BackgroundEmbelia schimperi has been used for the treatment of intestinal parasites especially tapeworm infestations for centuries in Ethiopia. However, there is lack of scientific based evidences regarding the efficacy, safety and phytochemical analysis of this plant despite its frequent use as an anthelmintic. This study has therefore evaluated the efficacy and acute toxicity of E. schimperi thereby generating relevant preclinical information.MethodsThe anthelmintic activities of the crude hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi and the isolated compound, embelin, were conducted using in vivo and in vitro models against the dwarf tapeworm, Hymenolepis nana, and the hookworm, Necator americanus, respectively. LD50 of the crude hydroalcoholic extract was determined using Swiss albino mice following the OECD guidelines. Chemical characterization of the isolated embelin was conducted using UV-spectroscopy, HPLC and NMR.ResultsIn the acute toxicity study no prominent signs of toxicity and mortality were recorded among the experimental animals at the highest administered dose. Hence the LD50 of the plant was found to be higher than 5000 mg/kg. In vivo cestocidal activity of the crude hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi showed 100 % parasite clearance at 1000 mg/kg, while the diammonium salt of embelin showed 85.3 % parasite clearance at 750 mg/kg. The in vitro anthelminthic activity study revealed that the LC50 value of the crude extract and albendazole were 228.7 and 51.33 μg/mL, respectively.ConclusionThe results clearly indicated that the hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi and the diammonium salt of the isolated compound embelin had anthelmintic activity against hookworm larva in vitro and H. nana in vivo. Hence the findings of this study showed Embelia schimperi appears to possess some anthelmintic activity that may support the usage of these plants by local traditional healers to treat helminthic infestations.

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Background. In Ethiopian traditional medicine, the aerial part of Thymus schimperi is widely used to treat diseases such as gonorrhea, cough, liver disease, kidney disease, hypertension, stomach pain, and fungal skin infections. However, there is insufficient investigation on the toxic effect of the essential oil of T. schimperi. The aim of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the acute, subacute, and in silico toxicity of Thymus schimperi essential oil in the Wistar albino rats. Method. Essential oil of the aerial part of T. schimperi extracted by hydrodistillation was analyzed by GC-MS. The oil was subjected to toxicity studies. In the acute toxicity study, rats were randomly divided into seven groups (n = 5). The control group received only distilled water with 2% of tween 80, whereas the experimental groups received single doses of 300, 600, 900, 1200, 1500, and 2 000 mg/kg of the oil. In the subacute toxicity study, rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10). The control group received distilled water with 2% of tween 80, whereas the experimental groups received 65 mg/kg, 130 mg/kg, and 260 mg/kg of the oil orally for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for hematology and clinical chemistry evaluation. Gross pathology and histopathology of the liver and the kidneys were also evaluated. For the in silico toxicity study, PubChem CID numbers of GC-MS identified bioactive compounds in the essential oil of T. schimperi obtained from PubChem. Chemdraw (8.0) was used to construct two-dimensional structures of the compounds. The Swiss ADMET web tool was used to convert the two-dimensional structures into a simplified molecular-input line input system (SMILES). In addition, the toxicity parameters were predicted via vNN and ADMET servers. Results. In this study, the LD50 of the essential oil of T. schimperi was found to be 1284.2 mg/kg. According to the World Health Organization, the oil is classified as moderately hazardous in its oral administration. In the subacute toxicity study, rats showed no significant changes in behavioral indices, gross pathology, body weight, biochemical, and most hematological parameters. However, hematological profiles showed a significant decrement in WBC counts and a significant increment of MCV in high dose (260 mg/kg) groups as compared to the control group. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between the control and essential oil-treated groups, observed in the gross histopathology of the liver and the kidneys. In the in silico toxicity study, all compounds derived from the essential oil showed no cardiac toxicity (h-ERG Blocker), AMES (Ames Mutagenicity), and cytotoxicity via ADMET and vNN-ADMET toxicity predictors. However, by using these servers, about 8.6% of the compounds showed hepatotoxicity, only 3.45% caused drug-induced liver injury, and only 1.75% were potentially toxic to the mitochondrial membrane. Conclusion. From the results of this study, oral administration of the essential oil T. schimperi up to a dose of 130 mg/kg is not harmful. However, in the high-dose (260 mg/kg) group, the WBC count was significantly decreased and the MCV was significantly increased. In the in silico toxicity study, most of the components of the oil were found to be nontoxic, although a few of the compounds showed hepatotoxicity and mitochondrial membrane potential toxicity. It is, therefore, essential to conduct chronic toxicity of the essential oil as well as its components, which showed toxicity in the in silico study before using preparations containing the essential oil of T. schimperi.

Moringa stenopetala has nutritional and medicinal values, which is widely used by the local communities. The study aimed to evaluate the antihyperglycemic, vasodilator, and diuretic activities of the microencapsulated bioactive product from M. stenopetala leaves extract. Microencapsulation of the extract was done by spray drying technique using maltodextrin and pectin as coating materials with the core: coating ratio of 1 : 6. Then, the antihyperglycemic, diuretic, and vasodilator activities were evaluated after the product was administered to experimental animals at different doses and compared with the control groups. There were no observed physical, behavioral, and physiological changes on the mice during the acute toxicity test. The results also indicated no toxicity signs and death occurrence in the experimental animals up to 5000 mg/kg administered dose. Therefore, microencapsulated M. stenopetala leaves extract does not produce adverse effects in experimental mice. The study also showed that the microencapsulated bioactive product exhibited significant antihyperglycemic, vasodilator, and diuretic activities as the doses increase. Therefore, the study showed that microencapsulated bioactive product has significant medicinal values. Further detailed studies are recommended on chronic toxicity tests and to understand the possible mechanism of actions on the antihyperglycemic, vasodilator, and diuretic activities of the microencapsulated product.

Background: Malaria is among the ten top leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children under-5 years. Due to the rise of drug-resistant parasites and limited therapeutic efficacy of the available drugs, there is a need to search novel antimalarial drugs from medicinal plants commonly utilized as traditional medicines. Traditional medicines are often more available, affordable, sometimes are perceived as more effective than conventional antimalarial drugs, cultural acceptable and the relatively lower cost. Hence traditional medicine becomes the novel candidate for the search and development of drugs for the prevention and treatment of malaria.Objective: The present study aimed to review phytochemical constitute, safety and efficacy commonly used medicinal plants for malaria treatment in Ethiopia. Methods:A web-based literature search was done by using scientific databases including Pub Med, Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar, with inclusion criteria of full length experimental, ethno-botanical and ethno medicinal survey articles reporting on anti-malarial medicinal plants conducted in Ethiopia. Results: The most commonly utilized medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria were Conclusion and recommendation: Aqueous leaf extract of Strychnos mitis possessed a potent chemo suppression of 95.5 % at a dose of 600mg/kg/day. Further chemical isolation, dosage form development, clinical trial, and toxicological study is recommended. Citation: Abera T, Ashebir R, Basha H, et al. Phytochemical-constituents, safety and efficacy of commonly used medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria in Ethiopia-a review.