In vitro effects of Warburgia ugandensis, Psiadia punctulata and Chasmanthera dependens on Leishmania major promastigotes.

Plant extracts from Warburgia ugandensis Sprague (Family: Canellaceae), Psiadia punctulata Vatke (Family: Compositae) and Chasmanthera dependens Hoschst (Family: Menispermaceae) were tested for activity on Leishmania major promastigotes (Strain IDU/KE/83 = NLB-144) and infected macrophages in vitro. Plants were collected from Baringo district, dried, extracted, weighed and tested for antileishmanial activity. Serial dilutions of the crude extracts were assayed for their activity against Leishmania major in cell free cultures and in infected macrophages in vitro.

Tigliane diterpenoids from the stem bark of Neoboutonia macrocalyx.

Neoboutonia macrocalyx is a plant used by traditional healers among the Meru community in Kenya. Chromatographic fractionation of the petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts of this plant yielded one known (1) and three new tigliane-type diterpenoids (2-4). The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were established through spectroscopic data interpretation.

Evaluation of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory properties of extracts from some medicinal plants in Kenya.

Extracts from twenty two medicinal plants popularly used in preparing traditional remedies in Kenya were screened for activity against the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. The screening procedure involved the use of tritium labeled thymidine triphosphate as the enzyme substrate and polyadenylic acid.oligodeoxythymidylic acid [poly(rA).

Anti-viral activity of the extracts of a Kenyan medicinal plant Carissa edulis against herpes simplex virus.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a major opportunistic infection in immunosuppressed persons. It is therefore a serious disease in high HIV/AIDS prevalence areas as in sub-Saharan Africa where infections due to HSV have risen significantly. The development of resistant strains of HSV to the available drugs for infection management, as is evident in the first drug of choice acyclovir, has further compounded this situation.