O. O. Fajinmi, O. O. Olarewaju, G. Arthur, K. Naidoo, R. Coopoosamy
{"title":"Cucurbitaceae species used as traditional medicine in West Africa","authors":"O. O. Fajinmi, O. O. Olarewaju, G. Arthur, K. Naidoo, R. Coopoosamy","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.163","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.163","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The use of some Cucurbitaceae species for the treatment of diseases is an ancient practice in traditional medicine systems in Africa and the cucurbitacins among others have been reported to be responsible for most of these healing activities.Aim: This review discusses the relevance of Cucurbitaceae species in traditional medicine in some west African countries.Methods: A literature search was conducted on electronic databases such as Google Books, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science. The search involved the use of several terms and free text words which include ‘Cucurbitaceae species in West Africa traditional medicine’; ‘medicinal plants of the Cucurbitaceae family used to treat diseases in west African communities’.Results: Several Cucurbitaceae species are used in the region either in similar ways or different ways for the treatment of different diseases. The leaves are the most utilised plant parts and decoctions are the most common method of preparation. From this study, 18 species of Cucurbitaceae used for medicinal purposes were reviewed from Nigeria; 4 from Benin, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, respectively; 1 from Togo; 5 from Senegal; 9 from Cameroon and 3 from Gabon and Burkina Faso, respectively. Momordica charantia and Momordica balsamina are often utilised for abortion in some west African countries. Momordica species and Lagenaria breviflora are utilised to treat diabetes, cough related to respiratory infections and viral infections such as measles and chickenpoxConclusions: In-depth research into these plants could help to develop a natural, novel cure for diabetes and coronavirus (COVID-19) and effective, cheap contraceptive.Contribution: This review highlights the significant role of Cucurbitaceae species in the treatment of a wide range of diseases and health issues in the WestAfrican traditional medicine system. The information provided could be used as a guide by research scientists for the formulation of natural products to cure a variety of diseases.","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48484109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Antibacterial activities and biosynthesis of nanoparticles using hemp extracts","authors":"Karishma Singh, R. Coopoosamy, K. Naidoo, J. Adam","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.160","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The use of plants in the biosynthesis of nanoparticles is a fast-growing technique and has gained much interest from researchers over the years.Aim: This study reported the utilisation of leaf extracts of Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) for the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs).Methods: In this study, techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) were carried out for the synthesis and characterisation of nanoparticles. The antibacterial efficacy of the synthesised nanoparticles was evaluated by using the agar diffusion and macrobroth dilution methods. The antibacterial properties of the biosynthesised AgNPs were evaluated against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.Results: The formation of AgNPs was confirmed by colour change in plant extracts and further characterised by Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry TEM, SEM, EDX and FT-IR analyses. Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed the efficient capping and stabilisation properties of these particles and the nature of the capping agent. Silver nanoparticles prepared from leaf extracts showed effective antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli.Conclusion: Biosynthesised AgNPs showed a broad-spectrum antimicrobial susceptibility range and therefore represent promising antimicrobial agents. This is the first reported study for hemp leaf extracts and contributes to the environmentally friendly and cost-effective technique of biosynthesising nanoparticles for drug development.Contribution: This study contributes to the current medicinal properties of cannabis. Furthermore, it reflects that cannabis can also be utilized at a nanoscale with effective antibacterial efficacy.","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48572676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mmaphulane A. Setumo, Solomon Sr Choma, R. Henkel, C. Opuwari
{"title":"Green tea (Camellia sinensis) aqueous extract improved human spermatozoa functions in vitro","authors":"Mmaphulane A. Setumo, Solomon Sr Choma, R. Henkel, C. Opuwari","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.166","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Idiopathic causes of infertility is associated with oxidative stress. Antioxidants are known to scavenge the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Green tea (Camellia sinensis) contains polyphenols that enhance its antioxidant potential.Aim: This study focused on the impact of aqueous green tea extract on normozoospermic human spermatozoa.Setting: Department of Medical Biosciences, University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa.Methods: Semen samples obtained using masturbation method following three to five days of sexual abstinence from consenting men (n = 59) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) were liquefied and analysed. Normozoospermic samples were selected according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 5th guideline. Thereafter, semen samples (7.5 × 106 /mL) were washed in human tubular fluid (HTF; 10 min at 300 ×g) and exposed to aqueous extracts of green tea (0 μg/mL, 0.4 μg/mL, 4 μg/mL, 40 μg/mL, 405 μg/mL) for 1 