Antidiarrheal Activity of Dialium guineense Willd Fruit Pulp in Wistar Rats.

Objective: This study is aimed at evaluating the effects of Dialium guineense Willd fruit pulp powder on diarrhea induced by castor oil in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Three different tests were carried out. A preventive test by administration of a single dose of 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 mg/kg before the induction of diarrhea by castor oil. Another preventive test after repeated administration of Dialium guineense at 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg/day for 8 days, before the induction of diarrhea, was done. The third test was a curative test with a single dose of 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg after the induction of diarrhea by castor oil. Results: D. guineense fruit pulp at 1000, 2000, and 4000 mg/kg administered before the induction of diarrhea, has significantly delayed diarrhea; reduced the frequency of defecation, reduced the amount of diarrheal stools, and also reduced the purging index, with a degree of inhibition comparable to that of loperamide. But the water content of the stools of the group treated with D. guineense does not change significantly compared to the controls. D. guineense has reduced significantly from 500 mg/kg the diarrhea induced by castor oil after 8 days of treatment. It appears that the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, which were not effective with the single-dose preventive test, significantly delayed diarrhea; reduces the frequency of diarrheal stools and also reduces the purging index. D. guineense administered, after the induction of diarrhea, by castor oil has significantly reduced the diarrhea from 250 mg/kg. Conclusion: The fruit pulp of D. guineense has showed antidiarrheal activities in Wistar rats by reducing the frequency of defecation, the amount of diarrheal fecal matter emitted as well as the water content. It also delayed the onset of diarrhea and significantly reduced the purging index like loperamide.

Assessment of Larval Toxicity and the Teratogenic Effect of Three Medicinal Plants Used in the Traditional Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections in Benin.

OBJECTIVE: Mangifera indica Linn, Bridelia ferruginea Benth, and Alstonia boonei De Wild are three plants commonly used in the traditional treatment of urinary tract infections in Benin. This study sets out to assess the cytotoxic and teratogenic effects of extracts of these plants on Artemia salina larvae and hen embryos. METHODS AND RESULTS: The aqueous and ethanolic extracts were obtained by maceration of the powders in solvents. Larval cytotoxicity was performed on Artemia salina larvae. The teratogenic effect of these plants was evaluated on chick embryos at 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg. The extracts were injected on the 7th and 14th days of incubation. The quality of the hatched chicks was evaluated by the Tona score followed by the hematological and the biochemical parameter assays. The extracts did not show cytotoxicity on the larvae. The eggs treated with plant extracts at 300 mg/kg significantly lowered the hatchability rate, except for the Mangifera indica Linn. The chicks obtained were all at the very good quality. Then, no significant variation was observed between hematological parameters except white blood cells. For the biochemical parameters, only ASAT showed some significant variations for a few extracts. It would be important to assess the genotoxicity of the plant extracts to determine more broader toxicity. These data justify the use of these medicinal plants in traditional Beninese medicine and constitute in fact a source of production of anti-infectious drugs.

A 90-Day Oral Toxicity of Hydroethanolic Root Extract of Carissa spinarum in Wistar Rats.

BACKGROUND: Herbal medication is a worldwide and ancient practice, mostly in developing countries, where a large part of the population is involved in this practice. Hence, studies must be conducted to evaluate their safety and efficiency to avoid or prevent toxicological risks due to their usage. In Togo, Carissa spinarum is a medicinal plant belonging to Apocynaceae family, used as an aphrodisiac or to heal some ailments including malaria, sickle cell anemia, hypertension, pain, and asthma. Notwithstanding its several ethnomedicinal benefits, just a few toxicological data associated with its chronic use are available. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, this study aims to assess the toxicity of an ethanolic root extract of Carissa spinarum in Wistar rats. METHODS: The 90-day oral toxicity process following OECD TG 408 guidelines is used. Male Wistar rats received Carissa spinarum root hydroethanolic extract at 500 and 1000 mg/kg for 90 days by oral gavage. Body weight changes, hematological and blood biochemical parameters, organ weight changes, malondialdehyde as a lipoperoxidation marker expressed according to tissue proteins, and histopathology of vital organs were assessed. RESULTS: No signs of toxicity or mortality were observed during the 90 days experiment. Hematological parameters have not shown any treatment-related abnormalities. According to biochemical parameters, an increase in the chloride ion level was observed at 1000 mg/kg (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the treated groups and the control group concerning the malondialdehyde concentration, body weight, and organ relative weight. No changes in necropsy and histopathology of vital organs associated with extract treatment were observed. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that an ethanolic root extract of Carissa spinarum does not cause adverse effects, which can lead to Wistar rats' death after 90-day oral administration at 500 and 1000 mg.

Cytotoxicity, Acute, and Subacute Study of Hydroalcoholic Root Extract of Carissa spinarum L. on Wistar Rats.

