Short-term repeated dose biochemical effects of Catha edulis (khat) crude extract administration in rats

The leaves of khat (Catha edulis) are reported to have stimulating and pleasurable effects and are chewed habitually by people of East Africa and Arabian Peninsula. Due to various effects of khat the present study was undertaken to evaluate the short-term repeated dose effects of freeze dried khat leaves crude extract administration to male Sprague-Dawley rats. In this study, the effects of catha edulis leaves extract oral administration on plasma concentration of Malonyldialdehyde (MDA), triglycerides, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, uric acid, albumin and testosterone and liver enzymes activities were examined. Four groups of rats were exposed to 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg kg 1 body weight/day for 6 consecutive weeks. Our results demonstrated that food consumption and body weights changes were non-significantly different relative to the control. There were no significant effects observed on the levels of plasma MDA, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, uric acid, albumin, liver enzymes or Acid Phosphatase (ACP) in the treatment groups relative to the control. Administration of freeze dried crude catha edulis leaves extract for 6 weeks was found to increase plasma testosterone levels in the two high doses treatment groups (1000 and 2000 mg kg 1 body weight) in more than 2 folds, while it was non-significantly increased in the 500 mg kg 1 body weight treatment group, as compared to control. The data indicated that at the doses and time period tested, catha edulis freeze dried crude extract could be considered as aphrodisiac. Moreover, it did not produce any significant effect on the normal biological markers of liver toxicity or prostatic adverse effects

First Molecular Characterization of Leishmania Species Causing Visceral Leishmaniasis among Children in Yemen.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a debilitating, often fatal disease caused by Leishmania donovani complex; however, it is a neglected tropical disease. L. donovani complex comprises two closely related species, L. donovani that is mostly anthroponotic and L. infantum that is zoonotic. Differentiation between these two species is critical due to the differences in their epidemiology and pathology. However, they cannot be differentiated morphologically, and their speciation using isoenzyme-based methods poses a difficult task and may be unreliable. Molecular characterization is now the most reliable method to differentiate between them and to determine their phylogenetic relationships. The present study aims to characterize Leishmania species isolated from bone marrows of Yemeni pediatric patients using sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS1) gene. Out of 41 isolates from Giemsa-stained bone marrow smears, 25 isolates were successfully amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction and sequenced in both directions. Phylogenetic analysis using neighbor joining method placed all study isolates in one cluster with L. donovani complex (99% bootstrap). The analysis of ITS1 for microsatellite repeat numbers identified L. infantum in 11 isolates and L. donovani in 14 isolates. These data suggest the possibility of both anthroponotic and zoonotic transmission of VL-causing Leishmania species in Yemen. Exploring the possible animal reservoir hosts is therefore needed for effective control to be achieved

Phylogenetic study of <i>L</i>. <i>donovani</i> complex causing VL among Yemeni children.

<p>Unrooted NJ phylogenetic tree showing the relationships of 25 ITS1 sequences of <i>Leishmania</i> species isolates from Yemeni children with VL and sequences representing <i>L</i>. <i>infantum</i>, <i>L</i>. <i>donovani</i>, <i>L</i>. <i>major</i>, <i>L</i>. <i>tropica</i> and <i>L</i>. <i>aethiopica</i>. Bold-type represents reference sequences from GenBank. Abbreviations of countries of origib: FR, France; ES, Spain; PT, Portugal; CN, China; MT, Malta; SD, Sudan; ET, Ethiopia; KE, Kenya; IN, India; TN, Tunisia, YE, Yemen.</p

Microsatellite repeat numbers of ITS1 gene found for <i>L</i>. <i>donovani</i> complex isolates from Yemeni children infected with VL compared to reference strains.^a

<p>Microsatellite repeat numbers of ITS1 gene found for <i>L</i>. <i>donovani</i> complex isolates from Yemeni children infected with VL compared to reference strains.<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0151265#t001fn001" target="_blank">^a</a></p