Edwin Omeje - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Edwin Omeje

Food & Function, Dec 31, 2023

Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, Dec 15, 2011

Journal of Phytomedicine and Therapeutics, Mar 31, 2008

Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2009

Objective: Aqueous extracts of Zapoteca, portoricensis are used traditionally as antidiarrhea age... more Objective: Aqueous extracts of Zapoteca, portoricensis are used traditionally as antidiarrhea agent and in the treatment of diverse gastrointestinal disorders here in Nigeria specifically, the southern part. Similarly, the aqueous extract of the plant is also used traditionally as anticonvulsant, antispasmodic and in the treatment of tonsillitis. Recently too, the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of the methanol extracts of the root of Zapoteca portoricensis was reported. In this research, we are set to investigate the trypanocidal activity of Zapoteca portoricensis. Methods: The methanol extract of the root of Zapoteca portoricensis was investigated for both in vitro and in vivo trypanocidal activity following established models. In summary, phytochemical analysis was carried out on both the crude powdered root and on the methanol extract following standard procedures. The oral acute toxicity test (LD50) of the crude methanol extract was determined according to the method described by Lorke (1983). Albino mice (17g-21g) of either sex were used. The methanol extract was suspended in 3 % v/v tween 85 and administered orally at doses of 10 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg to three groups of mice (n = 3). The animals were observed for 24 hours. Based on the result obtained in this initial test, doses of 4 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg were administered to three different mice. The LD50 was calculated as the geometric mean of the lowest dose killing a mouse and the highest close showing no death. The in in-vitro anti-trypanosomal evaluations were carried out in experimental animals and tissue cell culture respectively. Results: The result of the in vitro studies shows the inhibitive concentration-50 (IC-50) against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T. b. rhodesiense) to be 0. 372 mg/kg, while the control drug melarsoprol was 0. 006 mg/kg. On Trypanosoma brucei brucei (T. cruzi), the IC-50 is 6.42 mg/kg against 0. 87 of the reference drug Benznidazole. The cyctotoxicity on L-6 cells exhibited an IC-50 of 0. 039 6 mg/kg against the reference drug, podophyllotoxin of 0.01 mg/kg. However; the in vivo study shows that the extract, at the administered closes, could not exhibit appreciable reduction of parasitemia and hence resulted to the death of test animals. Conclusion: The present data suggests that Zapoteca portoricensis could yield useful leads for the development of potentially potent antitrypanocides

Pharmaceutical Biology, Oct 12, 2011

Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Nov 1, 2009

Traditionally, mistletoes of Eastern Nigeria origin, Loranthus micranthus Linn. have been used as... more Traditionally, mistletoes of Eastern Nigeria origin, Loranthus micranthus Linn. have been used as immunostimulant for the management of certain diseases with high profile immune depleting potentials. This practice has remained till date without scientific validation. To obtain and validate evidence for or against its continued use as immunostimulant and afford data for further studies on this specie of mistletoe. The present work is an in vivo proof of ethnopharmacological concept of the age long immunomodulatory use of our local mistletoe. Aqueous-methanol extracts of the plant leaves from five different host trees were evaluated for immunomodulatory activity using four in vivo models in mice or rats, namely; total and differential leukocyte count (TLC and DLC), the cellular mediated delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction (DTHR) test, the humoral mediated antibody titration (AT) test and the cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression (CIM) test at different dose levels (100, 200 and 400 or 50, 100 and 250 mg kg(-1); depending on model) against standard controls. Phytochemical and acute toxicity tests were equally carried out on all the extracts. Results obtained indicate that all the mistletoes contained the same phytochemical constituents, although in varying amounts. The mistletoes exhibited statistically significantly different (p < 0.05 or p < 0.001, ANOVA) immunomodulatory (up-regulatory) activities in the overall order of that from Kola acuminata > Citrus spp > Persia americana > Parkia biglobosa > Pentaclatra macrophylla. LD(50) values were generally greater than 5000 mg/kg. The present study confirms the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe as a potent and safe alternative or complementary medicine for the management of immunodeficiency diseases.

Planta Medica, Aug 24, 2010

Pharmaceutical sciences, Mar 10, 2020

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Sep 1, 2019

Natural Product Research, Oct 1, 2012

Column fractionation and purification of an n-hexane fraction led to the isolation of three lupeo... more Column fractionation and purification of an n-hexane fraction led to the isolation of three lupeol-based triterpenoid esters from the leaves of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe, Loranthus micranthus Linn parasitic on a local kola nut tree, Kola acuminata. These three compounds were adequately characterised using a combination of UV/visible, IR, NMR (¹³C-NMR and ¹H-NMR), DEPT, MS and two-dimensional correlation (H-H COSY, Hetero-nuclear Single Quantum Correlation (HSQC), HMBC, NOE and NOESY) studies as 7β,15α-dihydroxyl-lup-20(29)-ene-3β-esters of palmitic (I), stearic (II) and eicosanoic acids (III). The characterisation of other isolated compounds is ongoing. Remarkably, this is the first report of the existence of fatty acid esters of an unusual 7β,15α-dihydroxylated lupeol in the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe. These isolated compounds might contribute in part to the numerous established bio-activities of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoes.

Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine, 2008

Euphorbia hirta Linn (Fam: Euphorbiaceae) locally known as ‘ogwu ugwo' (eczema drug) in some ... more Euphorbia hirta Linn (Fam: Euphorbiaceae) locally known as ‘ogwu ugwo' (eczema drug) in some Eastern parts of Nigeria is used locally to arrest bleeding in the event of an injury. The extracts (aqueous and methanolic) were administered orally to albino wistar rats. Platelet count, bleeding and clotting times were determined before and at different time intervals after administration of the extracts. The aqueous extract at 60 min reduced bleeding time by 54% compared to 49.5% for methanolic extract and was significant (P Keywords : Euphorbia hirta , Euphorbiaceae, Platelet response, Methanolic, Aqueous, “Ogwu ugwo” Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine Vol. 11 2007 pp. 44-47

Natural Product Research, 2011

Copyright © 2012 Theophine Chinwuba Okoye et al. This is an open access article distributed under... more Copyright © 2012 Theophine Chinwuba Okoye et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Root bark preparation of Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae) is used in Nigerian ethnomedicine for treatment of infectious diseases. Extraction of the A. senegalensis powdered root bark with methanol-methylene chloride (1: 1) mixture yielded the methanol-methylene extract (MME) which was fractionated to obtain the ethyl acetate fraction (EF). The EF on further fractionation gave two active subfractions, F1 and F2. The F1 yielded a lipophilic oily liquid while F2 on purification, precipitated white crystalline compound, AS2. F1 was analyzed using GC-MS, while AS2 was characterized by proton NMR and X-ray crystallography. Antibacterial and antifungal studies were performed using agar-well-diffusion method with 0.5 McFarlan...

Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Univers... more Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Departrment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

Molecules, 2021

In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medici... more In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medicinal, culinary, and nutraceutical applications due to their abundance in bioactive phytochemicals. Human beings and other animals have employed those bioactive phytochemicals to improve health quality based on their broad potentials as antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-aging effects, amongst others. For the past decade and half, efforts to discover bioactive phytochemicals both in pure and crude forms have been intensified using the Caenorhabditis elegans aging model, in which various metabolic pathways in humans are highly conserved. In this review, we summarized the aging and longevity pathways that are common to C. elegans and humans and collated some of the bioactive phytochemicals with health benefits and lifespan extending effects that have been studied in C. elegans. This simple animal model is not only a perfect system for...

Food & Function, Dec 31, 2023

Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, Dec 15, 2011

Journal of Phytomedicine and Therapeutics, Mar 31, 2008

Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2009

Objective: Aqueous extracts of Zapoteca, portoricensis are used traditionally as antidiarrhea age... more Objective: Aqueous extracts of Zapoteca, portoricensis are used traditionally as antidiarrhea agent and in the treatment of diverse gastrointestinal disorders here in Nigeria specifically, the southern part. Similarly, the aqueous extract of the plant is also used traditionally as anticonvulsant, antispasmodic and in the treatment of tonsillitis. Recently too, the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of the methanol extracts of the root of Zapoteca portoricensis was reported. In this research, we are set to investigate the trypanocidal activity of Zapoteca portoricensis. Methods: The methanol extract of the root of Zapoteca portoricensis was investigated for both in vitro and in vivo trypanocidal activity following established models. In summary, phytochemical analysis was carried out on both the crude powdered root and on the methanol extract following standard procedures. The oral acute toxicity test (LD50) of the crude methanol extract was determined according to the method described by Lorke (1983). Albino mice (17g-21g) of either sex were used. The methanol extract was suspended in 3 % v/v tween 85 and administered orally at doses of 10 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg to three groups of mice (n = 3). The animals were observed for 24 hours. Based on the result obtained in this initial test, doses of 4 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg were administered to three different mice. The LD50 was calculated as the geometric mean of the lowest dose killing a mouse and the highest close showing no death. The in in-vitro anti-trypanosomal evaluations were carried out in experimental animals and tissue cell culture respectively. Results: The result of the in vitro studies shows the inhibitive concentration-50 (IC-50) against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T. b. rhodesiense) to be 0. 372 mg/kg, while the control drug melarsoprol was 0. 006 mg/kg. On Trypanosoma brucei brucei (T. cruzi), the IC-50 is 6.42 mg/kg against 0. 87 of the reference drug Benznidazole. The cyctotoxicity on L-6 cells exhibited an IC-50 of 0. 039 6 mg/kg against the reference drug, podophyllotoxin of 0.01 mg/kg. However; the in vivo study shows that the extract, at the administered closes, could not exhibit appreciable reduction of parasitemia and hence resulted to the death of test animals. Conclusion: The present data suggests that Zapoteca portoricensis could yield useful leads for the development of potentially potent antitrypanocides

