Studies On The Anti-Sickling Activities Of Some Nigerian Medicinal Plants
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Date
2015
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Abstract
The study screened some medicinal plants used in the ethnomedicinal management of sickle cell anaemia (SCA), fractionated the most active plant extract(s) and determined the fraction(s) with the highest anti-sickling activities. This was with a view to providing scientific information on the activities of the plants as anti-sickling agents.
The medicinal plants: Anthocleista vogelii Planch,Cassia sieberiana DC, Harungana madagascariensis Lam. ex. poir, Mimosa pudica Linn, Morinda lucida Benth, Peperomia pellucida Linn, Senna alata (L.) Roxb and Spondias mombin Linn, were collected, extracted and screened for anti-sickling properties. Three extractive methods were used viz: maceration with 70 % cold ethanol in water (v/v), Soxhlet extraction with 70 % ethanol in water (v/v) and aqueous extraction (decoction). The extracts obtained were tested for inhibitory or reversal activities of erythrocytes (HbSS) in vitro at low oxygen tension using sodium metabisulphite. For the inhibitory activities: whole blood, phosphate buffer and extract was mixed together, liquid paraffin was added to the surface of the mixture and incubated after which sodium metabisulphite was added and further incubated. For the reversal activities: whole blood, phosphate buffer and sodium metabisulphite was mixed together, liquid paraffin was added to the surface of the mixture and incubated after which the extract was added and further incubated. Theaqueous extract of the whole fruit and the 70 % (v/v) ethanol Soxhlet extract of the pericarp of C. sieberiana were each fractionated using Vacuum Liquid Chromatography (V.L.C). All the fractions were screened for their anti-sickling properties. Thin Layer Chromatography (T.L.C) of the fractions in various solvent systems, followed by detection with chromogenic spray reagents was carried out.
The results obtained for inhibitory anti-sickling activities were as follows: 70 % (v/v) cold ethanol extract of P. pellucida leaf (54.1 %), 70 % (v/v) ethanol soxhlet extracts of M. lucida leaf (51.5 %) and C. sieberiana (seed, 55.6 % and whole fruit, 55.1 %). The 70 % (v/v) ethanol soxhlet extract of C. sieberiana pericarp gave 71.3 % inhibitory activity while for the reversal anti-sickling activities, the results were as follows: 70 % (v/v) ethanol extract of A. vogelii stem bark (61.1 %),70 % (v/v) ethanol Soxhlet extracts of H. madagascariensis (52.1 %),S. alata leaf (84.0 %), and aqueous extract of C. sieberiana whole fruit (90.2 %). Following the VLC of C. sieberiana whole fruit aqueous extract which exhibited the highest reversal anti-sickling activity, the dichloromethane fraction of its aqueous extract gave 79.6 % inhibitory and 70.1 % reversal activities, respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction of the 70 % (v/v) ethanol Soxhlet extract of its pericarp gave 87.1 % inhibitory and 79.7 % reversal activities. These two fractions exhibited the most considerable anti-sickling activities among the other fractions and the crude extracts of the plants.
The study concluded that there is scientific justification for the folkloric use of C. sieberiana,A. vogelii, S. alata, P. pellucida, H. madagascariensis and M. lucida in the management of SCA.
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xvii, 135p
Keywords
ethnomedicinal, sickle cell anaemia, scientific information, metabisulphite, Soxhlet extraction, sieberiana pericarp