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Medicinal Plant Preparations Administered by Botswana Traditional Health Practitioners for Treatment of Worm Infections Show Anthelmintic Activities.

ABSTRACT: Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths are some of the priority neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization (WHO). They are prevalent in Botswana and although Botswana has begun mass drug administration with the hope of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths as a public health problem, the prevalence of schistosomiasis does not meet the threshold required to warrant large-scale interventions. Although Botswana has a modern healthcare system, many people in Botswana rely on traditional medicine to treat worm infections and schistosomiasis. In this study, ten plant species used by traditional health practitioners against worm infections were collected and tested against Ancylostoma ceylanicum (zoonotic hookworm), Heligmosomoides polygyrus (roundworm of rodents), Necator americanus (New World hookworm), Schistosoma mansoni (blood fluke) [adult and newly transformed schistosomula (NTS)], Strongyloides ratti (threadworm) and Trichuris muris (nematode parasite of mice) in vitro. Extracts of two plants, Laphangium luteoalbum and Commiphora pyaracanthoides, displayed promising anthelmintic activity against NTS and adult S. mansoni, respectively. L. luteoalbum displayed 85.4% activity at 1 μg/mL against NTS, while C. pyracanthoides displayed 78.5% activity against adult S. mansoni at 10 μg/mL.

SUBMITTER: Dube M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9658373 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Medicinal Plant Preparations Administered by Botswana Traditional Health Practitioners for Treatment of Worm Infections Show Anthelmintic Activities.

Dube Mthandazo M Raphane Boingotlo B Sethebe Bongani B Seputhe Nkaelang N Tiroyakgosi Tsholofelo T Imming Peter P Häberli Cécile C Keiser Jennifer J Arnold Norbert N Andrae-Marobela Kerstin K

Plants (Basel, Switzerland) 20221101 21

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths are some of the priority neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization (WHO). They are prevalent in Botswana and although Botswana has begun mass drug administration with the hope of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths as a public health problem, the prevalence of schistosomiasis does not meet the threshold required to warrant large-scale interventions. Although Botswana has a modern healthcare syste ...[more]

PMID: 36365400

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Project description:BackgroundInfections by microbes (viruses, bacteria, and fungi) and parasites can cause serious diseases in both humans and animals. Heavy use of antimicrobials has created selective pressure and caused resistance to currently available antibiotics, hence the need for finding new and better antibiotics. Natural products, especially from plants, are known for their medicinal properties, including antimicrobial and anthelmintic activities. Geoclimatic variation, together with diversity in ethnomedicinal traditions, has made the Himalayas of Nepal an invaluable repository of traditional medicinal plants. We studied antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anthelmintic activities of medicinal plants, selected based upon ethnobotanical evidence.MethodsEthanolic and methanolic extracts were tested (1) on a panel of microbes: two Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua), four Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, and Shigella sonnei), and one fungal species: Candida albicans; (2) against three different viruses: yellow fever, chikungunya, and enterovirus; and (3) on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Also, cytotoxicity was assessed on human hepatoma (Huh), rhabdosarcoma (RD), and Vero (VC) cell lines.ResultsOf 18 plants studied, Ampelocissus tomentosa and Aleuritopteris anceps inhibited S. aureus (MIC 35 μg/mL and 649 μg/mL, respectively) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC 15 μg/mL and 38 μg/mL, respectively). Rhododendron arboreum and Adhatoda vasica inhibited S. enterica (MIC 285 μg/mL and 326 μg/mL, respectively). Kalanchoe pinnata, Ampelocissus tomentosa, and Paris polyphylla were active against chikungunya virus, and Clerodendrum serratum was active against yellow fever virus (EC50 15.9 μg/mL); Terminalia chebula was active against enterovirus (EC50 10.6 μg/mL). Ampelocissus tomentosa, Boenninghausenia albiflora, Dichrocephala integrifolia, and Kalanchoe pinnata significantly reduced C. elegans motility, comparable to levamisole.ConclusionsIn countries like Nepal, with a high burden of infectious and parasitic diseases, and a current health system unable to combat the burden of diseases, evaluation of local plants as a treatment or potential source of drugs can help expand treatment options. Screening plants against a broad range of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) will support bioprospecting in Nepal, which may eventually lead to new drug development.

