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The leaf of Solanum anomalum used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of various ailments such as diabetes was evaluated for antioxidative stress and hepatoprotective potentials against hepatic injuries in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Antioxidative stress and hepatoprotective activities of leaf extract and fractions (70-210 mg/kg) were assessed by determining oxidative stress markers levels, liver function indices and histopathological study of livers of treated rats. The leaf extract and fractions caused significant (p<0.05 – 0.001) increases in the levels of oxidative stress markers (SOD, CAT, GPx, GSH) in the livers of the treated diabetic rats. The extract/fractions treatment caused reduction in liver enzymes (ALT, AST and ALP), total and direct bilirubin. Histology of the livers revealed absence or significant reductions in pathological features in the treated diabetic rats compared to untreated diabetic rats.  The results show that the leaf extract and fractions of S. anomalum has antioxidative stress and hepatoprotective potentials which may be due to the antioxidant activities of their phytochemical constituents.

Mammea africana Sabine (Guttiferae), a medicinal plant used traditionally in the treatment of diseases including diabetes was evaluated for effect on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes in vivo. The stembark extract (30, 60 and 90 mg/kg) of M. africana were investigated in vivo for inhibitory effect on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes using starch, sucrose and maltose as substrates. Acarbose was used as reference drug. The stembark extract caused significant (p<0.05) reduction in blood glucose levels of treated rats with the various substrates used. The results suggest that the stembark extract of M. africana have the potentials to inhibit alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase in rats.

Malaria parasites resistance to currently used antimalarial drugs is a clinical challenge, which adds to socio-economic burden. A quick and cost-effective solution is to discover new treatment alternatives through drug repurposing. Tamoxifen (TMX) is an anticancer drug with some discrepancies in documented antimalarial activity. The current study assessed the in-vivo antiplasmodial activity of TMX on Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. Adult Swiss albino mice (both sexes) inoculated with Plasmodium berghei (1x10 7 ) intraperitoneally were used for curative and suppressive antiplasmodial studies. The inoculated mice were treated orally with TMX (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg/day) while the parasitized and standard controls were treated with normal saline (0.2mL/day) and chloroquine (CQ) (10mg/kg/day) for 4 days, respectively. Blood samples were collected and evaluated for parasitamia and haematological indices. The effects of TMX on body weight and rectal temperature were not significantly (p>0.05) different from the parasitized control. TMX did not produce significant (p>0.05) curative and suppressive antiplasmodial effects when compared to the parasitized control. Curatively, TMX at 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg produced 8.00 %, 14.39 % and 20.16 % parasitamia inhibitions, respectively compared to 79.21% parasitamia inhibition produced by CQ. In the suppressive study, 10.06 %, 17.44 % and 21.02 % parasitamia inhibitions were produced by TMX; 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg, respectively while CQ produced 82.10 % parasitamia inhibition. TMX had no significant (p>0.05) effects on red blood cells, white blood cells, packed cell volume and haemoglobin levels when compared to the parasitized control. This study showed that TMX lacks suppressive and curative antiplasmodial activities on Plasmodium berghei-infected mice.

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