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The antiulcerogenic effects of the root bark extract of C. sieberiana were studied using various gastric ulcer models in rats. This was to support the rational phytotherapeutic use of Cassia sieberiana root bark extract in managing gastric ulcer. The cytoprotective ability of the extract was tested using the HCl/ethanol and the indomethacin-HCl/ethanol induced gastric lesion models. The healing ability of the extract was tested using the acetic acid induced model. Ulcer index, gastric HCl output, mucus production, pepsin activity and volume of gastric secretion were measured. Oral administration of the abstract (500-1000 mg/kg body weight) inhibited the formation of gastric ulcers induced by . This inhibition was significantly (p <0.05) suppressed by pretreatment of the experimental rats with indomethacin (30 mg/kg i.p). Oral administration of the extract in acetic acid induced ulcers produced significant dose-dependent healing of the gastric ulcers, significantly decreased total gastric HCl output and also significantly increased gastric barrier mucus production but these were not associated with changes in gastric secretion volume or pepsin activity.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is the third most prevalent mycobacteriosis, after tuberculosis and leprosy. The currently recommended combination of rifampicin-streptomycin suffers from side effects and poor compliance, which leads to reliance on local herbal remedies. The objective of this study was to investigate the antimycobacterial properties and toxicity of selected medicinal plants. Sixty-five extracts from 27 plant species were screened against Mycobacterium ulcerans and Mycobacterium smegmatis, using the Resazurin Microtiter Assay (REMA). The cytotoxicity of promising extracts was assayed on normal Chang liver cells by an MTT assay. Twenty five extracts showed activity with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 16 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL against M. smegmatis, while 17 showed activity against M. ulcerans with MIC values ranging from 125 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL. In most of the cases, plant extracts with antimycobacterial activity showed no cytotoxicity on normal human liver cells. Exception were Carica papaya, Cleistopholis patens, and Polyalthia suaveolens with 50% cell cytotoxic concentrations (CC 50) ranging from 3.8 to 223 µg/mL. These preliminary results support the use of some West African plants in the treatment of Buruli ulcer. Meanwhile, further studies are required to isolate and characterize the active ingredients in the extracts.

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