In vitro anthelmintic, antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of extracts from plants used in South African ethnoveterinary medicine

Abstract

Many plants are used for ethnoveterinary purposes in South Africa, particularly in rural areas. Extracts of 17 plant species employed to treat infectious diseases were prepared using three solvents and the antibacterial activity of the extracts was determined against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria. Anthelmintic activity was evaluated against the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and toxicity was determined using the brine shrimp larval mortality test. Most of the plant extracts demonstrated antibacterial activity, with the best minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) being 0.1 mg mL −1 . More than a third of the extracts displayed anthelmintic activity. Toxic effects against brine shrimp larvae were shown by 30% of extracts, with the lowest LC 50 recorded as 0.6 mg mL −1 . The promising biological activity displayed by a number of plant extracts supports the ethnoveterinary use of these plants but in vivo tests are required to ascertain fully their medicinal properties and potential toxicity.

The traditional use of plants to manage candidiasis and related infections in Venda, South Africa

“…In most cases dosage was determined according to the severity of the disease and age of the patientHowever, there was a lack of precision in the determination of the dosage to be taken by the patient. McGaw et al (2007) reported that drawbacks of traditional medicinal plant remedies include uncertain dosages and lack of standardization.…”

Pharmacological Evaluation of Different Extracts of Forsskaolea tenacissima

“…The antibacterial and antifungal activity of different solvent extracted samples from F. tenacissima showed that some of the extracts were active against bacteria and fungi while some were inactive. Ethyl acetate, petroleum ether, crude methanol and n-butanol [40] . n-butanol extract also showed minor activity against Proteus, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi at both concentrations while it was inactive against E. coli, Providencia, Shigella, and Citrobacter.…”

Biodiversity Studies in Key Species from the African Mopane and Miombo Woodlands

“…Pterocarpus angolensis DC Antischistosomal [90] RAPD [79,80] Stem, stem bark, leaves: anthelmintic [40] Seeds: antibacterial [91] Stem bark: antibacterial and anti-inlammatory; lack of mutagenicity [92] Stem bark, leaves: anthelmintic, antibacterial, and cytotoxic [41] Antibacterial [93] Stem bark: antibacterial; epicatechin and derivatives identiied [37] Stem bark: antibacterial; leaves, stem bark: antifungal, HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory [38] Leaves, stem bark: anti-inlammatory [94] Stem bark, roots: antibacterial; tannins and saponins identiied [39] Colophospermum mopane (Benth. )…”

“…For example, the bark is used as a powerful astringent to treat diarrhea, heavy menstruation, nosebleeding, headache, stomachache, schistosomiasis, sores, and skin problems; the root is believed to cure malaria, blackwater fever and gonorrhea [6,24,28,35,36]. Research studies reveal promising results concerning their antibacterial [37][38][39], antifungal [38], anthelmintic [40,41], and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory properties [38] ( Table 1). At the environmental level P. angolensis is able to establish nitrogen-ixing symbiosis with rhizobium bacteria and therefore relevant for soil fertilization.…”