Context: Carissa edulis Vahl (Apocynaceae) is used in Nigerian folk medicine to manage a plethora of diseases including epilepsy, cancer, and inflammation; its efficacy is widely acclaimed among communities of northern Nigeria. Objective: This study establishes anticonvulsant activities of aqueous fraction of ethanol root bark extract of Carissa edulis (RAF) and sub-fractions (S1 and S2) in animal models. Materials and methods:We evaluated the acute toxicity of the RAF, S1 and S2, and the anticonvulsant activity using pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), picrotoxin, strychnine, N-methyl-Daspartate (NMDA), isoniazid (INH), and aminophylline-induced seizures in mice. Their effects on maximal electroshock (MES) and kindling-induced seizures were studied in chicks and in rats, respectively, and in the electrophysiological study. The doses used for RAF were 150, 300, and 600 mg/kg while S1 and S2 were 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg. Both RAF and sub-fractions were administered once during the experiment. Results: The intraperitoneal LD 50 of the RAF was estimated to be 2222.61 mg/kg and that of the S1 and S2 were above 5000 mg/kg. RAF protected the mice by 50% while sub-fractions by 16.67% against PTZ-induced seizures. RAF offered 33.33 and 16.67% protection against strychnine and NMDA models, respectively. However, RAF offered 66.67-33.33% protections against aminophylline-induced seizures at doses of 150 and 600 mg/kg, but RAF, S1, and S2 had no effect on MES-induced seizures. Discussion and conclusion: Our results validate the use of the plant traditionally in the management of epilepsy, thus supporting the appraisal of biologically active components of this plant as antiepileptic agents.

REVIEW this goal seems to be unachievable in the near future in lowincome African nations because of the menace of SFM. SFM are still taking a devastating toll on human lives silently and regularly, especially in poor African, Asian, and Latin American countries (3). Substandard or sometimes poisonous medicines can harm patients directly by compromising the treatment of many life-threatening diseases in these countries. An estimated 627,000-1,238,000 deaths occur each year as a result of malaria-the majority of which are in Africa (4). A study conducted in the sub-Saharan African countries on the cause of mortalities associated with poor quality medicines, which were referred to as "falsified, substandard, or degraded" antimalarial medicines, revealed that 122,350 children under 5 years old died in 2013 alone due to reliance on poor-quality antimalarial medicines for the treatment of malaria (4). Although adulteration, falsification, and fraudulent manufacture of medicines is not a new problem, the recent expansions in industrialization and trade have aggravated the scale of the problem (5). The global sales of falsified medicines are rising significantly, which is evident by the increasing number of countries that report breaches of their supply chain, as well as product falsifications (6). The reported scale of this

This study investigated the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect of the oral administration of methanol extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa seed in alloxan induced diabetic albino rats. Two different doses (200 and 400 mg/kg) of the methanol extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa seed were administered daily to two groups of diabetic rats for a period of two weeks. Metformin (250 mg/kg) was given as the reference standard drug. Phytochemical, acute toxicity, fasting blood glucose, body weight, cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoproteins levels were determined using standard methods. Acute toxicity of methanol extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa seed was estimated to be greater than 5000 mg/kg body weight. There was an initial decrease in the body weight of the experimental animals after induction of diabetes which increased significantly (p<0.05) by the second week of treatment. The fasting blood glucose levels of the treated diabetic rats were significantly decreased at the second week of treatment with the group that received 400 mg/kg of extract recording the lowest fasting blood glucose level. The cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoproteins levels of the diabetic treated rats were significantly reduced while the high density lipoproteins level significantly increased. It can therefore be concluded that Hibiscus sabdariffa seed has the ability to lower blood sugar and maintain a stable lipid level. Keywords: Hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, Alloxan, Phytochemical, Hibiscus sabdariffa

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