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Background Ethnomedicine, a study of traditional medicine, is significant in drug discovery and development. African traditional medicine has been in existence for several thousands of years, and several drugs have been discovered and developed from it. Main text The deadly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 has widely spread globally with high mortality and morbidity. Its prevention, treatment and management still pose a serious challenge. A drug for the cure of this disease is yet to be developed. The clinical management at present is based on symptomatic treatment as presented by individuals infected and this is by combination of more than two drugs such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, and anti-microbials. Literature search was performed through electronic searches of PubMed, Google Scholar, and several research reports including WHO technical documents and monographs. Conclusion Drug discovery from herbs is essential and should be exploited for the discovery of drugs for the management of COVID-19. This review is aimed at identifying ethnomedicinal herbs available in Africa that could be used for the discovery and development of a drug for the prevention, treatment, and management of the novel coronavirus disease 2019.

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A study has been made of the effects of sun and oven drying methods on the physicochemical characteristics and compressibility of Okra powder and the release properties of its metronidazole tablet formulation. Corn starch was used as the reference standard. The mechanical properties of the tablets were evaluated using crushing strength and friability, while the release properties were determined using the disintegration times and dissolution rates. The results obtained showed that sun-dried Okra powder had smaller particle size, exhibited good flow and possessed higher hydration and swelling capacities compared to the oven dried samples. The compressibility of Okra powders assessed by the indices of plasticity from Heckel (Py) and Kawakita plots (Pk) showed that sun dried Okra powders had higher Py but lower Pk values than the oven-dried Okra powder. Metronidazole tablets formulated with oven dried Okra powder formed stronger tablets than tablets containing sun dried Okra powder. Generally, tablets containing sun dried Okra powders had faster disintegration and dissolution than tablets formulated with oven-dried powder. The results suggest that the choice of drying method during the processing of pharmaceutical raw materials is critical to its physicochemical properties and the release properties of its tablet formulations.

Purpose This study aims to intercalate polycaprolactone (PCL)/curcumin nanocomposite in the interlayer spaces of montmorillonite clay (MMT) modified with n-cetyl-N,N,Ntrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) for improved drug release. Methods Curcumin-loaded polycaprolactone/organoclay nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation method were characterized by determining the size, zeta potentials, and encapsulation efficiency. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements of the nanoparticles were performed. The data obtained from in vitro drug release studies were fitted into different drug release models, and the mechanism of drug release was determined. Results Result shows that the curcumin nanoparticles are round, discrete, and smooth in surface morphology, within the 155-206.5-nm size range, and have fairly low polydispersity index (≤0.37). Formulations containing MMT have higher encapsulation efficiency and drug loading than formulations without MMT. DSC analysis suggests no potential interaction between the components of the nanoparticles. Analysis of the in vitro data reveals that the power law best describes the release mechanism and suggests a non-Fickian swelling-controlled drug release. An initial burst of 60-75 % release was found at the sixth hour in the formulations and then a more sustained release afterwards. Formulations with higher MMT concentration showed slower drug release when compared with formulations with lower MMT concentration. Conclusion This study suggests that the incorporation of curcumin into PCL/CTAB-MMT nanoparticles could result in improved drug release and also provided an effective way to further improve the antitumor activity of curcumin through the nanodrug delivery system.

Medicinal plant is a major source of drug discovery for disease management. Over 85% of the population in Asia and in the Middle East use herbal medicine for disease management such as SARS caused by coronavirus. Infection from coronavirus is initiated by entry of the virus into a susceptible host cell. The two human coronaviruses of public health importance two decades ago were SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV and now SARS-CoV 2. These three viruses belong to the same class of beta coronavirus and are somewhat similar in genome sequencing, life cycle, mode of entry into a host, mode of transmission and clinical manifestations. This review identified twenty medicinal plants with potential inhibitory bioactive compounds from natural sources that are active against coronaviruses that could be developed into various drug delivery systems. It also highlighted several evidences to show that medicinal plant used in the treatment of SARS-CoV may offer some sort of relief from the burden of COVID 19 pandemic. Since there is no specific treatment for COVID 19 yet, the search for medicinal plants with inhibitory bioactive compounds against coronavirus could be the long awaited breakthrough scientists have been searching to change the narratives of Covid-19 pandemic.

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This study aims to co-process native Ipomea batatas starch (NPS) with colloidal silicon dioxide and evaluate the properties of the co-processed excipient (CPS). The powder morphology was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) measurements. The compressional, mechanical and release properties of metronidazole tablet formulations were evaluated. NPS was predominantly oval in shape while CPS had more large truncated ellipsoidal granules. Both NPS and CPS exhibited spectra typical of a Type A XRD pattern, but CPS has a sharp peak with strong intensity at 27 0 2q which was absent in NPS. Although NPS had a faster onset of plastic deformation, the overall amount of plastic deformation was higher in CPS. Tablets formulated with CPS had faster dissolution than those containing similar concentration of NPS. The co-processing of Ipomea batatas starch with colloidal silicon dioxide resulted in modification of its powder and tableting properties.