Appraisal of the Constituent Plant Materials in a Ghanaian Antifungal Herbal Product; An in vitro Interactive Combination Analysis and a Pilot Clinical Study to Determine Efficacy.

Evidence based use of herbal medicines has a positive implication for both users and society. In this study, component plant materials of a traditional Ghanaian polyherbal skin product comprising Eugenia caryophyllata, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Tridax procumbens, Psidium guajava and Alchornea cordifolia and used in the management of superficial skin infections was evaluated to establish their contribution to the overall therapeutic activity of the product. Each of the five (5) plants was subjected to an in vitro antimicrobial assay using the microtitre broth technique followed by an interactive combination assay for plants demonstrating noteworthy antimicrobial activity (MIC ≤ 1.0 mg/ml). Test strains included Staphyloccocus aureus, Candida albicans, Trichophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton floccusum and Microsporum canis. Eugenia caryophyllata, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and Alchornea cordifolia showed better activity than Psidium guajava, Tridax procumbens and the Total Crude Extract (combination of the 5 extracts). The binary combination of Eugenia caryophyllata and Alchornea cordifolia indicated synergistic and additive activity against all the test strains. An improved biological activity was also observed when a mixture of the two (2) plants at a ratio of Eugenia caryophyllata 60 % (w/w) and Alchornea cordifolia 40 % (w/w) was assayed. A follow up pilot clinical study established that this new recipe was clinically effective but of lower therapeutic effect compared to the original product. In conclusion, the original formulation of the product may be preferred because of the shorter duration of treatment which reduces the risk of harms and cost of treatment

Appraisal of the Constituent Plant Materials in a Ghanaian Antifungal Herbal Product; An in vitro Interactive Combination Analysis and a Pilot Clinical Study to Determine Efficacy.

Evidence based use of herbal medicines has a positive implication for both users and society. In this study, component plant materials of a traditional Ghanaian polyherbal skin product comprising Eugenia caryophyllata, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Tridax procumbens, Psidium guajava and Alchornea cordifolia and used in the management of superficial skin infections was evaluated to establish their contribution to the overall therapeutic activity of the product. Each of the five (5) plants was subjected to an in vitro antimicrobial assay using the microtitre broth technique followed by an interactive combination assay for plants demonstrating noteworthy antimicrobial activity (MIC ≤ 1.0 mg/ml). Test strains included Staphyloccocus aureus, Candida albicans, Trichophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton floccusum and Microsporum canis. Eugenia caryophyllata, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and Alchornea cordifolia showed better activity than Psidium guajava, Tridax procumbens and the Total Crude Extract (combination of the 5 extracts). The binary combination of Eugenia caryophyllata and Alchornea cordifolia indicated synergistic and additive activity against all the test strains. An improved biological activity was also observed when a mixture of the two (2) plants at a ratio of Eugenia caryophyllata 60 % (w/w) and Alchornea cordifolia 40 % (w/w) was assayed. A follow up pilot clinical study established that this new recipe was clinically effective but of lower therapeutic effect compared to the original product. In conclusion, the original formulation of the product may be preferred because of the shorter duration of treatment which reduces the risk of harms and cost of treatment

ANTIHYPERGLYCAEMIC AND ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS OF ADENIA LOBATA ENGL. (PASSIFLORACEAE) IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

The antihyperglycaemic and antioxidant activities of a Ghanaian medicinal plant namely Adenia lobata Engl (Passifloraceae), used to treat diabetes mellitus in traditional medicine, was investigated. The dried stem powder of A. lobata was successively extracted by Soxhlet with petroleum ether and 70% ethanol to obtain the crude petroleum ether (PEAL: yield =1.1w/w %) and ethanol (EEAL: yield = 5.4 w/w %) extracts. The extracts were assessed for their antihyperglycaemic and antioxidant activities. The antihyperglycaemic activity of PEAL and EEAL were determined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (70 mg/kg body weight). Five groups of diabetic rats were given 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg body weight of PEAL and EEAL orally once daily for 20 days. Glibenclamide (5 mg/kg body weight) was used as positive control while distilled water (5 ml) acted as the normal diabetic control. The blood glucose levels were monitored initially for 6 hours and subsequently over 24 days. Both extracts exhibited statistically significant (p< 0.001) antihyperglycaemic activity throughout the study period, with EEAL showing the greatest activity. The antioxidant properties of the petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of A. lobata (PEAL and EEAL) were evaluated using five assays; total phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, DPPH scavenging effect and lipid peroxidation activity. In all these assays, the antioxidant properties increased with increasing concentration of the extracts

In vivo toxicity, anti-hyperlipidaemic, antioxidant and anti-atherogenic activities of ‘LIPO A’ A traditional herbal product in rodents

Hyperlipidemia accounts for about 17 million deaths worldwide each year. High cost and side effects have limited the use of conventional anti-lipidaemic agents in some cases, majority of whom resort to traditional medicine. The current research focused on validating the safety and efficacy of a herbal product, ‘LIPO A’ used in the management of hyperlipidaemia. Induction of hyperlipidaemia was achieved by oral administration of 3 mL of cholesterol in coconut oil for 4 weeks in male Sprague Dawley rats with water available as 40 % sucrose. Subsequently, the animals were treated with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of the product ‘LIPO A’ for 4 additional weeks with atorvastatin as reference drug (at 2 mg/kg body weight). Blood samples were taken for serum biochemistry and atherogenic ratios were then calculated. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay, total antioxidant capacity, physicochemical and phytochemical analysis were also carried out using standard methods. Treatment resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in total cholesterol with maximum reduction of 46.01 % at 400 mg/kg compared to atorvastatin with 49.30 %. There were significant changes in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c/HDL-c) and Total Cholesterol (TC/HDL-c) ratios which measures the atherogenic and coronary risk indices respectively. Acute and subacute toxicity studies did not reveal any signs of toxicity. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint revealed six well resolved peaks with two prominent compounds with retention times 24.88 and 23.95 min, which could serve as quality control markers for the product. The herbal product showed considerable antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant actions in rodent models and lend credence to its use in traditional medicine for hyperlipidaemia