Warburga ugandenss Sprague (Canellaceae), is widely used by Traditional Health Practitioners in Eastern and Southern Africa for treatment of diseases and conditions associated with HIV/AIDS infections. The most commonly prescribed parts of the plant are usually barks and roots. The aim of this study was to investigate whether leaves of this plant have biological activities comparable to those of barks and roots. Fresh leaves of W. ugandenss were freeze-dried to complete dryness while another portion of the leaves from the same collection were air-dried under shade. Ethanolic extracts from the two differently dried leaves were tested for antimicrobial activity and for brine shrimp toxicity test. Ethanolic extract from the freeze-dried leaves exhibited both antibacterial activity against standard strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Eschercha col, Vbro cholerae, Bacllus cereus and antifungal activity against Candda albcans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The extract from the air-dried leaves showed similar antibacterial activity against the mentioned organisms but had no antifungal activity. However, both extracts exhibited comparable cytotoxic activity (95% CI), against brine shrimp larvae with reference to cyclophosphamide, a standard anticancer drug. Fresh leaves of W. ugandenss have shown to exhibit anticandida activity, a factor which substantiates their application as a traditional herbal remedy to complement treatment of fungal infections in HIV/AIDS patients. Further studies to establish constituents responsible for the exhibited antifungal activity are highly desirable.

Abstract:The fruits of Lagenara scerara Standl. (Cucurbitaceae) are widely used for medicinal and nutritional purposes in Africa. The health promoting ability of the fruits might be related to antioxidant properties of its constituents. In this study the antioxidant effect of fresh and dried fruits of L. scerara was evaluated by comparing the 2,2-diphenyl-1,1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and reducing capacity of ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts of fresh and dried fruits. The comparison was further emphasized by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of the extracts so as to relate activities with their chemical profiles. Results indicated that ethyl acetate (EA) extract of the fresh fruits exhibited higher DPPH radical scavenging activity than other samples. At 0.01 mg/ml the order of activity was: EA dried fruits (50.6%) < Bt (n-butanol) fresh fruits (53.3%) < Bt (n-butanol) dried fruits (64.8%) < EA fresh fruits (68.6%) < Gallic acid (81.8%). A slight change of activity was observed at 0.1 mg/ml, where the order was; EA dried fruits (70%) < Bt dried fruits (71.8%) ≤ Bt fresh fruits (72%) < EA fresh fruits (81.6%) < Gallic acid (88.5%). In the reducing capacity assay, Bt fresh fruits extract exhibited higher reducing power than all test samples. The HPTLC chemical profiles of both fresh and dried fruit extracts showed some slight differences. The slight differences in antioxidant activities were justified by the HPTLC chemical profiles of the fruits. Therefore, taking fresh or dried fruits of L. scerara may relatively give similar antioxidant effects. Since the fruits of this plant matures in bulky, then drying, milling and packing the products under hygiene environment can ensure a constant supply of antioxidant supplement. _______________________________________________________________________________________