Phytochemical profiling of the bioactive principles of Alysicarpus glumaceus (Vahl) DC. aerial parts.

Burkea africana Hook (Fabaceae) is a plant used in traditional medicine for the treatment of pain and inflammation in Africa. The methanol stem bark extract was evaluated for analgesic property using acetic acid induced writhing and hot plate test in mice while the anti-inflammatory property was evaluated using carrageenan-induced paw oedema. Acute toxicity studies and phytochemical screening using standard protocol was also conducted. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, steroids and triterpenes, cardiac glycosides and saponins. The intraperitoneal median lethal dose (LD50) in mice was found to be 471.17 mg/kg body weight. The extract at all tested doses (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) significantly (P≤ 0.001) decreased abdominal contractions induced by acetic acid and also significantly (P≤ 0.01) delayed the mean reaction time of the mice. The extract at all doses showed no significant antiinflammatory activity. The results obtained from this study showed that the methanol stem bark extract of Burkea africana possesses both central and peripheral analgesic activities. This provides a rationale for its traditional use against pain.

Uapacatogoensis of family Euphorbiaceae ailments including pneumonia, cough, fever, rheumatism, vomitting and epilepsy fraction of the stem bark was extract was studied Lorke's method studied in chloroquine-sensitive in each group were used. Group 1 and 4 were administered with 250, 500, and 1000 mg respectively, while group 5 was administered with 5mg chloroquine/kg body weight. The doses were all administered orally. All doses of the extract produced significant, dose dependent, chemo suppressive activity against the parasite in the suppressive, curative and pro was comparable to the group treated with chloroquine. The extract also prolonged the mean survival time of treated mice compared to the untreated group. The oral median lethal dose (LD of the ethyl acetate fraction in mice study showed that the ethyl acetate fraction of the stem bark is safe and has antiplasmodial activity.

Proteases are validated drug target for inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent malaria parasite. This study guided by previous reports, designed trimethoxy benzaldehyde chalcone derivatives as potential protease inhibitors and antimalarial agents. They were synthesized by Schmidt-Claisen condensation reaction. The structures of these compounds were established using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Proton, Carbon-13, as well as twodimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and Mass Spectrometry (MS). The synthesized compounds were screened for in-vivo antimalarial activity in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei parasite, using curative model. (E)-1-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-(2,3,4trimethoxy-phenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (P2) displayed a significant activity, with activity comparable to that of quinine (10 mgkg-1) and chloroquine (25 mg kg-1) at a dose of 100 mgkg-1 in the curative test. However, (E)-1,3-bis(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (P1) and (E)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-3-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (P13) did not show any significant activity (p < 0.05). Compound P2 was found to be devoid of electron deficient ring A (benzaldehyde ring). This suggests that, electron density on the rings are not determinants for antimalarial activity of the chalcone as proposed earlier and, present compound P2 as a candidate for further optimization and evaluation for prophylactic and suppressive activities.

Article history:Medicinal plants are a potential source of affordable and effective drugs used in the treatment of many diseases. The plant Alysicarpus glumaceus has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many ailments including; thrush, sore, asthma, burn, and fever. The present study was designed to investigate the antimalarial activity of the methanol aerial extract of Alysicarpus glumaceus in Plasmodium berghei infected mice using suppressive, curative and prophylactic models. Phytochemical screening using standard procedures and acute toxicity studies via the oral route in mice were also conducted. Results from the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of glycosides, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, triterpenes, and alkaloids. The oral mean lethal dose (LD50) was estimated to be greater than 5,000 mg/kg in mice. The methanol aerial extract of Alysicarpus glumaceus at doses of 250, 500 and 1,000 mg/kg produced a significant (p<0.05) dose-dependentchemosuppression in the suppressive, curative and prophylactic tests respectively. There was a statistically significantly (p<0.05) prolongation of mean survival time in the extract treated mice in the curative study. The results of this investigation suggest that the methanol aerial extract of Alysicarpus glumaceus contains bioactive constituents with antimalarial activity.