This study was conducted to comparatively assess the anthelminthic activity of leaves, stem bark, and seeds of Carica papaya, in order to identify which of the plant parts possess the highest anthelminthic activity. Three concentrations of ethanolic and hydroethanolic extracts of the plant parts (1 mg/ml, 2.5 mg/ml, and 5 mg/ml) were prepared and tested against Pheretima posthuma using albendazole as the positive control and 0.9% normal saline solution as the negative control. Preliminary phytochemical investigation showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, and reducing sugars of glycosides present in all the crude extracts of Carica papaya. Tannins were observed only in extracts of the leaves, while fixed oils were only present in the extracts of the seeds. The results of the anthelminthic activity testing indicated that all crude extracts prepared were more effective than albendazole in reducing paralysis time (p<0.0001) and death time (p<0.0001). It was further shown that the extracts from the seeds (SE and SHE) were more effective than the extracts from the stem bark and leaves both in reducing paralysis and death times. Fractionation of SE provided a fraction, SEB, which was more effective than SE both in reducing paralysis and death times (p<0.0001) and was established to contain fixed oils. The outcome of the current study has provided a scientific justification for the preference of the seeds of Carica papaya for the treatment of helminth infections and has shown that the fixed oils present in the seeds could be responsible for such activity.

Garcinia cola also known as "bitter cola" (Guttiferae) is a plant with a wide usage of its parts for various medicinal purposes. The seeds are chewed as aphrodisiac and for the treatment of coughs, dysentery and liver inflammation. Morinda lucida (Rubiaceae) commonly called "great morinda" has been shown to have antimalarial and anti-pyretic activities. This study aimed at evaluating the anti-infective and antioxidant properties of G. cola and M. lucida and to justify their folkloric uses. Ethanol extracts of the stem barks of G. cola (GCB) and M. lucida (MLB) were evaluated for their antimicrobial, anthelmintic and antioxidant activities. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) using the micro broth dilution method against strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicans. Anthelmintic activity was evaluated by determining the effects of the extracts on the paralytic and death times of Pheretima posthuma at concentrations of 50, 20 and 10 mg/mL using piperazine citrate (PZN) (15 mg/mL) and albendazole (ABZ) (20 mg/mL) as references. Antioxidant activity was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity using ascorbic acid (ASA) as reference standard. The results reveal that the extracts from both plants demonstrated antimicrobial activity with MIC values ranging from 50 to 80 mg/mL and 10 to 30 mg/mL for GCB and MLB, respectively. Both extracts also demonstrated a concentration dependent anthelmintic activity with decrease in paralytic and death times upon an increase in extract concentrations. GCB and MLB extract showed antioxidant activities with IC 50 values, 6.830 and 342.1 µg/mL, respectively. Phytochemical screening of both extracts revealed the presence of tannins, glycosides, alkaloids and flavonoids. These findings may justify the folkloric uses of these plants.

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An accurate and rapid reverse HPLC method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of lamivudine, nevirapine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. Suitable separation was achieved on Phenomenex Synergi C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 4 μm) using mobile phase, methanol (50%): ammonium acetate buffer (adjusted to pH 2.80) (40%): acetonitrile (10%) in an isocratic mode. The drugs were detected at 270 nm with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, and the retention times were found to be 3.26, 5.42, and 7.55 minutes for lamivudine, nevirapine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, respectively. The developed method was validated per ICH guidelines. Good linearity was obtained within the concentration ranges of 10–59 µg/ml, 7–42 µg/ml, and 15–90 µg/ml with a correlation coefficient of not less than 0.990. The % RSD values for precision (intraday and interday) and accuracy studies were found to be less than 2%. The results obtained from quantitative analysis conform to USP content requirements for marketed tablet dosage forms, RICOVIR-LN, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/lamivudine tablets. The method is therefore useful for routine quality control of antiretroviral tablet dosage forms containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, and nevirapine.