Diarrhea is a global epidemic. Majority of the populace in developing Countries including Nigeria depend on Napoleona imperialis as a safer, more effective and affordable alternatives for treatment of diarrhea. This study evaluated the antidiarrheal potential of ethanol (leaf) extract and fractions of N. imperialis in Swiss albino mice. Acute toxicity test was performed to determine safe dose range before in vivo experiments. Castor-oil induced diarrhea and charcoal meal gastrointestinal motility test models were used. Antimicrobial activity on bacteriaimplicated diarrhea, and HPLC analysis of the aqueous fraction (AF) were also evaluated. The result of the acute toxicity tests show that no death occurred at the test doses. Preliminary antimicrobial screening shows that the inhibitory zone diameter (IZD) of the extract has a weak antibacterial activity against sample organisms. The presence of procyanidin, 9-alpha-OH-pinoresinol, isoprunetin and ellagic acid derivatives in the aqueous fraction were highlighted by the HPLC analysis. The AF produced more significant (P<0.05) decrease in diarrhea than the other groups. This study shows that N. imperialis possesses antidiarrheal activity and hence justifies its folkloric use in the treatment of diarrhea.

Chemical investigation of the ethanol extract of the leaves of Newbouldia laevis (P. Beauv) led to the isolation of two new caffeic acid glycosides, Newboulasides A (1) and B (2). The structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D-, 2D-NMR and MS data. The extracts and fractions and the isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibition of α-amylase enzyme activity. The extract showed inhibition of α-amylase activity with IC50 value of 102.91 µg/mL, while the isolated compounds (1 and 2) exhibited pronounced inhibition with IC50 values of 4.95 and 4.44 µg/mL respectively, comparable to the standard -Acarbose with IC50 value of 4.05 µg/mL. Our findings demonstrated that inhibition of α-amylase activity may be part of the mechanisms through which N. leavis exhibits antidiabetic effect.

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Background This study investigated the antitrypanosomal activity of Argemone mexicana extract and fractions in the animal model of Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection. Methods The whole plant was cold-macerated with methanol. The liquid–liquid partitioning of the extract with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water produced various fractions of the extract. Infection was established by the inoculation of T. brucei brucei-infected red blood cells in the animals. Treatment with the extract and fractions was done orally for 5 days postinfection at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses. Diminazene aceturate 3.5 mg/kg and 5 mL/kg 10% Tween 80 served as standard and vehicle control, respectively. Parasite load, packed cell volume (PCV), animal body weight, and survival as well as serum liver function enzymes’ activities were also assessed. Results The extract and the n-hexane fraction showed the presence of all the tested phytocompounds except tannins and cardiac glycosides, respectively. The extract showed a reduction in parasitemia while the order of activity for the fractions was n-hexane ≫ water ≫ butanol ≫ ethyl acetate. The n-hexane fraction produced complete protection against parasite-induced mortality just like the reference standard and a higher increase in PCV compared with the reference standard. The extract, n-hexane, and water fractions showed protection against infection-induced liver damage with a significant (P < 0.05) difference when compared to the vehicle control group. Conclusion A. mexicana showed antitrypanosomal activity which may be attributed to the presence of phytocompounds particularly saponins, which were present in the extract and fractions that showed antitrypanosomal activity but absent in fractions that showed no or weak antitrypanosomal activity.