Preclinical efficacy of African medicinal plants used in the treatment of snakebite envenoming: a systematic review protocol

Background: Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a high-priority, neglected, tropical disease that affects millions of people in developing countries annually. The only available standard drug used for the treatment of SBE is antisnake venom (ASV) which consists of immunoglobulins that have been purified from the plasma of animals hyper-immunized against snake venoms. The use of plants as alternatives for treatment of poisonous bites particularly snakebites is important in remote areas where there might be limited, or no access to hospitals and storage facilities for antivenom. The pharmacological activity of some of the medicinal plants used traditionally in the treatment of SBE have also been scientifically validated. Method: A systematic review will be conducted according to the Collaborative Approach to Meta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies checklist for study quality in animal/in vivo studies. The tool will be modified and validated to assess in vitro models and studies that combine in vivo and in vitro studies. The systematic review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. English published articles on African medicinal plants used in the treatment of snakebite envenoming will be searched in Medline, Embase, and Scopus from 2000 to 2021. Dissemination: The findings of the study will be communicated through publication in peer-reviewed journal and presentation at scientific conferences. Medicinal plants have been important sources for the development of many effective drugs currently available in orthodox medicine. Botanically derived medicines have played a major role in human societies throughout history. Plants components used in traditional medicine gained much attention by many toxinologists as a tool for designing potent antidotes against snake envenoming. Our systematic review will provide a synthesis of the literature on the efficacy of these medicinal plants. We will also appraise the prospects of African medicinal plants with pharmacologically demonstrated activity against snakebite and envenoming

How citizen scientists are rapidly generating big distribution data: lessons from the Arewa Atlas Team, Nigerian Bird Atlas Project

The Arewa Atlas Team (AAT) in northern Nigeria has set an example for a robust methodological data collection and made a big impact for the African Bird Atlas Project. To broaden national bird atlas projects and coverage across the continent, this paper reports on the activities and protocols of the AAT. We set out how we have galvanised bird clubs and bird club members to participate in this important monitoring project. We then focus on a bird atlas expedition conducted to the Bauchi State as an example. The outing was carried out from 24 to 28 September 2020 in line with the BirdMap protocol. For the first time, the AAT atlased 100 pentads and recorded 8 591 individual birds of 222 species (24.21% of Nigerian birds) from 67 families. We explore what can be done with these data, by presenting a summary of descriptions of the birds observed. For instance, we recorded 184 resident species, nine intra-African and 24 Palearctic migrants. The highest bird abundance (120 individuals) was recorded at 11°00′26.9″ N, 9°29′46.5″ E, pentad 1105C0925. Furthermore, the Rock Firefinch Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis was out-of-range from Lumba. The Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax (Vulnerable) and Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus (Near Threatened) were species of conservation concern. Results of this survey shows that citizen science is a powerful tool to make rapid biodiversity assessments of bird species richness and abundance and provides insights into bird occurrence and composition. This can be extended to distribution over time at a local geographic scale. Continuous efforts to map bird distributions are therefore recommended, mostly in regions and countries where atlas projects have not been established or still in the formative stages. It is important that bird atlas teams maximise ways to accomplish more noteworthy coverage in their respective national bird atlas projects and here we outline how we accomplished this as motivation and a model for the African Bird Atlas Project. Keywords: African bird atlas project; Bauchi State; bird distribution; bird conservation; volunteers; public awarenes