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The potential antileishmanial activity of some Sudanese medicinal plants
Author(s) -
Tahir Ahmed Ei,
Ibrahim Adil M.,
Satti Gwiria M. H.,
Theander Thor G.,
Kharazmi Arsalam,
Khalid Sami A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1573(199812)12:8<576::aid-ptr354>3.0.co;2-#
Subject(s) - traditional medicine , pharmacognosy , medicinal plants , biology , medicine , biological activity , in vitro , biochemistry
A preliminary examination of the crude methanol extracts of eight plant species collected from Sudan, revealed that only three plant species had a considerable in vitro antileishmanial activity on Leishmania major promastigotes at a concentration < 0.5 µg/mL. The plants Azadirchta indica, Maytenus senegalensis and Eucalyptus globulus gave IC 50 values of 11.5, 55 and 78 µg/mL, respectively. Extracts of Pseudocedrela kotscifye and Balanites aegyptiaca had a moderate biological activity, whereas extracts of Sonchous cornatus, Khaya senegalensis and Tamarindus indica failed to exhibit any significant antileishmanial activity against L. major at concentrations <100 µg/mL. Liquid–liquid partitioning of the methanol extracts indicated that fractions of M. senegalensis in dichloromethane and ethyl acetate had the highest antileishmanial activity at 5 µg/mL; IC 50 values were 5.01 and 29.7 µg/mL, respectively. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the dichloromethane fraction revealed terpenoids and traces of phenolic principles but no alkaloid, tannins or flavonoids were detected. As lymphocyte proliferation was inhibited by P. kotscifye and A. indica at higher concentrations (<50 µg/mL) in the presence of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), M. senegalensis had no significant toxic effect whereas S. cornatus, T. indica and K. senegalensis had a stimulatory impact on lymphocyte cells. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.