Phytochemical screening and in vitro anthelmintic activity of methanolic extract of Terminalia glaucescens leaf on Haemonchus contortus eggs.

Helminth infections remain a major constraint to livestock productivity in the tropical and subtropical areas across the world, especially in the areas where extensive grazing is practiced. The development of resistance to anthelmintic drugs, scarcity and high cost of purchase especially to farmers of low income in developing countries led to the need of alternative helminth control methods. However, there is an urgent need to discover novel drugs that can cure helminthiasis. A survey was carried out among agropastoralists to elicit information on the use of Ethnoveterinary Plants (EvPs) as alternative medicine for helminthiasis. The plants used by the agropastoralists were collected and identified at the Department of Botany Herbarium, University of Ibadan. The plant part was pulverized and cold macerated successively with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous methanol to obtain crude extracts. The methanolic extract was assayed against Haemonchus contortus at test concentrations (6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µg/mL) and Albendazole at 25µg/mL were tested for the egg hatch inhibition assay. Eggs hatched and unhatched were counted under the microscope at 48, 96 and 144 hours (h). Among the EvPs identified, Terminalia glaucescens was the least utilized plant by the agropastoralists, and thus, selected for evaluation. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed presence of tannin, alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid, phenolic, steroids, glycosides, triterpenes and reducing sugars. At 96 h, there were significant difference (P<0.05) in egg hatch inhibition (EHI) percentage at 100ug/mL (87.55), 50µg/mL (84.29) at inhibitory concentration (IC50 value 1.07) compared to 25ug/mL (100) for the Albendazol. At 144 h, there were no significant (P>0.05) differences observed in EHI values of methanolic extract of the leaf at 100ug/mL (89.69), 50ug/mL (87.06), 25ug/mL (85.53) and 12.5µg/mL (82.89) at IC50 value 1.08 compared to 25ug/mL (100) for the Albendazol. T. glaucescens leaf is a potential source of novel anthelmintics and further investigation should be carried out on its in vivo anthelmintic activity.

Antibacterial activity of Jatropha multifida roots.

Hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform and methanol successive extracts of Jatropha multifida yellow rootbark, red rootbark and rootwood effectively inhibited the growth of B. subtilis and S. aureus at concentration of 200 microg/disk.

The antimicrobial activity of roots of Jatropha podagrica (Hook).

Hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of the rootwood and rootbarks of Jatropha podagrica were studied for their antimicrobial activity against 18 organisms. All the extracts exhibited some broad spectrum antibacterial activity, at a concentration of 20 mg/mL. The hexane extracts were generally more active than the chloroform and methanol extracts. The hexane extract of the yellow rootbark was the most active of all the extracts and its activity was comparable to that of gentamycin but better with regard to the control of S. aureus and B. cereus. Three of the extracts, hexane extract of the yellow rootbark and hexane and methanol extracts of the rootwood showed moderate antifungal activity against the yeast fungus, Candida albicans.

Studies on the seed oils of Parkia biglobosa and Parkia bicolor.

The seed oils of Parkia biglobosa and Parkia bicolor (Mimosaceae) have been analysed for their possible edible utility and to provide some physical data on both oils. The fatty acid composition of the oils was identified. Six major fatty acids were identified in the oil of P. bicolor while five were identified in that of P. biglobosa by Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). The two oils contained five similar fatty acids in almost the same ratios. Arachidic acid was the most abundant fatty acids (greater than forty per cent) in both oils. Other fatty acids in the oils were behenic, stearic, palmitic and linoleic acids. The sixth fatty acid in P. bicolor was an odd number of carbon atom and un unsaturated fatty acid (C20H37COOH) named bicolargic acid. The oils were also found to be non toxic.