The recommended diet for human infants within the first 6 months of life is breast milk. No other natural or artificial formulation has been able to match up to this gold standard. Mothers who have attempted to pursue exclusive breastfeeding can, however, attest to numerous nutritional and non-nutritional challenges mainly resulting in insufficient milk production (hypogalactia) or the absence of milk production (agalactia). There are very few and officially recommended orthodox drugs to increase lactation. The most widely used galactagogues being chlorpromazine, sulpiride, metoclopramide and domperidone are associated with very high incidences of unpleasant side effects including their extra-pyramidal effects in both mother and infant. There is therefore a need to keep searching for more acceptable galactagogues. This section reviews current literature on medicinal plants used within the local Ghanaian community to enhance lactation. Various electronic databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, SciFinder and Google Scholar as well as published books on Ghanaian medicinal plants were searched. A total of 22 plants belonging to 13 families were reviewed with regards to their medicinal values, information on lactation and toxicity.

Objective: Six different mushroom species (Termitomyces, Ganoderma, Amauroderma, Mycena, Marasmus and an unknown) were studied to ascertain their phytochemical and antioxidant properties and determine their TLC analysis of methanolic extracts. Materials and Methods:The DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) model was employed to determine free radical scavenging activity of the methanolic extracts of the mushrooms, aluminum chloride calorimetric method for flavonoid, Thin layer chromatography (TLC) for retention factor and atomic absorption spectrophotometric (AAS) for macro and micronutrients. Results: Phytochemical analyses of the methanolic extract revealed the presence of antioxidants, phenols and flavonoids.The antioxidant values (IC 50 (µg/ml)) ranged from 1.56 x 10 -4 to 21.07 x10 -4 .Total phenol content ranged between 2.54 and 17.53 mg/g GAE with a mean of about 11.27 mg/g GAE. Total flavonoid content also ranged from 5.46 to 23.75 mg/g RUE with a mean of 13.41 mg/g RUE. Micronutrients such as cadmium, iron, lead, manganese and zinc were determined. Also macronutrients determined included, calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium. Sodium ranged the highest with values ranging 6966.67 mg/L to 9600.00 mg/L followed by iron ranging from 1613.67 to 3040.00 mg/L. Percentage crude protein ranged between 11.09 % and 28.24 %. Alkaloid was present in only Mycena sp and Ganoderma sp with a band each of R f value of 0.49. A total of 18 different bands were recorded for flavonoid with R f values that ranged between 0.20 and 0.97, respectively. Conclusion: The antioxidant potential of the methanolic extracts of the mushroom samples in this study recorded higher values. This indicates that mushrooms have high antioxidant properties and rationalizes further investigation in the potential discovery of new natural bioactive principles from these mushrooms.

Surenolacton (I), das erste in Meliaceen gefundene Tetrunortnterpenoid mit A/B‐Dilacton‐Struktur, wurde aus den Blättern von Toona sureni isoliert.

Diseases that affect the digestive tract are referred to as Gastrointestinal ailments. Gastrointestinal (GI) ailments contribute substantially to healthcare costs all over the world. <em>Ocimum gratissimum</em>, commonly known as African basil is a wellknown medicinal herb with a wide therapeutic potential. In most West African homes, it is employed as a home remedy for treating GI ailments such as diarrhoea, colitis, stomach ulcers, bloating, among several other conditions. Anecdotal reports support its efficacy in the treatment of these disease conditions. This review summarizes ethnomedicinal data for the use of <em>O. gratissimum</em> in the management of gastrointestinal ailments, and its potential clinical application based on its pharmacological activity.