Project description:Ethnopharmacological relevanceParkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the presence in surviving neurons of Lewy body inclusions enriched with aggregated forms of the presynaptic protein α-synuclein (aSyn). Although current therapies provide temporary symptomatic relief, they do not slow the underlying neurodegeneration in the midbrain. In this study, we analyzed contemporary herbal medicinal practices used by members of the Lumbee tribe to treat PD-related symptoms, in an effort to identify safe and effective herbal medicines to treat PD.Aim of the studyThe aims of this study were to (i) document medicinal plants used by Lumbee Indians to treat PD and PD-related symptoms, and (ii) characterize a subset of plant candidates in terms of their ability to alleviate neurotoxicity elicited by PD-related insults and their potential mechanisms of neuroprotection.Materials and methodsInterviews of Lumbee healers and local people were carried out in Pembroke, North Carolina, and in surrounding towns. Plant samples were collected and prepared as water extracts for subsequent analysis. Extracts were characterized in terms of their ability to induce activation of the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) antioxidant response in cortical astrocytes. An extract prepared from Sambucus caerulea flowers (elderflower extract) was further examined for the ability to induce Nrf2-mediated transcription in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived astrocytes and primary midbrain cultures, to ameliorate mitochondrial dysfunction, and to alleviate rotenone- or aSyn-mediated neurotoxicity.ResultsThe ethnopharmacological interviews resulted in the documentation of 32 medicinal plants used to treat PD-related symptoms and 40 plants used to treat other disorders. A polyphenol-rich extract prepared from elderflower activated the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant response in cortical astrocytes, iPSC-derived astrocytes, and primary midbrain cultures, apparently via the inhibition of Nrf2 degradation mediated by the ubiquitin proteasome system. Furthermore, the elderflower extract rescued mitochondrial functional deficits in a neuronal cell line and alleviated neurotoxicity elicited by rotenone and aSyn in primary midbrain cultures.ConclusionsThese results highlight potential therapeutic benefits of botanical extracts used in traditional Lumbee medicine, and they provide insight into mechanisms by which an elderflower extract could suppress neurotoxicity elicited by environmental and genetic PD-related insults.

Project description:Ethnopharmacological relevanceParkinson's disease (PD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder affecting 5% of the population over the age of 85 years. Current treatments primarily involve dopamine replacement therapy, which leads to temporary relief of motor symptoms but fails to slow the underlying neurodegeneration. Thus, there is a need for safe PD therapies with neuroprotective activity. In this study, we analyzed contemporary herbal medicinal practices used by members of the Pikuni-Blackfeet tribe from Western Montana to treat PD-related symptoms, in an effort to identify medicinal plants that are affordable to traditional communities and accessible to larger populations.Aim of the studyThe aims of this study were to (i) identify medicinal plants used by the Pikuni-Blackfeet tribe to treat individuals with symptoms related to PD or other CNS disorders, and (ii) characterize a subset of the identified plants in terms of antioxidant and neuroprotective activities in cellular models of PD.Materials and methodsInterviews of healers and local people were carried out on the Blackfeet Indian reservation. Plant samples were collected, and water extracts were produced for subsequent analysis. A subset of botanical extracts was tested for the ability to induce activation of the Nrf2-mediated transcriptional response and to protect against neurotoxicity elicited by the PD-related toxins rotenone and paraquat.ResultsThe ethnopharmacological interviews resulted in the documentation of 26 medicinal plants used to treat various ailments and diseases, including symptoms related to PD. Seven botanical extracts (out of a total of 10 extracts tested) showed activation of Nrf2-mediated transcriptional activity in primary cortical astrocytes. Extracts prepared from Allium sativum cloves, Trifolium pratense flowers, and Amelanchier arborea berries exhibited neuroprotective activity against toxicity elicited by rotenone, whereas only the extracts prepared from Allium sativum and Amelanchier arborea alleviated PQ-induced dopaminergic cell death.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the potential clinical utility of plants used for medicinal purposes over generations by the Pikuni-Blackfeet people, and they shed light on mechanisms by which the plant extracts could slow neurodegeneration in PD.

Dataset Information

Medicinal Plant Preparations Administered by Botswana Traditional Health Practitioners for Treatment of Worm Infections Show Anthelmintic Activities.

Publications

Medicinal Plant Preparations Administered by Botswana Traditional Health Practitioners for Treatment of Worm Infections Show Anthelmintic Activities.

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