BackgroundThe inhabitants of western Sudan use traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments due to lack of medical doctors and unaffordable prices of pharmaceutical products. The present study is the first documentation of the traditional plant knowledge on medicinal uses of plants by healers in Algoz (South Kordofan), Sudan.MethodEthnobotanical data were collected over a period from March to November 2015 using semi-structured interviews with 30 healers (24 male and 6 female) living in the investigated area. Quantitative indices such as use categories, use value (UV) and informant consensus factor (ICF) were intended to evaluate the importance of medicinal plant species.ResultsA total of 94 medicinal plants, which belong to 45 families and 81 genera, were recorded in the study area. The most represented families are Leguminosae with 20 species followed by Combretaceae (6 species), Rubiaceae (5 species) and Asteraceae (4 species). The reported species were belonging to herbs (43%), trees (28%), shrubs (22%), climbers (4%) and parasites (3%). Root and stem (21% each) were the most plant parts used. A majority of remedies are administered orally (67%) where infusion (36%) and maceration (32%) are the most used methods. The highest ICF (0.87) was reported for poisonous animal bites followed by urinary system diseases (0.89), blood system disorders (0.88) and gynaecological diseases (0.87). Anastatica hierochuntica, Ctenolepis cerasiformis, Echinops longifolius, Cleome gynandra, Maerua pseudopetalosa, Martynia annua, Oldenlandia uniflora, Opuntia ficus-indica, Solanum dubium, Sonchus cornutus, Tribulus terrestris and Drimia maritima were reported for the first time in this study.ConclusionThe number of medicinal plants reported in this paper reflects evidence that Algoz area had a high diversity of medicinal plants which will continue to play an important role in the healthcare system in the study area.

Background. Liver disorders are common in Sudan and elsewhere. These are traditionally treated by medicinal plants especially in rural areas where they are widely available. Methods. This review was based on scientific research in hepatoprotective plants performed in Sudan for the period between 2001 and 2016 AD. Data collection was done through scientific evidence of local and international published data, theses, and publications from some libraries in Sudanese universities. Internet was also used to collect published data in different international scientific journals. Results. In this study, 21 plants from different families were reviewed for the hepatoprotective activity in Sudan. These plants are widely used in traditional medicine for their availability and cheap prices. All of these plants have been scientifically investigated through experimental animal models which confirmed their hepatoprotective activities. This was evaluated by measuring several parameters including liver markers (AST, ALT, ALP, total protein, albumin, and bilirubin) and histopathological investigation. Nineteen (90.5%) of the herbal plants were found to possess significant hepatoprotective activity in animal models. Two (9.5%) of the plants were devoid of this activity. The action of these plants is largely attributed to their phytoconstituents such as flavonoids, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Conclusion. Sudanese herbs may offer novel alternatives to treat liver disorders. Yet determination of the active principle responsible for hepatoprotection needs to be investigated. Further studies on these plants are necessary to establish the efficacy, safety, and exact mechanism of action as a moral alternative in the treatment of liver disorders.

The present study aimed to investigate the physiochemical activities of Senna occidentalis (Linn) roots and phytochemicals as insecticidal (ethyl acetate and methanol) and antidiabetic (ethanolic extract) activities. Physicochemical properties were carried out by using Association of Official Analytical Chemist methods; thin layer chromatography was carried out according to the Stahl method. Larvicidal activity and LD50 were studied against the third instar of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae to detect and extract toxicity. The ethanolic extracts of the roots were orally tested at the dose 200 mg/kg for the hypoglycemic effect on induced hyperglycemia in normal rats, assessed in the ethanol extract, and were compared with diabetic control and standards glibenclamide 10 mg/kg. Physiochemical parameters showed high rate in the nitrogen-free extract (69.6%), curd fiber (14.5%), crude proteins (8.15%), ether extract (3.75%), and both ash and moisture (2%), and high concentrations values were found in potassium (43 mg/l) followed by phosphorous (28.5 mg/l), calcium (15 mg/l), sodium (3.65 mg/l), and magnesium (0.145 mg/l). In this part, phytochemical compounds showed high amount of alkaloids, triterpene, flavonoids, tannins, sugars, and few amount of anthraquinone glycosides. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) studies different colored phytochemical constituted with different Rf values. All the spots are colored under UV light, but some are localized colorless after spaying. The ethyl acetate (EtAc) extract showed eight spots, and the methanol (MeOH) extract showed thirteen spots. The larvicidal activity showed that the ethyl acetate extract was safe against mosquito larvae with an LD50 value 1412.54 (p<0.05), and the methanol extract had moderate larvicidal activity against mosquito larvae with an LD50 value 257.54 (p<0.05), while the ethanolic extract of Senna occidentalis (L.) causes a favorable hypoglycemic activity when compared to control significant reduction by [53.15%, 32.87%, and 20.94%], respectively, as well as standard glibenclamide. Based on the various data of the physicochemical parameters, TLC spots, and phytochemical compounds of Senna occidentalis root, they could be used as references standards for manufacturing units of Senna occidentalis root larvicidal and antidiabetic drugs.

The present study aimed to investigate the physiochemical activities of Senna occidentalis (Linn) roots, phytochemicals as insecticidal (ethyl acetate and methanol) and antidiabetic (ethanolic extract) activities. Physicochemical properties were carried out by using Association of Official Analytical Chemists methods, thin layer chromatography was carried out according to the Stahl method. Larvicidal activity and LD50 were studied against third instar of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae to detect, which extract is safe or toxic. The ethanolic extracts of the roots were orally tested at the dose 200 mg/kg for hypoglycemic effect on induced hyperglycemia in normal rats, assessed in the ethanol extract were compared with diabetic control and standards Glibenclamide 10mg/kg. Physiochemical parameters showed high parameters in nitrogen free extract (69.6%), curd fiber (14.5%), crude proteins (8.15%), ether extract (3.75%), and both Ash and moisture (2%), high concentrations values were found in potassium (43 mg/l) followed by phosphorous (28.5 mg/l), calcium (15 mg/l), sodium (3.65 mg/l) and magnesium. (0.145 mg/l) in this part beside phytochemical compounds showed high amount of alkaloids, triterpene, flavonoids, tannins, sugars, and few amount of Anthraquinone glycosides. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) studies different colored phytochemical constituted with different Rf values. All the spots are colored under UV light, but some are localized colorless after spaying. Ethyl acetate (EtAc) extract showed eight spots and methanol (MeOH) extract showed thirteen spots. The Larvicidal activity showed that ethyl acetate extract was safe against mosquito larvae with LD50 value 1412.54 (p<0.05) and methanol extract had moderate larvicidal activity against mosquito larvae with LD50 value 257.54 (p<0.05). While the ethanolic extract of Senna occidentalis (L.) cause a favorable hypoglycemic activity when compared to control significant reduction by [53.15%, 32.87% and 20.94%] respectively as while as standard Glibenclamide. Based on the various data of the physicochemical parameters, TLC spots and phytochemical compounds of Senna occidentalis root, they could be used as references standards for manufacturing units of Senna occidentalis root Larvicidal and antidiabetic drugs.

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