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.

Anti-parasitic activity and cytotoxicity of selected medicinal plants from Kenya.

Indigenous rural communities in the tropics manage parasitic diseases, like malaria and leishmaniasis, using herbal drugs. The efficacy, dosage, safety and active principles of most of the herbal preparations are not known. Extracts from 6 selected plant species, used as medicinal plants by indigenous local communities in Kenya, were screened for in vitro anti-plasmodial and anti-leishmanial activity, against 2 laboratory-adapted Plasmodium falciparum isolates (D6, CQ-sensitive and W2, CQ-resistant) and Leishmania major (IDU/KE/83=NLB-144 strain), respectively.

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.

In vitro antimalarial activity of extracts of Albizia gummifera, Aspilia mossambicensis, Melia azedarach and Azadirachta indica against Plasmodium falciparum.

Since chemotherapy is presently the primary strategy of malaria control in the world, and some malaria parasites are developing resistance to the commonly used antimalarial drugs, new antimalarial compounds are required. Therefore, it is important to test antimalarial activities of medicinal plant extracts which most herbalists claim to cure malaria. We evaluated the antimalarial activities of extracts of Albizia gummiffera, Aspilia mossambicensis, Melia azedar and Azadirahchta indica against laboratory adapted isolates of Plasmodium falciparum using an in vitro radioisotopic uptake technique.