Toxicology of medicinal plants and combinations used in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) for the treatment of hypertension

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by behavioral and neurodevelopmental problems. It is estimated that 3 - 7% of children and adolescents suffer from this problem. Apart from synthetic drugs, other effective types of medication like herbal medicines are of great importance. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of methylphenidate (MPH) and its combination with Crocus sativus (saffron) in the treatment of children suffering from ADHD. Methods: The sample included 70 children aged between 6 and 16 years who had been diagnosed with ADHD. The patients were randomly assigned into two equal groups (n = 35 in each group). While both groups received 20 or 30 mg/d of MPH (20 and 30 mg/d for < 30 and > 30, respectively), one of them also received 20 or 30 mg/d of saffron in a capsule based on BMI (20 and 30 mg/d for < 30 and > 30, respectively). To collect data, parents and teachers completed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-IV (ADHD-RS-IV). Also, for analyzing the data, the repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) was used. Results: The results of general linear model (GLM) repeated measures indicated that in both groups, the patients had less symptoms after eight weeks of treatment. However, after four weeks, the average score assigned by the parents and teachers in the MPH with saffron group was lower than the average total score in the MPH group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Using MPH combined with saffron proved to be more effective in the treatment of patients suffering from ADHD compared to separate treatments. It seems that the duration of therapy can be reduced and the effectiveness be improved by prescribing proposed combined treatment.

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“…been widely used worldwide (7). Accordingly, around 80% of people in different parts of the world accept these remedies as effective drugs (8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Methylphenidate (MPH) and Combined Methylphenidate with Crocus sativus (Saffron) in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with ADHD: A Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel-Group, Clinical Trial

Khaksarian

Ahangari

Masjedi-Arani

et al. 2021

Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci

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“…Feng and Li (2002) developed capillary electrophoresis for the determination of Aconitum alkaloid in herbal medicines. Ramulondi, de Wet, and van Vuuren (2019) reported toxicity of aqueous extracts of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don. (Apocynaceae) (roots), Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck (Rutaceae) (peel), and Ozoroa engleri R. Fern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant species used in Brazil and Asia regions with toxic properties

Marmitt

Shahrajabian

2021

Phytotherapy Research

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Many efforts are being made to find biomolecules extracted from plants to be useful therapeutic agents to replace the drugs traditionally used in clinical medicine with known side effects and high financial investment, thus offering greater safety and less risk to the population. However, the presence of toxic substances such as alkaloids, amino acids, amides, glycosides, saponins, and tannins are the main reasons for the poisonous activity of some medicinal plants. In this sense, understanding plants constituents and lethal doses can be important source in managing several diseases in human life. This review aimed to present extracts, fractions, and/or compounds of plants of Brazil and Asia regions that have reported toxicity to in vitro and in vivo models. The results presented here contribute to warning the population about the toxicological characterization of some plants, however, further high‐quality studies are needed to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of the plants (or compounds).

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“…In addition, the plant extracts studied were inactive against Candida albicans (MIC>16 mg/mL), implying a lack of antifungal efficacy compared with amphotericin B (the reference standard), whose MIC was 2.5 μg/mL ( Naidoo et al, 2013 ). Furthermore, an Ames test indicated that the methanol: dichloromethane (1:1) extract of S. sanguinea is mutagenic, while the aqueous extract is not mutagenic to the TA98 and TA100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium (1,000 and 200 colonies, respectively) when compared with the standard agent (sodium azide) tested on 500 colonies ( Ramulondi, 2017 ).…”

Section: Pharmacological Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of the genus Sarcophyte: a review

Jared Misonge,

Gervason Apiri,

James Onsinyo

et al. 2024

Front. Pharmacol.

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Although medicinal plants have been used by ethnic communities since ancient times to prevent and treat various diseases, only a few have been scientifically documented. Therefore, due to their rare availability and lack of comprehensive scientific information, we reviewed the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of plants within the genus Sarcophyte. To do this, we used specific search terms and phrases to retrieve relevant information from online sources published in English from 2000 to July 2023. The results showed that there are only two plants in the genus Sarcophyte (Sarcophyte sanguinea Sparrm. and Sarcophyte piriei Hutch.), which are traditionally used to treat a wide range of diseases, especially cancer, and skin, gastrointestinal, and urinogenital tract ailments in humans, and to cure animals in ethnoveterinary practices. It was noted that 13 secondary metabolites have been isolated from the two plants, the most prominent of which are flavonoids (diinsininol, diinsinin, and naringenin). The antioxidant activity of S. piriei is reported based on the scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (IC50: 4.26 ± 0.22 μg/mL) and 2 -2′-Azino-di-[3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonate (ABTS) radicals (IC50: 4.62 ± 0.14 μg/mL), chelating iron (IC50: 1.82 ± 0.01 μg/mL, 3.50 ± 0.09 μg/mL), and nitric oxide (IC50: 9.97 ± 0.88 μg/mL, 9.09 ± 0.11 μg/mL). The methanolic stem extracts of S. piriei possess antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio fluvialis, and Enterococcus avium, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 0.16 to 0.625 mg/mL, and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 1.25 to 5 mg/mL. Cytotoxic effects of the extracts from the two plant species were also demonstrated. Sarcophyte piriei possesses therapeutic potential as evidenced by the inhibitory effects of the aqueous rhizome extract on edema (1,000 mg/kg) and prostaglandin synthesis (IC50 = 0.2 mg/mL). In addition, diinsininol and diinsinin were isolated from S. sanguinea inhibited prostaglandin synthesis (IC50: 9.20 µM, 13.14 µM) and platelet-activating factor-induced exocytosis. Therefore, based on this review, further scientific research is needed to demystify the links between traditional medicinal uses, various secondary metabolites, and the pharmacology of the two plants.

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Toxicology of medicinal plants and combinations used in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) for the treatment of hypertension

Cited by 14 publications

References 64 publications

A Comparison of Methylphenidate (MPH) and Combined Methylphenidate with Crocus sativus (Saffron) in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with ADHD: A Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel-Group, Clinical Trial

A Comparison of Methylphenidate (MPH) and Combined Methylphenidate with Crocus sativus (Saffron) in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with ADHD: A Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel-Group, Clinical Trial

Plant species used in Brazil and Asia regions with toxic properties

Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of the genus Sarcophyte: a review

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