Search

Liver diseases is a public health issue in sub-saharan Africa and has been reported to be the major cause of many hospital admissions. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation play important roles in several diseases including liver injury. Cajanus cajan is an indigenous medicinal plant useful in the traditional treatment of jaundice, inflammation and liver injury.This study assessed the effects of methanol extract Cajanus cajan (MECC) on mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) pore opening, biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in CClWistar albino rats (200-210g) were completely randomized into five (5) groups of six animals each. Group I (control) was given distilled water orally once daily. Animals in group II were administered CClLiver enzyme (AST, ALP, ALT and γGT) activities and MDA levels were significantly decreased in rats pretreated with MECC at the dose of 100, 200 and silymarin (100 mg/kg) when compared to the rats administered CClCajanus cajan leaf extract elicited hepatoprotective action on CCl

Toxoplasmosis is a common parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Limitations of available treatments motivate the search for better therapies for toxoplasmosis. In this study, we synthesized a series of new imidazole derivatives: bis-imidazoles (compounds 1-8), phenyl-substituted 1H-imidazoles (compounds 9-19), and thiopene-imidazoles (compounds 20-26). All these compounds were assessed for in vitro potential to restrict the growth of T. gondii. To explore the structure-activity relationships, molecular analyses and bioactivity prediction studies were performed using a standard molecular model. The in vitro results, in combination with the predictive model, revealed that the imidazole derivatives have excellent selectivity activity against T. gondii versus the host cells. Of the 26 compounds screened, five imidazole derivatives (compounds 10, 11, 18, 20, and 21) shared a specific structural moiety and exhibited significantly high selectivity ( 1176 to 27,666) towards the parasite versus the host cells. These imidazole derivatives are potential candidates for further studies. We show evidence that supports the antiparasitic action of the imidazole derivatives. The findings are promising in that they reinforce the prospects of imidazole derivatives as alternative and effective antiparasitic therapy as well as providing evidence for a probable biological mechanism.