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Purpose: To evaluate the paramunity induction potentials of crude methanol extract (CME) and methanol fractions (MF) of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (CS) root (Fam. Periplocaceae). Method: A total of forty (40) albino rats were divided into two sets of four groups, with five animals per group. Groups 1 - 3 of both animal sets were orally administered 200, 300 and 500 mg/kg bw of CME and MF, respectively once daily for 14 days. Furthermore, Group 4 of both sets served as negative control. The effect of extracts on early-type hypersensitivity (ETH), delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), leukocyte count and haemagglutinin titer using sheep red blood cell (SRBC) as antigen were evaluated. Results: Significant (p < 0.05) body weight gains were recorded in the animal groups treated with the ME while no changes were observed in the relative organ weight of all the animals in all the groups. Acute toxicity studies yielded no adverse effect. The CME and MF elicited significant (p < 0.05) increases and decreases in ETH and DTH, respectively, at all doses. They showed a significant (p < 0.05) dose-dependent, stimulatory effect on primary and secondary antibody titer across the treated groups. Packed cell volume and red blood cell count increased significantly (p < 0.05), while a dosedependent increase occurred in neutrophil counts in rats receiving CME, but the MF-treated rats had significantly decreased (p < 0.05) neutrophil counts at 300 mg/kg compared to control. Both CME and MF did not affect lymphocyte counts. Conclusion: Cryptolepis sanguinolenta extract and MF produce significant stimulatory effects on humoral immunity (antibody) with non-significant impact on cellular and innate immunity. Future studies will require isolation and characterization of the bioactive compounds in the plant extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in the development of multi-drug resistance among pathogens calls for the development of novel therapeutic agents with better effectiveness and low toxicity. The plantassociated endophytic fungi are producers of bioactive secondary metabolites with enormous potential. The study aimed to isolate, identify, and characterize the secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from different non-diseased plant parts (leaf, stem, and root bark) of Synclisia. scabrida Miers. The isolation of endophytic fungi was carried out using standard protocols and identified by molecular techniques. The bioactive secondary metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The quantitative phytochemical screening of the fungal metabolites was carried out using Gas chromatography. The antimicrobial activities of ethyl acetate extracts of the isolates were analyzed via agar well diffusion technique and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by broth dilution method. The different endophytic fungal metabolites exhibited a good presence of different phytochemical compounds. The fungal metabolites showed antimicrobial activities against several of the six tested human pathogenic bacteria or fungi. Among these metabolites, L1, R1 and R2 metabolites were the most potent, exhibiting significant activities against the test organisms. L1 and R1 metabolites showed the lowest MIC of 0.53±0.13 and 0.70±0.07 mg/ml against A. niger and C. albicans respectively. A total of five endophytic fungi were isolated from the leaf, stem, and root bark of S. scabrida Miers, and three different fungal species were identified using molecular techniques. The plant, S. scabrida Miers harbors endophytic fungi yielding bioactive metabolites with potent antimicrobial activities against pathogenic microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants are known for a number of health benefits. This study investigated the in-vitro antimicrobial activities and in-vivo malaria parasite clearance rate using respectively the methanol and aqueous extracts of Carica papaya seeds. Soxhlet and Cold-maceration extraction techniques were used to obtain the methanol and aqueous extracts, respectively. The phytochemical constituents were quantitatively/qualitatively analyzed. The antimicrobial activities of the extracts were tested Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar-well-diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts were determined using the agar-dilution method. Five groups of animals (mice) were used in this study, each having five animals each. The animals in group two to five were induced with Plasmodium berghei after which, those in group two, four, and five were treated with 25 mg/kg bw of artemether/lumefantrine and 200 and 400mg/kg bw of the plant aqueous extract respectively. Group three were not treated, while group one was neither induced nor treated. The phytochemical analysis showed presence/quantities of steroids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides, reducing sugars, proteins, phenolic compounds, and alkaloids. With varying preliminary antimicrobial effects, the MIC of the methanol extract against E. coli and S. typhi were 62.5mg/ml and 125 mg/ml, respectively. The aqueous extract showed MIC of 125mg/ml against S. aureus. The antimalarial activity of aqueous extract increased in a dose-dependent manner. The aqueous extract at 400 mg/kg bw dose had a significant therapeutic (P<0.05) response. The study shows that the plant seeds have agents with both antimicrobial and antimalarial effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uneasy task of treating various wounds infested with multi-resistant bacteria is an increasing problem, prompting the need for alternatives therapies to conventional drugs. This study aimed at determining the in vitro antibacterial and wound healing activities of ethanol fruit extract of Kigelia africana on albino rats using the excision wound healing model. The crude extract of K. africana fruit was obtained using 95% ethanol in a Soxhlet extraction system. Using standard procedures, phytochemical analysis, in vitro antibacterial activity (against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi.), and the subsequent minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the extract were determined. Simple ointments of varying concentrations (3, 5, and 10% w/w) of the extracts were formulated and used to screen for wound healing activity on experimental rats in groups of five (n=4). The antibacterial activities showed that the extract was effective against all the bacteria. The MIC values ranged from 0.98 to 125 mg/mL, with best value of 0.98 mg/mL against P. aeruginosa, followed by 15.63 mg/mL against E. coli and S. aureus, and then 62.5 mg/mL against S. typhi and K. pneumoniae. K. africana ointments significantly accelerated wound healing (P=0.000) with 5 and 10% w/w ointments having the highest percentage of wound contraction on the 18th and 20th days compared to the group treated with paraffin. The present study demonstrates that the ethanol extract of K. africana fruits contained bioactive compounds which promote an accelerated wound healing process and might harbour a novel therapeutic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To molecularly characterize and determine the antifungal properties of methanol-leaf extract of Artemisia annua (A. annua) on C. albicans isolates collected from three tertiary hospitals within Enugu State, Nigeria. Methods: Five hundred (500) isolates of Candida albicans were collected from medical microbiology laboratories in Bishop Shanahan Hospital (BSH), University of Nigerian Teaching Hospital (UNTH), and Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH). Anti-fungal sensitivity profiles of different azoles were determined using the disk diffusion technique. Thirty of the collected isolates were evaluated using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which targeted both 18S messenger RNA (rRNA) and Ergosterol II (ERGII) resistance gene sets for C. albicans. Anti-fungal activity of different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 µg/mL) of the extract of Artemisia annua on resistant isolates was investigated using the agar well diffusion technique. Results: All the isolates were resistant to azole drugs (ketoconazole (30 µg), miconazole (30 µg), clotrimazole (10 µg), itraconazole (30 µg), voriconazole (1 µg), and fluconazole (25 µg)). The PCR revealed that thirteen isolates (43 %) were positive for 18S rRNA gene and nine (30 %) possessed ERGII-resistant gene. Primers specific for C. albicans genotypes generated a PCR product of approximately 665 bp. Primers specific for ERGII resistant gene generated PCR product of approximately 1.4 kb. Extract of A. annua had antifungal activity against resistant C. albicans isolates with minimum inhibitory concentration ranging from 76.03 to 40.74 µg/mL. Conclusion: Resistant C. albicans species have been genotypically characterized and the antifungal activity of A. annua has been reported. Methanol extract of A. annua inhibits C. albicans better than azole drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]