This study was conducted to comparatively assess the anthelminthic activity of leaves, stem bark, and seeds of Carica papaya, in order to identify which of the plant parts possess the highest anthelminthic activity. Three concentrations of ethanolic and hydroethanolic extracts of the plant parts (1 mg/ml, 2.5 mg/ml, and 5 mg/ml) were prepared and tested against Pheretima posthuma using albendazole as the positive control and 0.9% normal saline solution as the negative control. Preliminary phytochemical investigation showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, and reducing sugars of glycosides present in all the crude extracts of Carica papaya. Tannins were observed only in extracts of the leaves, while fixed oils were only present in the extracts of the seeds. The results of the anthelminthic activity testing indicated that all crude extracts prepared were more effective than albendazole in reducing paralysis time (p<0.0001) and death time (p<0.0001). It was further shown that the extracts from the seeds (SE and SHE) were more effective than the extracts from the stem bark and leaves both in reducing paralysis and death times. Fractionation of SE provided a fraction, SEB, which was more effective than SE both in reducing paralysis and death times (p<0.0001) and was established to contain fixed oils. The outcome of the current study has provided a scientific justification for the preference of the seeds of Carica papaya for the treatment of helminth infections and has shown that the fixed oils present in the seeds could be responsible for such activity.

An accurate and rapid reverse HPLC method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of lamivudine, nevirapine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. Suitable separation was achieved on Phenomenex Synergi C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 4 μm) using mobile phase, methanol (50%): ammonium acetate buffer (adjusted to pH 2.80) (40%): acetonitrile (10%) in an isocratic mode. The drugs were detected at 270 nm with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, and the retention times were found to be 3.26, 5.42, and 7.55 minutes for lamivudine, nevirapine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, respectively. The developed method was validated per ICH guidelines. Good linearity was obtained within the concentration ranges of 10–59 µg/ml, 7–42 µg/ml, and 15–90 µg/ml with a correlation coefficient of not less than 0.990. The % RSD values for precision (intraday and interday) and accuracy studies were found to be less than 2%. The results obtained from quantitative analysis conform to USP content requirements for marketed tablet dosage forms, RICOVIR-LN, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/lamivudine tablets. The method is therefore useful for routine quality control of antiretroviral tablet dosage forms containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, and nevirapine.

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The aim of the study is to investigate the anti-inflammatory property of the different parts of Adansonia digitata (Malvaceae) extracts. A. digitata is an important medicinal plant to West Africa including Ghana. The plant is used effectively in folk medicine to treat inflammatory diseases such as joint disorders, asthma, toothache and painful swelling. Carrageenan-induced pedal oedema in 7-day old chicks was was the model used to determine the anti-inflammatory property of the extracts obtained from six different parts of A. digitata. The extracts were also assessed for their acute toxicity. The results from the acute toxicity test showed there were no behavioural changes, toxic signs, or death in the rats when given the highest dose (3000 mg/kg) of the extracts orally. The six extracts demonstrated varying degrees of anti-inflammatory effects, in a dose-dependent manner; with the stem extract giving the most potent activity with an ED 50 of 145.3 ± 7.6 mg/kg, followed by the flower (167.5 ± 10.42 mg/kg), leaves (169.7 ± 8.76 mg/kg), root bark (187.8 ± 11.2 mg/kg), fruit pulp (218.8 ± 6.86 mg/kg), and the seed (267.1 ± 12.3 mg/kg) as compared to the positive control (diclofenac, ED 50 = 55.08±6.11 mg/kg) (p < 0.0001).