An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used locally for treating tuberculosis (TB) and other respiratory diseases was conducted from November 2004 to March 2005 in Niger State-Nigeria. The survey was aimed at identifying plants used in traditional medicine for treating TB and other pulmonary ailments in Niger State. Tuberculosis, cough, asthma, hemoptysis and bronchitis were the major ailments treated in this survey. The interviews were conducted among the traditional medical practitioners and herbal traders in both urban and rural areas of the state. It was observed that the use of traditional medicine for treating respiratory diseases was predominantly widespread in Niger State among all the ethnic groups and intertwines with orthodox medication. A total of 95 medicinal plants belonging to 48 families used in 86 herbal recipes were surveyed. In many recipes, admixtures of plants were used. A total of 12 different kinds of respiratory ailments were encountered in this study. The index of performance (Ip) was calculated for each plant species. The plants with high Ip are often confirmed to possess biologically active chemical substances in the literature. A good number of plants identified in this survey for treating tuberculosis with (Ip>O) have been reported to possess significant anti-tubercular activity. Therefore, further screening of those plants with high performance indices as sources of 'lead' for antitubercular agents is highly recommended.

Terminalia avicennioides is used to treat tuberculosis in the folk medicine of the Nupes of North Central Nigeria. Activity guided fractionation of the extract resulted in the isolation of triterpenoid friedelin. The structure of the isolated compound was elucidated with the aid of spectral comparison of IR, UV, one and two dimensional NMR experiments values. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time friedelin is reported from this plant. The in vitro antimycobacterial activity of the isolated compound (friedelin) was performed against Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) with MIC value at 4.9 μg/mL.

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Objective:The aim was to determine the chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity of the hexane leaf extract of Anisopus mannii against a wide range of human pathogenic microorganisms.Methods:The chemical constituents of the hexane leaf extract was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis; and the antimicrobial activity was evaluated on “standard strains”, clinical susceptible and resistant bacterial and fungal isolates using the disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods.Results:GC-MS analysis of the hexane leaf extract revealed 32 compounds, representing 73.8% of the identified components. The major compounds were hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester (34%), oxirane, hexadecyl- (11%) and 9, 12, 15-octadecatrienoic acid, ethyl ester, (Z, Z, Z) (9.6%). Results from the antimicrobial activity demonstrated higher inhibition zones against Bacillus cereus (29 mm), followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (28 mm). Other notable inhibitions were observed with Enterococcus faecalis (27 mm), Proteus vulgaris (26 mm) and MRSA (25 mm). The MIC values ranged from 0.625 mg/mL to 1.25 mg/mL while the MBC/MFC values ranged from 2.5 mg/mL to 5.0 mg/mL.Conclusion:These results support the traditional use of the plant and demonstrate the huge potential of A. mannii as a source of antimicrobial compounds.

Ten Nigerian medicinal plants Abrus precatorius, Annona senegalensis, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Crateva adansonii, Detarium microcarpum, Faba spp, Neocarya macrophylla, Ocimum gratissimum, Securidaca longpenduculata and Terminalia avicennioides used by traditional medicine practitioners for the management of infectious and chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and whooping cough were investigated for in vitro antimycobacterial activity against attenuated strains of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG). Hexane and methanol extracts of the plant materials were obtained by maceration. The antimycobacterial activity was determined by the broth microdilution method. The hexane extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Terminalia avicennioides showed strong inhibitory activity at 312µg/ml. Eight of the ten plant extracts showed moderate inhibitory activity in either hexane or methanol extract at 1250µg/ml. While the hexane and methanol extracts of Detarium microcarpum and Neocarya macrophylla did not exhibit any significant activity. These observed activities could be associated with secondary metabolites in these plants. This study demonstrates the efficacy of Nigerian medicinal plants as potential agents in the management of the tuberculosis disease.

The total petroleum hydrocarbon content in surface water and sediment of Qua Iboe River, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria was assessed by randomly collecting samples from five sampling points of the study area and from a control site. The samples were extracted with dichloromethane (DCM) by liquid-liquid partition for water and Soxhlet extraction for sediments followed by subsequent clean up on column chromatography and analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for the determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). The results showed variation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content from 90 to 250 µg/L in the water and 270 to 830 mg/kg in the sediments, with mean value of 168.33±59.29 µg/L and 606.83±229.48 mg/kg respectively. The average amount of TPH in the water samples collected from all the sampling points was generally lower than the EU standard limit of 300 g/L. However, the levels in the sediments exceeded the EGASPIN target value (50 mg/kg) for mineral oil but were below the intervention value (5,000 mg/kg), this indicates a serious impact of oil industrial activities on the area. Hence, our findings have indicated evidence that Qua Iboe River is under pollution threat and underscore the need for early remediation if adverse health defects are to be prevented.

Antioxidant evaluation of Albizia chevalieri used in Northern Nigerian traditional medicine, was carried out using the free radical scavenging activity of the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), total phenolics content and reducing power assay on the methanol leave extract. The results of the DPPH scavenging activity study indicate a concentration dependent antioxidant activity with 59.588, 68.477, 77.240, 85.925 and 94.732% of various concentrations of 10, 25, 50, 125 and 250µg/ml of the extract respectively. The total phenolic content was found to be 60.20 mg/g Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and the reducing power of 0.071±0.03nm was obtained. The DPPH scavenging activity of the extract was found to be promising. There is no significant difference (p<0.05) in the antioxidant activity between the extract and those of the standard ascorbic and Gallic acids at 50, 125 and 250µgml-1 concentrations. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins and saponins. It indicates that the methanol leave extract of the plant has the potency of scavenging free radicals in vitro and may provide leads in the ongoing search for natural antioxidants from Nigerian medicinal plants to be used in treating diseases related to free radical reactions.

Terminalia avicennioides Guill. & Perr. (Combretaceae) has been traditionally used as traditional medicine for centuries in Nupeland, North Central Nigeria for the treatment of respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and cough. This study evaluates the in vitro antimycobacterial activities of the isolated compounds in order to support the therapeutic use of T. avicennioides for treating these infectious diseases. Chemical investigation by bioassay-guided fractionation led to the isolation of three triterpenoids namely, arjunolic acid (1), α-amyrin (2) and 2, 3, 23-trihydroxylolean-12-ene (3). Among them, arjunolic acid manifested the most potent antimycobacterial activity against a strain of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG). Structure elucidation of the isolated compounds were based primarily on the analysis of 1-D and 2-D NMR spectral data including HMQC, HMBC, COSY and NOESY correlations, as well as comparison with reported authentic data of arjunolic acid, α-amyrin and 2, 3, 23-trihydroxylolean-12-ene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time these compounds (1-3) are reported from this plant. The present result further confirms the value of ethnopharmacological investigations into traditional herbs for leads for potential drug development.