h with various sperm parameters analyzed. Human tubular fluid supplemented with bovine serum albumin (HTF-BSA; 10%) served as control.Results: Sperm motility, reactive oxygen species production, across some reaction and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation decreased significantly, particularly at the highest concentration (405 μg/mL; p 0.001). A substantial increase in the percentage of viable spermatozoa and those with intact mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were observed (p 0.001).Conclusion: Aqueous extract of green tea prolonged sperm viability and MMP while reducing sperm intracellular ROS production, capacitation and across some reaction and DNA fragmentation, and may be attributed to its antioxidant potential. However, a high concentration of the extract appears to be detrimental to the functioning of human spermatozoa.","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45339227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. O. Olarewaju, O. O. Fajinmi, K. Naidoo, G. Arthur, R. Coopoosamy
{"title":"A review of the medicinal plants with immune-boosting potential","authors":"O. O. Olarewaju, O. O. Fajinmi, K. Naidoo, G. Arthur, R. Coopoosamy","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.158","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42605631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"South African medicinal plants screened against Pseudomonas aeruginosa","authors":"M. Vambe, R. Coopoosamy, K. Naidoo, G. Arthur","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.153","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46608353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. Bello, U. A. Katsayal, A. A. Ambi, Yusuf B. Abubakar
{"title":"Morphological, anatomical and molecular characterisation of the leaves of Isoberlinia doka Craib and Stapf and Isoberlinia tomentosa (Harms) Craib and Stapf","authors":"H. Bello, U. A. Katsayal, A. A. Ambi, Yusuf B. Abubakar","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.150","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Isoberlinia (Craib and Stapf) is a genus with high economic and pharmacological values.Aim: This study aimed at establishing the morphological, anatomical and molecular characterisation of the leaves of I. doka and I. tomentosa, which were conducted for proper authentication.Setting: The leaves of I. doka and I. tomentosa were obtained from Shika, kaduna State, Nigeria.Method: Morphological and anatomical characters were determined according to standard procedures, while molecular identifications were performed using ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcl) gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA barcode’s region.Result: Morphological studies revealed similar features for both species except for the shiny leaves of I. doka and rough abaxial surfaces of I. tomentosa because of the presence of trichomes. Variations were observed in their epidermal features, stomatal index, stomata frequency, presence or absence of trichomes, trichomes frequency and their quantitative anatomical features. The quantity and quality of DNA measured at A260/280 ratio using nanodrop spectrophotometer were 29.1 ng/μL and 1.74 ng/μL for I. doka, respectively, while the I. tomentosa concentration and purity were 71.1 ng/μL and 1.85 ng/μL, respectively. Agarose gel electrophoresis revealed two DNA bands with 700 bp (rbcl) and 600 bp (ITS). The sequence analysis revealed maximum identity with National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GeneBank Isoberlinia species. Evolutionary analysis supported the monophyletic origin of the genus Isoberlinia. The morphological and anatomical characters of I. doka and I. tomentosa leaves have provided a significant taxonomy tool for proper authentication of this plant.Conclusion: The findings ascertained that ITS and rbcl served as an improved and efficient tool for species identification of these studied species and could serve as potential DNA barcodes for these taxa.Contribution: This article suggests that further studies the on screening of these plants, for various pharmacological potentials, might be useful for new drug development.","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46753308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. O. Fajinmi, O. O. Olarewaju, G. Arthur, K. Naidoo, R. Coopoosamy
{"title":"A review of the role of the Cucurbitaceae family in food security in West Africa","authors":"O. O. Fajinmi, O. O. Olarewaju, G. Arthur, K. Naidoo, R. Coopoosamy","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.155","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41365580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. O. Fajinmi, O. O. Olarewaju, G. Arthur, R. Coopoosamy, K. Naidoo
{"title":"Sociocultural relevance of the bottle gourd and selected species of Cucurbitaceae family in West Africa","authors":"O. O. Fajinmi, O. O. Olarewaju, G. Arthur, R. Coopoosamy, K. Naidoo","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.139","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49593033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phytochemical composition and chemical profiling of extracts of Cordia grandicalyx","authors":"Mildred A. Chauke, M. Mogale, L. Mdee, L. J. Shai","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.149","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43033977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muyibat M. Olaitan, G. Mangse, Chukwuma C. Ogbaga, T. Uthman
{"title":"Gibberellic acid influences growth indices and biochemical parameters in micropropagated Ocimum gratissimum L. explants","authors":"Muyibat M. Olaitan, G. Mangse, Chukwuma C. Ogbaga, T. Uthman","doi":"10.4102/jomped.v6i1.154","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jomped.v6i1.154","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16345,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42083539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}