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The response of pests to the effects of a botanical insecticide can vary spatially and temporally. To test whether efficacy of botanicals differed spatially, the insecticidal efficacy of Gnidia kaussiana and Ocimum canum against Callosobruchus maculatus was investigated in two different agro-ecological zones of Cameroon, i.e. Maroua and Ngaoundéré (sudano-sahelian and sudano-guinean zones, respectively). Experiments were, therefore, conducted to determine the insect mortality, progeny production, grain damage and weight loss in cowpea. G. kaussiana was more effective against C. maculatus in Maroua (LD50 = 0.12 g/kg at 6th day of exposure) than in Ngaoundéré (LD50 = 4.35 g/kg at 6th day of exposure). Moreover, it was more toxic than O. canum extract and neem seed oil (reference), irrespective to the agro-ecological zones. Overall, the performance of O. canum did not vary significantly between the two zones, and was slightly more active (LD50 = 4.66 g/kg) than the reference insecticide neem seed oil (LD50 = 4.89 g/kg) in Ngaoundéré in contrast to the results recoded in Maroua (LD50 = 1.44 g/kg and 2.60 g/kg, respectively for neem seed oil and O. canum at 6 days post exposure). In view of the above, there were some discrepancies in extract performance between Maroua and Ngaoundéré. Thus, the establishment of dose rates of insecticidal products formulated from G. kaussiana must be specific to an environment in contrast to those from O. canum.

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The present work concerns the anti-inflammatory activity of chemical constituents isolated from the roots of Echinops gracilis. The anti-inflammatory activity of the ethyl acetate extract as well as compounds 1, 2, and 3 were evaluated using inhibition of protein denaturation and antiproteinase methods. Structural elucidation was achieved through analysis of NMR spectra (1H and 13C, 1H1H COSY, HSQC, HMBC) and literature survey. Seven compounds were identified as erythrinasinate (1), vogelate (2), ferulic acid (3), p-coumaric acid (4), ursolic acid (5), oleanolic acid (6), and quercetin (7). All the isolated compounds were reported for the first time from this plant. Ethyl acetate extract showed potent inhibitory activity against protein denaturation (IC50 = 125.54 µg/mL). Erythrinasinate (1) and vogelate (2) showed a significant anti-inflammatory activity with an IC50 value of 469.43 and 413.71 µg/mL, respectively. The results obtained from the ethyl acetate extract can justify the use of E. gracilis roots in traditional medicine for the treatment of rheumatism.