Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious metabolic disorder which causes blood glucose to rise in blood streams abnormally emanating from the difficulty in insulin secretion, its action or the two. The absence of effective modern treatments, the lifelong treatment with modern medicine their associated health side effects and their expensive prices etc. are among the challenging existing realities which devastate/worsen the health and economic burdens of the disease, especially in developing nations. In light of these, the search for cheaper, safe and potential drugs from medicinal plants is very crucial.
Khat (Catha edulis Forsk) is a plant consumed by many people in Eastern Africa, including Ethiopia, and Southern Arabia to be stimulated. There are several human and animal studies on khat that provide information about its toxic effects. However, the potential toxic effects of khat on embryos and fetuses have not been elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the embryotoxic and fetotoxic effects of khat exposure during the earliest period of gestation in rats. Pregnant Wistar albino rats were treated with khat extract at 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg doses from day 6 through day 12 of gestation. The treatment was delivered by gavage. Embryos and fetuses were recovered on gestational day 12 or day 20, respectively, and were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed for developmental anomalies. Placentae from the treatment and control groups were investigated for histopathological effects. Results of the present study showed that khat exposure during pregnancy had dose-dependent toxic effects in rat embryos and fetuses. Prenatal growth retardation such as reduced fetal weight and crown-rump length was observed in near-term fetuses, especially, in animals treated with the highest dose of khat ( p < 0.05 ). Growth retardation and developmental anomalies were also observed in day 12 embryos of khat-treated rats. Maternal weight gain of the khat-treated group was also significantly lower than the control group. Cytolysis, decidual hypoplasia, and atrophy were observed in the placenta of the khat-treated rats. Findings of the present study revealed, for the first time, that exposure of pregnant rat to crude extract of khat causes embryotoxic and fetotoxic effects.
Background: Malaria is among the ten top leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children under-5 years. Due to the rise of drug-resistant parasites and limited therapeutic efficacy of the available drugs, there is a need to search novel antimalarial drugs from medicinal plants commonly utilized as traditional medicines. Traditional medicines are often more available, affordable, sometimes are perceived as more effective than conventional antimalarial drugs, cultural acceptable and the relatively lower cost. Hence traditional medicine becomes the novel candidate for the search and development of drugs for the prevention and treatment of malaria.Objective: The present study aimed to review phytochemical constitute, safety and efficacy commonly used medicinal plants for malaria treatment in Ethiopia. Methods:A web-based literature search was done by using scientific databases including Pub Med, Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar, with inclusion criteria of full length experimental, ethno-botanical and ethno medicinal survey articles reporting on anti-malarial medicinal plants conducted in Ethiopia. Results: The most commonly utilized medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria were Conclusion and recommendation: Aqueous leaf extract of Strychnos mitis possessed a potent chemo suppression of 95.5 % at a dose of 600mg/kg/day. Further chemical isolation, dosage form development, clinical trial, and toxicological study is recommended. Citation: Abera T, Ashebir R, Basha H, et al. Phytochemical-constituents, safety and efficacy of commonly used medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria in Ethiopia-a review.
The genus Rumex is cosmopolitan plants consisted of about 200 species. Rumex nervosus that is known as nutraceutical plants widely distributed around the world. This review documents fragmented information on the ethnomedicial uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of R. nervosus. The review articles are carried out by searching in PubMed, Google scholar and Google search up to December 2020. R. vernosus is traditionally used to treat eye disease, headache, teaniacapitis, haemorrhoids, dysentery, stomach-ache, diarrhoea, pharyngitis, arthritis, eczema, abscess and gynecological disorders. Secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, naphthalenes, flavonoids, stilbenoids, triterpenes, carotenoids, and phenolic acids have been identified for this herb. The extracts of R. nervosus exhibited a wide range of pharmacological effects including antimicrobial, anti -inflammatory, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antidiarrheal, anticoccidial and antileishimanial activities. These pharmacological studies have established a scientific basis for therapeutic uses of R. nervosus.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.