Antiplasmodial compounds from the stem bark of Neoboutonia macrocalyx pax.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The plant Neoboutonia macrocalyx has been reported in traditional medicine to be used in the treatment of malaria.

Aim Of The Study: To study the in vitro antiplasmodial activity of compounds from the stem bark of Neoboutonia macrocalyx.

Materials And Methods: Compounds were extracted and purified from stem bark of Neoboutonia macrocalyx and their structure identified and confirmed by spectroscopic methods.

Suitable habitats for endangered frugivorous mammals: small-scale comparison, regeneration forest and chimpanzee density in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Landscape patterns and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) densities in Kibale National Park show important variation among communities that are geographically close to one another (from 1.5 to 5.1 chimpanzees/km2).

Cycloartane triterpenes from the leaves of Neoboutonia macrocalyx L.

Neoboutonia macrocalyx is used by people in south western Uganda around Kibale National Park in the treatment of malaria. Phytochemical investigation on the leaves of this plant led to the isolation of nine cycloartane triterpenes (1-9) and one phenanthrene; 7-methoxy-2,8 dimethyl-9,10-dihydrophenantherene-3,6 diol (10) along with three known compounds which included 22-de-O-acetyl-26-deoxyneoboutomellerone (11), mellerin B (12) and 6-hydroxystigmast-4-en-3-one (13). The chemical structures of the compounds were established mainly through a combination of spectroscopic techniques.

[Malaria in hominids].

Malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp) that infect great apes are very poorly documented Malaria was first described in gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans in the early 20th century, but most studies were confined to a handful of chimpanzees in the 1930-1950s and a few orangutans in the 1970s. The three Plasmodium species described in African great apes were very similar to those infecting humans. The most extensively studied was P reichenowi, because of its close phylogenetic relation to P.

[Great apes: who are they? Are they able to self-medicate?].

Six great ape species (chimpanzees, bonobos, Western gorillas, Eastern gorillas, Sumatran orangutans and Bornean orangutans) live in tropical forests of Africa and South-East Asia. Their habitat, severely threatened by deforestation, contains a vast chemical and biological diversity. During the last decade, we have isolated and identified novel pharmacologically active compounds from plants used by wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Investigations on anopheline mosquitoes close to the nest sites of chimpanzees subject to malaria infection in Ugandan highlands.

Background: Malaria parasites (Plasmodium sp.), including new species, have recently been discovered as low grade mixed infections in three wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) sampled randomly in Kibale National Park, Uganda. This suggested a high prevalence of malaria infection in this community.

Unprecedented occurrence of isoaspartic acid in a plant cyclopeptide.

Three structurally related cycloheptapeptides, cyclocitropsides A-C, have been isolated from a MeOH extract of the root bark of Citropsis articulata, a medicinal plant in Uganda. Their sequences were elucidated on the basis of their MS/MS fragmentation, extensive 2D-NMR, chemical degradation, and biochemical modifications. Surprisingly, the sequence of cyclocitropside C differed from that of cyclocitropside B only by an Asp(5)/isoAsp(5) substitution.

Structure and in vitro antiparasitic activity of constituents of Citropsis articulata root bark.

From the results of an ethnomedicinal investigation of plants from Uganda with antimalarial activity, Citropsis articulata was selected because of the antiplasmodial effect of an ethyl acetate extract of its root bark. Thus, from the cyclohexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts, two new heterocyclic compounds, omubioside (1) and katimborine (2), were isolated in addition to five known coumarins (rutarin (3), seselin (4), suberosin (5), demethylsuberosin (6), and haploperoside (7)), two known alkaloids (5-hydroxynoracronycine (8) and 1,5-dihydroxy-2,3-dimethoxy-10-methyl-9-acridone (9)), trigonelline (10), and the limonoid 7α-obacunyl acetate (11). The best growth inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum were alkaloids 8 and 9, with IC50 values of 0.

Traditional plants used for medicinal purposes by local communities around the Northern sector of Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The study was done to establish medicinal plants used in the treatment of various diseases by the people in the Northern sector of Kibale National Park in western Uganda. It was also aimed at establishing the plant parts used and the mode of preparation of remedies. These plants create a basis for phytochemical evaluation which can lead to the discovery of biologically active compounds that can be used as starting materials in the development of new drugs targeting selected diseases such as malaria.

Antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities of medicinal plants traditionally used in the village of Kiohima, Uganda.

Aim Of The Study: In Uganda, malaria is the most common disease and Ugandan people largely rely on traditional medicine. In this context, we carried out an ethnobotanical study on the Kiohima village, located close to the Kibale National Park in South-Western Uganda and investigated in vitro the antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities of selected medicinal plants.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-five plants-using adults (men and women) were interviewed to find out their plant use.

Nodular worm infection in wild chimpanzees in Western Uganda: a risk for human health?

This study focused on Oeosophagostomum sp., and more especially on O. bifurcum, as a parasite that can be lethal to humans and is widespread among humans and monkeys in endemic regions, but has not yet been documented in apes.

On the diversity of malaria parasites in African apes and the origin of Plasmodium falciparum from Bonobos.

The origin of Plasmodium falciparum, the etiological agent of the most dangerous forms of human malaria, remains controversial. Although investigations of homologous parasites in African Apes are crucial to resolve this issue, studies have been restricted to a chimpanzee parasite related to P. falciparum, P.

Ugandenial A, a new drimane-type sesquiterpenoid from Warburgia ugandensis.

One new drimane-type sesquiterpenoid, named ugandenial A (1), was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the bark of Warburgia ugandensis (Canellaceae) together with eight known drimane-type sesquiterpenoids: 11alpha-hydroxycinnamosmolide (2), warburganal (3), polygodial (4), mukaadial (5), dendocarbin A (6), 9alpha-hydroxycinnamolide (7), dendocarbin L (8) and dendocarbin M (9). Their structures were established by detailed spectroscopic analysis. In addition a keto-enol equilibrium was demonstrated for compound 1 through a detailed NMR analysis run in CD(2)Cl(2) at 190 K.

Hydroperoxy-cycloartane triterpenoids from the leaves of Markhamia lutea, a plant ingested by wild chimpanzees.

In the framework of the phytochemical investigation of plant species eaten by wild chimpanzees in their natural environment in Uganda, leaf samples of Markhamia lutea were selected and collected. The crude ethyl acetate extract of M. lutea leaves exhibited significant in vitro anti-parasitic activity and low cytotoxicity against MRC5 and KB cells.

Medicinal plant diversity and uses in the Sango bay area, Southern Uganda.

An inventory is presented for the medicinal plants of the Sango bay area in Southern Uganda. Fieldwork was conducted between March and August 2004, using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and participant observation as well as transect walks in wild herbal plant collection areas. One hundred and eighty-six plant species belonging to 163 genera and 58 families with medicinal values were recorded.

Novel antimalarial compounds isolated in a survey of self-medicative behavior of wild chimpanzees in Uganda.

Following a veterinary and behavioral survey of chimpanzees from a natural population in Uganda, leaf samples of Trichilia rubescens were collected because of the unusual method of ingestion observed. The methanolic crude extract of T. rubescens leaves exhibited significant antimalarial activity in vitro.