Ethnopharmacological Survey on Treatment of Hypertension by Traditional Healers in Bukavu City, DR Congo.

BACKGROUND: Ethnopharmacological studies are relevant for sustaining and improving knowledge of traditional medicine within the framework of complementary/alternative therapeutic practices based solely on experience and observation across generations. Hypertension is a common cardiovascular disorder affecting more than 50% of older people in Africa (PLoS One. 2019; 14 (4): e0214934; published online on April 5, 2019, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214934). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey from October 2014 to August 2015 with 18 renowned traditional healers from the city of Bukavu to capture botanical plant species and remedies used by herbalists to manage hypertension in the Democratic Republic of Congo. RESULTS: Respondents cited 41 plant species belonging to 25 botanical families. The ten most common plants are Allium sativum, Galinsoga ciliata, Moringa oleifera, Bidens pilosa, Persea americana, Piper capense, Catharanthus roseus, Rauvolfia vomitoria, Sida rhombifolia, and Vernonia amygdalina. The parts used are primary leaves (48.8%) formulated as oral decoctions (65.9%). CONCLUSION: The literature review validated the use of 73.2% of the plants listed. Plants of high local use-value not supported by other studies deserve in-depth chemical and pharmacological studies.

Heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants contamination in river, estuary, and marine sediments from Atlantic Coast of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The pollution assessment and the evaluation of potential risks in the Atlantic Coastal Region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are still very limited. Consequently, the present study investigates for the first time the concentrations of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) in river, estuary, and marine sediments from this area. The results highlighted high concentrations of Cr, Zn, As, and Pb exceeding the probable effect level (PEL) on aquatic life. Zn was the most dominant element detected at a range of 180-480 mg kg-1 in marine sediment, 132-382 mg kg-1 in estuary sediment, and 121-687 mg kg-1 in river sediment. Total PCBs (∑7 × 4.3) ranged from 1995 to 20,156 µg kg-1, 2013-12,058 µg kg-1, and 1861-36,417 µg kg-1 in marine, estuary, and river sediments, respectively. Total PCBs (∑7 × 4.3) were above PEL for all sediments, suggesting potential adverse effects on benthic organisms. The OCP, PBDE, and PAH levels were low to moderate for all sediments. Taking into consideration, the concentrations of Zn, Pb, PCBs, and DDTs, probable environmental risks, are present.

Ethnopharmacological Survey and Antisickling Activity of Plants Used in the Management of Sickle Cell Disease in Kikwit City, DR Congo.

BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease or drepanocytosis is the most known hemoglobin abnormality in the world. Recently, many medicinal plants used in the management of sickle cell disease in African traditional medicine have shown in vitro antisickling activity. OBJECTIVE: This research study aims to document some Congolese plant species used in the management of sickle cell disease in Kikwit city and investigate their pharmacological property in vitro. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was done from June 2015 to March 2016 among 26 traditional healers in Kikwit city, Democratic Republic of Congo. Emmel test was used to assess in vitro antisickling activity. Habitat, morphological, biological types, phytogeographical distribution, local names, and used parts of these plant species were also determined. RESULTS: Obtained results show that 23 plant species belonging to 16 families are used. The leaves represent the most used part (70%). Antisickling investigation showed that aqueous extracts of 18 plants (78%) exhibit a change in the shape of a sickle cell into a normal one with a normalized rate of at least 70%, confirming the in vivo effect observed by traditional healers when used as herbal medicine traditionally in the management of sickle cell disease. The evaluation of perimeter, surface, and radius of untreated and treated sickle red blood cells showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) as modification indicators of the red blood cell shape. Alchornea cordifolia, Alternanthera bettzickiana, Annona senegalensis, Dissotis brazzae, Hypoxis angustifolia, and Justicia secunda presented a very high antisickling activity with normalization >70%. Otherwise, Dissotis brazzae was the most active plant with a minimal concentration of normalization (MCN) of 11 µg/mL and a maximal normalization rate (NRmax) of 86%. CONCLUSION: Almost 80% of the plants studied showed interesting antisickling activity and justified their use in traditional medicine. The isolation of the molecules responsible for the biological activity of the most active plants and the determination of their chemical structures is under investigation.

Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Bacterial Markers in a Tropical River Receiving Hospital and Urban Wastewaters.

The occurrence of emerging biological contaminants including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and Faecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) is still little investigated in developing countries under tropical conditions. In this study, the total bacterial load, the abundance of FIB (E. coli and Enterococcus spp. (ENT)), Pseudomonas spp. and ARGs (blaTEM, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaNDM and aadA) were quantified using quantitative PCR in the total DNA extracted from the sediments recovered from hospital outlet pipes (HOP) and the Cauvery River Basin (CRB), Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. The abundance of bacterial marker genes were 120, 104 and 89 fold higher for the E. coli, Enterococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp., respectively at HOP when compared with CRB. The ARGs aadA and blaTEM were most frequently detected in higher concentration than other ARGs at all the sampling sites. The ARGs blaSHV and blaNDM were identified in CRB sediments contaminated by hospital and urban wastewaters. The ARGs abundance strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.36, p < 0.05, n = 45) with total bacterial load and E. coli in the sediments, indicating a common origin and extant source of contamination. Tropical aquatic ecosystems receiving wastewaters can act as reservoir of ARGs, which could potentially be transferred to susceptible bacterial pathogens at these sites.

Anti-sickling Activity of Ursolic Acid Isolated from the Leaves of Ocimum gratissimum L. (Lamiaceae).

The present study reports in vitro anti-sickling activity and phytochemical analyses of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum. Biological testing revealed that the plant extracts possess antisickling effects. The combination of spectroscopic techniques: 1D-NMR, 2D-NMR and MS revealed that ursolic acid is the major biologically active compound of O. gratissimum (Silva et al. in Molecules 13:2482-2487, 2008; Kedar et al. J Food Drug Anal 20:865-871, 2012). This study is the first report of the antisickling activity of ursolic acid isolated from O. gratissimum. The pharmaceutical relevance of findings from this study derives from the possibility of integrating O. gratissimum as an antisickling plant in the pharmacopoeia of Democratic Republic of the Congo. The identification of the active principle could enhance the standardization of antisickling recipe.

Antisickling activity of butyl stearate isolated from Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae).

OBJECTIVE: To perform phytochemical analyses on the leaves of Ocimum basilicum L. (O. basilicum), to elucidate the structure of isolate and then perform the antisickling activity on the crude extract and on the isolate. METHODS: The Emmel test performed on the acidified methanolic extract of this plant was used to evaluate the antisickling activity. The structure characterization of the active compound was performed using chromatographic techniques for the separation and the spectroscopic ones for structure elucidation (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, COSY, HMBC). RESULTS: The chemical screening on the crude extract revealed the presence of polyphenols (flavonoids, anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins, tannins, quinones) alkaloids, saponins, triterpenoids and steroids. The obtained extract after evaporation yielded 34.50 g (11.5%) out of 300 g of powdered leaves of O. basilicum. The acidified methanolic extract and butyl stearate showed an interesting antisickling activity. CONCLUSIONS: The acidified methanolic extract and butyl stearate from O. basilicum displayed a good antisickling activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to report the antisickling activity of this compound in this plant. The synthesized compound presented the same spectroscopic characteristics than the natural one and the antisickling activities of its derivatives are understudying.