Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine

170-181

Authors: Tahmineh Akbarzadeh, Reyhaneh Sabourian, Mina Saeedi, Hossein Rezaeizadeh, Mahnaz Khanavi, Mohammad Reza Shams Ardekani

Considering the fact that liver is one of the most important organs in our body, it deserves special attention and protection. Among various recommended supplements, complementary and alternative medicines particularly herbal remedies have received much attention owing to their truly healing properties. This review profits from Iranian traditional medicine and presents advantageous herbal guide directions for liver protection. According to credible Iranian medical literature such as Al Qanun Fil Tibb, Al-Havi and Makhzan-al-Aadvia, a wide spectrum of plants have been found to be useful for cleansing and protecting the liver. Some herbs such as ghafes (Agrimonia eupatoria), kasni (Cichorium intybus), anar (Punica granatum), darchin (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), za’feran (Crocus sativus), gole-sorkh (Rosa damascena) and zereshk (Berberis vulgaris) appeared to get strong consideration and were well documented as outstanding liver tonics. We conducted a comprehensive review of available Iranian medical resources such as scientific information database and medical sciences databases which cover all in vitro and in vivo studies of medicinal plants as liver tonics and hepatoprotective candidates. Literature survey was accomplished using multiple databases including PubMed, ISI web of knowledge, and Google Scholar.

190-191

Authors: Sadia Ashraf, Aftab Ahmad

Hepatitis B and C are big health issues worldwide as more than 400 million people are suffering from chronic hepatitis B and C which result in more than 1.4 million deaths each year. According to a study done by Pakistan Medical Research Council in 2007-08, 7.6% Pakistani population suffered with hepatitis B and C, with around 4.8% with hepatitis C only. Government of Pakistan has taken different initiatives like vaccination, patient safety, blood screening, education and awareness about disease but still there is high prevalence of hepatitis in Pakistan. According to some studies injecting drug users have the highest prevalence of hepatitis B and C in the country. The follow-up studies and documentation of hepatitis patients was not very good which need to be improved. There is no recent large scale study on risk factors and prevalence of hepatitis B and C in Pakistan so it should be done on an urgent basis. If government set up regional laboratories for prevalence study and also a central institute for hepatitis research and treatment, the disease could be prevented in better and proper way. The treatment of hepatitis is very costly and a developing country like Pakistan cannot afford such high costs. Therefore more focus should be on preventive measures.

196-201

Authors: Davies Olabisi Flora, Adeleye Isaac Adeyemi, Wang Peng George

Objective: To isolate and screen Actinomycetes from Lagos Lagoon soil sediments for production of bioactive metabolites. Methods: Sediment samples were collected from four different locations of Lagos Lagoon and were dried for 2 weeks after which the Actinomycetes were isolated by serial dilution using the spread plate method on starch casein and Kuster’s agar supplemented with 80 μg/ mL cycloheximide to prevent fungal growth. The plates were incubated at 28 °C for 1-2 weeks. Isolates were selected based on their colonial characteristics as well as their Gram’s reaction and subcultured using the same media for isolation until pure cultures were obtained and incubated at 28 °C for 3 d. Thereafter, they were inoculated into starch casein and Kuster’s broth media and incubated for 8 d. The secondary metabolites were screened for antimicrobial activity against the following microorganisms: methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 29522, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212. Coagulasenegative staphylococci isolated from HIV patients were also used (Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus epidermidis). The antimicrobial metabolites of the Actinomycetes isolates were identified using gas chromatography (GC). Results: Crude extracts of isolates showed antimicrobial activity against some of the test organisms. The GC data analysis showed the antibiotic profile of these isolates. Conclusions: Analysis of the crude extracts of the isolates using GC method, revealed the presence of antibiotics including an anticholinergic hyoscyamine among other conclusions.