Pharmaceutical Biology, Oct 12, 2011

Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Nov 1, 2009

Traditionally, mistletoes of Eastern Nigeria origin, Loranthus micranthus Linn. have been used as... more Traditionally, mistletoes of Eastern Nigeria origin, Loranthus micranthus Linn. have been used as immunostimulant for the management of certain diseases with high profile immune depleting potentials. This practice has remained till date without scientific validation. To obtain and validate evidence for or against its continued use as immunostimulant and afford data for further studies on this specie of mistletoe. The present work is an in vivo proof of ethnopharmacological concept of the age long immunomodulatory use of our local mistletoe. Aqueous-methanol extracts of the plant leaves from five different host trees were evaluated for immunomodulatory activity using four in vivo models in mice or rats, namely; total and differential leukocyte count (TLC and DLC), the cellular mediated delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction (DTHR) test, the humoral mediated antibody titration (AT) test and the cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression (CIM) test at different dose levels (100, 200 and 400 or 50, 100 and 250 mg kg(-1); depending on model) against standard controls. Phytochemical and acute toxicity tests were equally carried out on all the extracts. Results obtained indicate that all the mistletoes contained the same phytochemical constituents, although in varying amounts. The mistletoes exhibited statistically significantly different (p < 0.05 or p < 0.001, ANOVA) immunomodulatory (up-regulatory) activities in the overall order of that from Kola acuminata > Citrus spp > Persia americana > Parkia biglobosa > Pentaclatra macrophylla. LD(50) values were generally greater than 5000 mg/kg. The present study confirms the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe as a potent and safe alternative or complementary medicine for the management of immunodeficiency diseases.

Planta Medica, Aug 24, 2010

Pharmaceutical sciences, Mar 10, 2020

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Sep 1, 2019

Natural Product Research, Oct 1, 2012

Column fractionation and purification of an n-hexane fraction led to the isolation of three lupeo... more Column fractionation and purification of an n-hexane fraction led to the isolation of three lupeol-based triterpenoid esters from the leaves of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe, Loranthus micranthus Linn parasitic on a local kola nut tree, Kola acuminata. These three compounds were adequately characterised using a combination of UV/visible, IR, NMR (¹³C-NMR and ¹H-NMR), DEPT, MS and two-dimensional correlation (H-H COSY, Hetero-nuclear Single Quantum Correlation (HSQC), HMBC, NOE and NOESY) studies as 7β,15α-dihydroxyl-lup-20(29)-ene-3β-esters of palmitic (I), stearic (II) and eicosanoic acids (III). The characterisation of other isolated compounds is ongoing. Remarkably, this is the first report of the existence of fatty acid esters of an unusual 7β,15α-dihydroxylated lupeol in the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe. These isolated compounds might contribute in part to the numerous established bio-activities of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoes.

Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine, 2008

Euphorbia hirta Linn (Fam: Euphorbiaceae) locally known as ‘ogwu ugwo' (eczema drug) in some ... more Euphorbia hirta Linn (Fam: Euphorbiaceae) locally known as ‘ogwu ugwo' (eczema drug) in some Eastern parts of Nigeria is used locally to arrest bleeding in the event of an injury. The extracts (aqueous and methanolic) were administered orally to albino wistar rats. Platelet count, bleeding and clotting times were determined before and at different time intervals after administration of the extracts. The aqueous extract at 60 min reduced bleeding time by 54% compared to 49.5% for methanolic extract and was significant (P Keywords : Euphorbia hirta , Euphorbiaceae, Platelet response, Methanolic, Aqueous, “Ogwu ugwo” Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine Vol. 11 2007 pp. 44-47

Natural Product Research, 2011

Copyright © 2012 Theophine Chinwuba Okoye et al. This is an open access article distributed under... more Copyright © 2012 Theophine Chinwuba Okoye et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Root bark preparation of Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae) is used in Nigerian ethnomedicine for treatment of infectious diseases. Extraction of the A. senegalensis powdered root bark with methanol-methylene chloride (1: 1) mixture yielded the methanol-methylene extract (MME) which was fractionated to obtain the ethyl acetate fraction (EF). The EF on further fractionation gave two active subfractions, F1 and F2. The F1 yielded a lipophilic oily liquid while F2 on purification, precipitated white crystalline compound, AS2. F1 was analyzed using GC-MS, while AS2 was characterized by proton NMR and X-ray crystallography. Antibacterial and antifungal studies were performed using agar-well-diffusion method with 0.5 McFarlan...

Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Univers... more Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Departrment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

Molecules, 2021

In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medici... more In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medicinal, culinary, and nutraceutical applications due to their abundance in bioactive phytochemicals. Human beings and other animals have employed those bioactive phytochemicals to improve health quality based on their broad potentials as antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-aging effects, amongst others. For the past decade and half, efforts to discover bioactive phytochemicals both in pure and crude forms have been intensified using the Caenorhabditis elegans aging model, in which various metabolic pathways in humans are highly conserved. In this review, we summarized the aging and longevity pathways that are common to C. elegans and humans and collated some of the bioactive phytochemicals with health benefits and lifespan extending effects that have been studied in C. elegans. This simple animal model is not only a perfect system for...