to improve maternal health is scarce. In many communities across CA, women continue to rely heavily on plant-based medicines for health and well-being, and yet there is a paucity of information regarding the safety and efficacy of these therapies. Sourced from available academic, governmental, and gray literature, in both English and Spanish, this chapter reviews maternal health issues among the Indigenous, Ladino, and other ethnic women of CA, evaluates the role of traditional medicine practices and their influence on maternal health outcomes, and reviews the existing scientific evidence supporting the use of traditional (i.e., plant-based) medicines for pregnancy-related health conditions.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de QuímicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA