Uterine contractility of plants used to facilitate childbirth in Nigerian ethnomedicine

Attah, Alfred F.; O’Brien, Margaret; Koehbach, Johannes; Sonibare, Mubo A.; Moody, J. O.; Smith, Terry J.; Gruber, Christian W.

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.06.042

Cited by 71 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…It shows that Vernonia plays significant role in herbal medicine. Vernonia amygadlinawhich is an indigenous leafy vegetable in Nigeria has been part of herbal recipes for the treatment of various ailments [74][75][76][77]. The other genera mentioned in the survey had only one species each.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethno-medicines for Mosquito Transmitted Diseases from South-western Nigeria

Sonibare¹,

Okorie²,

Aremu³

et al. 2015

JNR

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Ipomoea reniformis Chaos is claimed in Indian traditional medical practice to be useful in the treatment of epilepsy and neurological disorders. In the present study, pretreatment effect of methanolic extract of Ipomoea reniformis on epilepsy and psychosis was evaluated in rodents using standard procedures. Besides evaluating epileptic and behavioral parameters, neurotransmitters such as Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) in epilepsy and in psychosis dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin contents in the rodent brain were estimated. The extract pretreatment reduced maximal electro shock; Isoniazid (INH) and Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced seizures and also significantly inhibited the attenuation of brain GABA levels by INH and PTZ in mice. These results suggested that the observed beneficial effect in epilepsy may be by enhancing the GABAergic system. The test drug also inhibited the apomorphine induced climbing and stereotyped behavior and showed significantly reduced levels of brain dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin which may be due to blocking of central dopaminergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic pathways or by enhancing the GABAergic system. The results obtained in present study suggest that the title plant possesses antiepileptic and antipsychotic activities in rodents.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethno-medicines for Mosquito Transmitted Diseases from South-western Nigeria

Sonibare¹,

Okorie²,

Aremu³

et al. 2015

JNR

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“…Human uterine myometrial smooth muscle cells (hTERT-HM) were cultured, and collagen gels were prepared as described previously (42). Gel images were taken using a Fluorchem 8900 imager (Alpha Innotech Corporation), and the gel area was measured using AlphaEaseFC software (Alpha Innotech Corporation).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocic plant cyclotides as templates for peptide G protein-coupled receptor ligand design

Koehbach

O’Brien

Muttenthaler

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Cyclotides are plant peptides comprising a circular backbone and three conserved disulfide bonds that confer them with exceptional stability. They were originally discovered in Oldenlandia affinis based on their use in traditional African medicine to accelerate labor. Recently, cyclotides have been identified in numerous plant species of the coffee, violet, cucurbit, pea, potato, and grass families. Their unique structural topology, high stability, and tolerance to sequence variation make them promising templates for the development of peptide-based pharmaceuticals. However, the mechanisms underlying their biological activities remain largely unknown; specifically, a receptor for a native cyclotide has not been reported hitherto. Using bioactivity-guided fractionation of an herbal peptide extract known to indigenous healers as "kalatakalata," the cyclotide kalata B7 was found to induce strong contractility on human uterine smooth muscle cells. Radioligand displacement and second messenger-based reporter assays confirmed the oxytocin and vasopressin V 1a receptors, members of the G proteincoupled receptor family, as molecular targets for this cyclotide. Furthermore, we show that cyclotides can serve as templates for the design of selective G protein-coupled receptor ligands by generating an oxytocin-like peptide with nanomolar affinity. This nonapeptide elicited dose-dependent contractions on human myometrium. These observations provide a proof of concept for the development of cyclotide-based peptide ligands.yclotides are head-to-tail cyclized plant peptides containing three conserved disulfide bonds in a knotted arrangement known as a cyclic cystine-knot motif (1). This confers them high stability (2) and presumably improves their oral bioactivity relative to their linear counterparts (3). They were first discovered in a decoction of Oldenlandia affinis DC. (Rubiaceae) leaves, an herbal remedy used in traditional African medicine during childbirth (4). The observed induction of labor and shortened delivery time were later studied on isolated rat and rabbit uteri and on human uterine strips (4, 5). The peptides responsible for the contractility effects (5) raised interest because they survived boiling, presumably as a result of their unique 3D structure, which was elucidated in 1995 (6). Since then, several plant species of the coffee (Rubiaceae) (7), violet (Violaceae) (8), legume (Fabaceae) (9), potato (Solanaceae) (10) and grass (Poaceae) families (11) have been identified to produce cyclotides. Currently, ∼300 sequences have been reported (12), and the predicted number of >50,000 cyclotides in Rubiaceae alone (7) suggests them to be one of the largest peptide classes within the plant kingdom. Their high intercysteine sequence variability and structural plasticity (13), together with intrinsic bioactivities, make them interesting templates for the development of novel pharmaceuticals (14).However, five decades after the discovery of cyclotides, there still is not any information about specific molecular targe...

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“…For example, [24] characterized seven plants to have contractile properties on uterine myometrial cells. Other diseases/sicknesses such as: Malaria, Fever, Anaemia, Stomach Ache, Skin Infection, Diabetes, Loss of Memory, and Prostate Cancer have been confirmed to be treated with the use of plants.…”

Section: Role Of Ethno-botanists In Health Care Deliverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa: The Role of an Ethno-botanist (Part 1)

Omolayo¹

2013

IOSR-JHSS

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Uterine contractility of plants used to facilitate childbirth in Nigerian ethnomedicine

Cited by 71 publications

References 14 publications

Ethno-medicines for Mosquito Transmitted Diseases from South-western Nigeria

Ethno-medicines for Mosquito Transmitted Diseases from South-western Nigeria

Oxytocic plant cyclotides as templates for peptide G protein-coupled receptor ligand design

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa: The Role of an Ethno-botanist (Part 1)

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