208-220

Authors: Addimas Tajebe, Mulugeta Aemero, Kimani Francis, Gabriel Magoma

Objective: To identify prevalence of chloroquine resistance point mutation at (Pfcrt, K76T) and (Pfmdr1, N86Y) copy number variation. Methods: SYBR Green I based real time PCR was used. One hundred and thirty-three samples were analyzed for (Pfcrt, K76T) and (Pfmdr1,N86Y) copy number from dried blood spot. Parasite DNA was extracted using high pure DNA preparation kit. The amplification of DNA was done by using AccuPower 2× GreenStarTM qPCR Master mix. For quantification purpose a new primer pair was designed for 178 base pair template from complete genome sequence of Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7 at NCBI. Absolute quantification method was used to determine the Pfmdr1-N86Y copy number variations. Standard curve was built from strain 3D7 gDNA since it has single copy of Pfmdr1 per haploid genome. The known positive controls with single and multi-copy number of Pfmdr1 gene were included in each experiment. The copy number ratio of the samples to the standard calibrator was made to obtain the fold difference among the samples with respect to copy number variation. Results: Out of 133 samples 73 (54.89%) were confirmed as mutant (Pfcrt, 76T) and the remaining 60 (45.11%) were genotyped as wild type (Pfcrt, K76). The (Pfmdr1, N86Y) copy number variation was determined for 133 clinical samples. Out of these samples 61 (45.86%) had single copy and the remaining 72 (54.14%) had multi-copy numbers higher than 1.5 copies per genome. Thirty-four (25.56%) multi-copies were between 1.5 and 2.5 copies per genome while 38 (28.57%) were more than 2.5 copies per genome. The minimum and maximum copies per genome were 0.474 and 4.741, respectively. Conclusions: The study showed high prevalence level and fixation of Pfcrt, 76T mutation after chloroquine withdrawal. The prevalence of Pfmdr1 copy number variant suggested that the presence of modulating factor for emergence of Plasmodium falciparum strains with higher copy numbers. However, the prevalence level was not statistically significant.

228-233

Authors: Naima Chahmi, Jaouad Anissi, Sanae Jennan, Abdellah Farah, Khalid Sendide, Mohammed El Hassouni

Objective: To investigate antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid content of ethanol (E) and ethyl acetate (A) extracts of Inula viscosa aerial parts selected from three regions of Morocco (Imouzzer, Sefrou and Taounate). Methods: Antioxidants properties were measured by three different test systems of assay namely free radical scavenging activities against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, total antioxidant capacity and iron-reducing capacity. Total phenolic content was measured by Folin- Ciocalteu reagent. Results: All the extracts showed significant antioxidant activities and contained important levels of phenols. The ethanol extract (0.3 mg/mL) from Sefrou showed the greatest antioxidant capacity in the three systems of assay, which was probably due to its high content of polyphenols (274.39±6.94) mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry extract. Total flavonoid content was found equal for all extracts. Conclusions: Our results of antioxidant assays were justified and partially supported the popular usage of the tested plants. The high antioxidant activity found in the plant from Sefrou and its great biomass in this region suggested that Inula viscosa is a good source of natural antioxidants compounds which might have benefits for health.

242-248

Authors: Kiessoun Konaté, Kassi Yomalan, Oksana Sytar, Marian Brestic

Objective: To evaluate anti-diarrhoeal and antimicrobial activities of the bioactive fraction of Trichilia emetica in order to provide a scientific basis for the management of gastroenteritis in Burkina Faso. Methods: To do this, polyphenols content of extract and fractions were investigated. Folin- Ciocalteu, AlCl3 methods and tannic acid respectively were used for polyphenols content. The in vivo antidiarrhoeal activity was done using Swiss albino mice of both sexes. In vitro antimicrobial activity (disc-diffusion assay, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum microbicidal concentration or minimal bactericidal concentration) was assessed using seven bacteria strains (Gram-negative and Gram-positive). Results: About our study, it was found that ethyl acetate fraction effective attenuation factior (EAF) elicits the higher total phenolics and total flavonoids contents compared to the extracts of leaves of Trichilia emetica. EAF of Trichilia emetica Vahl., has positive effects in a dose dependent manner against diarrhoea induced by castor oil in experimental mice. The bioactive fraction also showed good antimicrobial activity against all tested Gram-negative and Grampositive bacteria strains. It was shown that experimental bacteria strains were more sensitive to the EAF effect compared to the ciprofloxacin. Conclusions: The obtained results allow justifying the traditional uses of Trichilia emetica and possess good antidiarrhoeal and antimicrobial activities of EAF from Trichilia emetica. Results of the present study have clearly supported the utilization of Trichilia emetica in Burkina Faso traditional medicine.