Summary Dicliptera verticillata is a medicinal plant traditionally used in western Cameroon to cure female infertility. This experiment was designed to assess the effects of the aqueous extract of Dicliptera verticillata (AEDv) on fertility and gestation in female rats. Oral increasing doses of AEDv were administered to immature female rats over 20 d. After this time, some animals were mated with fertile males and some fertility parameters were assayed; the other animals were euthanized for preliminary toxicity parameters analysis. The effects of AEDv on the different stages of gestation were assayed on selected animals previously controlled for estrous cycle regularity and mated. AEDv led to an increase in serum, uterine and ovarian proteins as well as in ovarian and uterine weights (P < 0.05) in immature female rats. Hepatic proteins significantly decreased (P < 0.01) in high dose-treated animals (50 and 100 mg/kg) compared with controls. The number of implantation sites and the fertility rate were significantly lower (P < 0.05), while the antifertility activity increased significantly (P < 0.05) in treated rats compared with controls. When administered from the 1st to the 5th day of pregnancy, AEDv led to a decrease of more than 60% in the implantation rate in high dose-treated rats (50, 100, and 400 mg/kg). From the 6th to the 9th day, the implantation, gestation rates and the number of fetuses decreased significantly in all treated groups. From the 11th to the 20th day, a 50% resorption and decrease in gestation rate were reported in 50 mg/kg dose-treated animals. AEDv possesses weak contraceptive and abortifacient effects during pregnancy.
Enterobacteria such as those of the genus Salmonella express the oxyR gene that codes for several proteins that allow it to resist free radicals. This resistance of Salmonella is often at the origin of an overproduction of these free radicals that can lead to oxidative stress. To investigate the antioxidant activity in vitro (aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts in vivo (of the 55% hydroethanolic extract) of Dracaena deisteliana leaves in albino rats of Wistar strain previously infected with the Salmonella strain Typhi ATCC 6539. The in vitro antioxidant activity of these extracts was determined by studying their anti-radical power with DPPH•, then their iron-reducing power and determining their flavonoids and total phenols content. In vivo antioxidant activity was determined in plasma and tissues of albino rats of wistar strain aged between 8 and 10 weeks previously infected with Salmonella typhi ATCC 6539. These infected rats concurrently received daily doses of Dracaena deisteliana extract (10, 20 and 51.84 mg/kg) or ciprofloxacin (14 mg/kg) as positive control, for 15 days. At the end of the treatment period, the animals were sacrificed and blood, liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen testis and ovaris were collected for evaluation of antioxidants parameters, which included malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, catalase and peroxidase, as well as biological responses. Regarding in vitro antioxidant tests, the 65% hydroethanolic extract showed an anti-radical activity with DPPH• superior to that of all hydroethanolic extracts at 100 μg/ml. However, the infused showed lower antiradical activity than all extracts at 12.5 and 200 μg/ml concentrations. The 55% hydroethanolic extract had the best IC50of (11.99 μg/ml). The iron reducing power of this extract was higher than the other extracts at 200 μg/ml. The highest levels of flavonoids and total phenols were obtained respectively with the 55% and 95% hydroethanolic extract. The hydroethanol extract of Dracaena deisteliana (10, 20 and 51.84 mg/kg) cured the infected rats between the 9th and 13th day of treatment. The extract also significantly reduced (p < 0.05) blood malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels, and significantly increased (p >0.05) the activity of catalase and peroxidase in the infected rats. The results suggest that leaves extract of Dracaena deisteliana contains antisalmonella and antioxidant substances, which could be used for the treatment of typhoid fever and another salmonellosis. In addition, 55% hydroethanolic extract of this plant possesses antisalmonella activity and reduces the state of oxidative stress caused by S. typhi during rat's infection.
Infectious diseases such as typhoid fever lead to the formation of free radicals which can have a detrimental effect on the body. Typhoid fever is caused by poor sanitation, lack of clean water and resistance of germs to antibiotics and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Hence an urgent needs to find alternative treatments with little or no toxicity for the treatment of this disease. Objective: This work aims to evaluate the in vivo antisalmonellal and antioxidant activity of the 95% hydroethanolic extract of the leaves of Bauhinia rufescens (Fabaceae) in rats experimentally infected with Salmonella Typhi ATCC6539, as an alternative therapy. Methods: The rats were randomly divided into twelve groups (six per sex) of animals. Thus 3 control groups: (T0) uninfected and untreated; (T-) infected and untreated; (T+) infected and treated with ciprofloxacin (14 mg/kg) and 3 test groups: T1, T2 and T3 infected and treated with different doses of the extract (40, 80 and 117.71 mg/kg respectively). The evolution of the infection and the effectiveness of the treatment were monitored by blood culture, food consumption and weight growth were assessed during the trial; at the end of which the animals were sacrificed and the different parameters were evaluated. Results: Infected animals treated with different doses of the extract showed zero bacterial loads from the twelfth day post infection in both sexes. Regardless of sex, animals treated with the extract at the dose of 117.71mg/Kg were cured by the seventh day after the start of treatment while those treated with the doses of 40 mg/Kg and 80 mg/kg were cured by the ninth day after the start of treatment. Infection induced a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in food consumption and weight growth, while treatment induced, at all doses, an increase in food consumption and weight growth. Infection also caused a significant (p < 0.05) increase in NO and MDA levels, as well as a significant decrease in catalase and peroxidase activities in animal tissue homogenates. However, treatment resulted in a significant decrease in NO and MDA levels, and a significant (p < 0.05) increase in catalase and peroxidase activities. Conclusion: These results showed that the 95% hydroethanolic extract of Bauhinia rufescens leaves has mixed antisalmonellal and antioxidant activity in vivo and could be developed for the treatment of typhoid fever.
Background Aloe buettneri, Dicliptera verticillata, Hibiscus macranthus and Justicia insularis are medicinal plants used in the western region of Cameroon to cure infertility among women. This experiment was designed to compare the effect of the aqueous extracts of A. buettneri (AAB), D. verticillata (ADV), H. macranthus (AHM), J. insularis (AJI), their mixture (AME) and the extract obtained from the mixture of their powders (AMP) on some parameters of reproduction. Materials and methods High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with the mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to detect the constituents of different extracts. The extracts (50 mg/kg) were administered to PMSG-primed immature rats (10 rats/group) for 5 days. At the end of the treatment, five animals of each group were sacrificed and various biological markers of reproduction were recorded. The remaining animals were injected with 10 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) sacrificed 48 h later and the number of ovarian hemorrhagic points counted. Results Fifty-four compounds were found in the various extracts with 37 individually distributed among them and the remaining found in at least two extracts. As compared with the control, the AMP and AJI increased serum estradiol level by 2.36 and 2.23 times, respectively. The AMP was the only extract whose administration resulted in a significant increase (p<0.001) in the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Compared with the other extract-treated rats, the AMP-treated rats showed the highest number of hemorrhagic points. Conclusions These findings provided evidence on the synergistic effect of compounds present in these plant extracts and supported the usage of the mixture in traditional medicine.
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