Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are household sources of therapy in African communities. A large percentage of the African population uses CAMs as an alternative to mainstream medicine. This is partly due to tradition, and partly because of inability to afford conventional treatments. In the developed countries, the use of CAMs is gradually on the increase. As a result, certain medical schools in these countries are incorporating CAM familiarisation modules into their undergraduate medical curricula. In Africa, most medical schools have not taught CAM yet. However, in view of the rising use of CAMs by the African populace, and the potential CAM-conventional therapy interactions, there is the need for physicians to get familiar with those CAMs in common use. To achieve this, it is recommended that African medical schools introduce CAM familiarization modules into the undergraduate medical curricula. This would fully prepare the 21st century doctors to deliver holistic medical treatment, and thus be at par with the global trend.

In this work, we studied liver morphology, markers of hepatic oxidative stress and some liver enzymes in diabetic rats treated with the combined leaf extract (CLE) of Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf) and Azadirachta indica (neem).

OBJECTIVEPhytochemical constituents as well as antimalarial and toxicity potentials of the methanolic extract of the husk fibre of Dwarf Red variety of Cocos nucifera were evaluated in this study.

METHODSThe dried powdered husk fibre was exhaustively extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol successively and the methanolic extract was screened for flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, alkaloids, steroids, triterpenes, phlobatannins, anthraquinones and glycosides. A 4-day suppressive antimalarial test was carried out using Plasmodium berghei NK65-infected mice, to which the extract was administered at doses of 31.25, 62.5, 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (BW). Toxicity of the extract was evaluated in rats using selected hematological parameters and organ function indices after orally administering doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg BW for 14 d.

RESULTSPhytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, phenolics, saponins, glycosides, steroids and anthraquinones in the extract. Moreover, the extract reduced parasitemia by 39.2% and 45.8% at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg BW respectively on day 8 post-inoculation. Various hematological parameters evaluated were not significantly altered (P>0.05) at all doses of the extract, except red blood cell count which was significantly elevated (P<0.05) at 100 mg/kg BW. The extract significantly increased (P<0.05) urea, creatinine, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and bilirubin concentrations in the serum as well as atherogenic index, while it reduced albumin concentration significantly (P<0.05) at higher doses compared to the controls. Alanine aminotransferase activity was reduced in the liver and heart significantly (P<0.05) but was increased in the serum significantly (P<0.05) at higher doses of the extract compared to the controls.

CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that methanolic extract of the Dwarf red variety has partial antimalarial activity at higher doses, but is capable of impairing normal kidney and liver function as well as predisposing subjects to cardiovascular diseases.

Animals ; Antimalarials ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; Cocos ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Malaria ; drug therapy ; Mice ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; Plasmodium berghei ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar