Ethno-Pharmacological Survey, In Vitro Anti-Sickling and Free Radical Scavenging Activities of Carapa Procera DC. Stem Bark (Meliaceae)

Abstract

Drepanocytosis is a genetic and neglected disease, endemic in negroids population. One of the main characteristics of this pathology is the production of a large amount of free radicals, leading to a severe oxidative stress and the consumption of NO by free oxygen radicals, and/or by cell-free plasma heme. The consequences of this defect are hemolytic anemia and tissue damage brought about by the blockage of blood vessels by the sickled cells. The present study evaluated the antisickling and radical scavenging activities of extracts from Carapa procera stem bark using Emmel's test and the DPPH assay. Carapa procera was selected through an ethnopharmacological. The results showed that methanolic, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane soluble fractions, anthocyanins and organic acids exhibited a significant antisickling as revealed by the observed normal biconcave form of sickle erythrocyte (normalization rate > 70%) in hypoxic conditions. Methanolic extract exhibited a good radical scavenging activity (ED50 = 1.698 ± 0.079 µg/mL). The chemical screening performed on the plant revealed the presence of anthocyanins and organic acids which were then extracted. Total anthocyanins and organic acids revealed interesting antisickling and antioxidant properties that could justify the integration of Carapa procera in Congolese pharmacopoeia for the management of sickle cell disease. Bioactive extracts from this plant species could increase nitric oxide by scavenging free oxygen radicals. For the best our knowledge, Carapa procera has not been yet previously reported as antisickling plant in the traditional medicine database of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Conceptual DFT study of the chemical reactivity of four natural products with anti-sickling activity

“…Chemicals derived from medicinal plants have great potential to treat many diseases and are widely investigated for diverse health issues [4,[14][15][16]. Our previous works [5,[17][18][19][20][21][22] have led to the identification of various bioactive agents against SCD from plants including betulinic acid (A), betulinic acid acetate (B), friedelan-3-one (C), and ursolic acid (E), whereas the isolated β-sitosterol (D) was found to be inactive ( Fig. 1a-e).…”

Chemical Fingerprint and Anti-Sickling Activity of Rosmarinic Acid and Methanolic Extracts from Three Species of <i>Ocimum</i> from DR Congo

“…Surveys undertaken by our research team in DRC conducted to more than 115 medicinal plants used in Congolese traditional medicine to manage sickle cell disease among which was O. basilicum [5] [7]- [15]. In fact, in our previous works, our research team has shown that O. basilicum like some of medicinal plants used in Congolese herbal medicine in the management of sickle cell disease have antisickling activity in vitro.…”

Anti-Sickling and Antibacterial Activities of Extracts from a Congolese Diplopod (Tachypodoiulus sp., Arthropoda)

“…As a matter of fact, the use of plants and invertebrates for therapeutic purposes is well established in great apes. Indeed, because of their phylogenetic closeness and common neural pathways of chemosensory perception, humans and great apes, when displaying symptoms of illness learn to select some biological resources as medicine [7,8].…”

“…In order to discover new effective molecules against human diseases, some researchers have been studying for several years, the self-medication behaviour in non-human primates in their natural environments in order to identify plant taxa and/or animals that they use for their treatment [8,9]. In the particular case of animal taxa, Simmen et al [10] of National Museum of Natural History of Paris (France) reported that lemurs of Madagascar use diplopods secretions to heal against various skin diseases.…”

“…The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antisickling and antibacterial activities of organic acids and alkaloids extracted from the diplopods. Organic acids extracts and alkaloids were previously reported to possess antisickling and antibacterial activities respectively [8,19]. Indeed, sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic and neglected disease for which current proposed therapies are quite expensive and have attendant risk factors and patients are currently exposed to bacterial infections due to the loss of their immune system.…”