Carissa spinarum L. (Apocynaceae) is used traditionally, in Africa, to treat many diseases such as malaria, sickle cell anemia, epilepsy, helminthoses, and sexual weakness. The aim of this study is to investigate the cytotoxicity on Artemia salina, the acute and subacute (28 days) oral toxicity of C. spinarum hydroalcoholic root extract on Wistar rats. The cytotoxicity was performed on A. salina larvae. The acute and subacute toxicity was performed using Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development guideline. Malondiadehyde as lipoperoxidation marker was evaluated and expressed according to tissue proteins. The cytotoxicity has shown that the lethal concentration 50 (LC50) was 0.9 mg/mL. The limit test dose of 5000 mg/kg did not provoke death or toxicity signs. For the subacute toxicity, no signs of toxicity or mortality were observed during the experiment. Results of biochemical and hematological parameters have not shown any treatment-related abnormalities, except a significant decrease of alkaline phosphatase at 1000 mg/kg (P < .05) and an increase of chloride ion level at 500 mg/kg (P < .01). There was no significant difference between the treated group and the control group concerning the malondialdehyde concentration, the body weight, and the organs relative weight (P < .05), except for testis at 500 mg/kg (P < .05). According to our results, the hydroalcoholic extract of C. spinarum roots is safe when administrated at 500 mg and 1000 mg/kg to Wistar rats for 28 days.

Toxicological Studies of Hydroethanolic Leaf Extract of Launaea taraxacifolia (Willd) Amin Ex C. Jeffrey on Wistar Rats.

Launaea taraxacifolia (Asteraceae) is a widely used vegetable in West Africa. It is used in traditional healing of many diseases such as hypertension, anemia, diabetes, and bleeding. The aim of this study is to investigate the cytotoxicity and the acute and subacute (28 days) oral toxicity of L. taraxacifolia hydroethanolic leaves extract on male Wistar rats. The LC50 values of L. taraxacifolia on brine shrimp were 0.142 ± 0.11 mg/mL. The limit test dose of 5000 mg/kg did not provoke death or toxicity signs in the rats tested during the observation period. For 28 days subacute toxicity at 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight, no signs of toxicity or mortality were observed during the experiment. There was no significant difference between the treated groups and the control group concerning the body and the relative organs weight (P > .05). Results of biochemical and hematological parameters did not show any treatment-related abnormalities. According to our results, the hydroethanolic extract of L. taraxacifolia leaves, at 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight, is safe when administrated to male Wistar rats for 28 days.

Medication Consumption Patterns and Polypharmacy among Community-Dwelling Elderly in Lomé (Togo) in 2017.

BACKGROUND: In the sub-Saharan African, region of the world with a fast growing aging population and where the use of herbal products is very common, there is a paucity of data on medication consumption patterns among elderly people. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy and its associated factors among community-dwelling elderly in Lomé, Togo, in 2017. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2017 in Lomé, Togo among people aged 60 years and older. The Respondent Driven Sampling method was used to recruit participants. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and medication consumption patterns, including the use of medicinal plants and dietary supplements, were collected using a standardized questionnaire during a face-to-face interview at participants' home. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 370 participants with median age 65 years, (IQR: 62-71) were enrolled in the study. Almost three elderly in five (57.6%) were multimorbid (had two or more chronic diseases). Conventional drugs (78.4%), medicinal plants (14.3%) and other dietary supplements (9.5%) were used by participants. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 22.7% (95% CI: 18.5-27.3%). Concurrent use of conventional drugs and medicinal plants or other dietary supplements was observed among 17.0% of participants and 67.3% reported self-medication. Multimorbidity (aOR = 4.55; 95% CI: [2.42-8.54]) and female sex (aOR = 1.86; 95% CI: [1.00-3.47]) were associated with polypharmacy. CONCLUSION: One elderly in five uses five or more medications in Togo. Further studies are needed to assess drug-drug interactions and herb-drug interactions among this population.

In vivo and in vitro toxicological evaluation of the hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae).

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: In African traditional medicine, Ageratum conyzoides has been used as purgative, febrifuge, anti-ulcer and wound dressing. To date there is no safety information about long term use of Ageratum conyzoides which contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a class of hepatotoxic and carcinogenic phytochemicals. This study aims to evaluate the 90 days subchronic toxicity and in vitro toxicity of Ageratum conyzoides. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three groups of 8 rats (4 males and 4 females) received distilled water (control), 500 and 1000 mg/kg of the extract daily for 90 consecutive days by oral gavage. The animals were observed daily for abnormal clinical signs and death. Body weight, relative organ weight, haematological and biochemical parameters of blood as well as heart, kidney, liver and spleen tissues histology were evaluated. RESULTS: After 90 days administration, Ageratum conyzoides increased significantly (p<0.05) the relative weight of the liver, the spleen and kidney as compared to control group. Ageratum conyzoides increased also significantly (p<0.05) ALP, ALT, AST and blood glucose. Furthermore, an increase in the number of platelets associated with a normocytic and normochromic anaemia was observed. The cytotoxicity, determined by the MTT test and neutral red assay, has shown that the cytotoxicity of hydroalcoholic extract of Ageratum conyzoides and its total alkaloids was very close. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have shown that Ageratum conyzoides at 500 and 1000 mg/kg can induce liver, kidney and haematological disorders. These toxics effects can be attributed to its total alkaloids especially to pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are present in this plant.

Effect of Tectona grandis on phenylhydrazine-induced anaemia in rats.

Traditional oral report indicates that Tectona grandis is used in the treatment of anaemia in Togo. For this purpose, the extract of T. grandis leaves is evaluated on anaemia model of rat induced by intraperitoneal injection of phenylhydrazine at 40 mg/kg for 2 days. Oral administration of T. grandis extract at 1 g/kg/day and 2 g/kg/day, to the rats previously treated with phenylhydrazine, increased the concentration of haemoglobin, red blood cells number, haematocrit and reticulocytes rate. Moreover, the extract of T. grandis enhanced the osmotic resistance of the red blood cells that confirm the important presence of young red blood cells. These results support partially the traditional use of T. grandis in the treatment of anaemia.