Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of fresh leaf extracts of Warburgia ugandensis (original) (raw)
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Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 2018
Warburgia ugandensis Sprague (Family Canellacea) commonly known as Ugandan greenheart or pepper bark tree, is a highly valued medicinal plant in traditional medicine with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity whose parts especially the leaves and stem bark have for long been used in the treatment and management of many diseases and health conditions such as stomachache, cough, toothache, fever, malaria, oral thrush, measles and diarrhea in African communities where the plant occurs. This review focused on the phytochemical contents, medicinal uses and antimicrobial activities of W. ugandensis based on published peer reviewed articles. This review established that the high therapeutic value of W. ugandensis is attributed to the abundance of drimane sesquiterpenes in its stem bark and leaves. These chemicals have also made the plant to have potent antibacterial and antifungal activities. However, more pre-clinical and clinical trials need to be done to further validate the traditional medicine applications of W. ugandensis for possible drug discovery. Due to its high demand, W. ugandensis has been over exploited and hence its population is in drastic decline. Consequently, there is need for development of advanced and more rapid propagation techniques to increase its population and distribution in its natural environment to meet the ever-increasing demand.
Warburgia Ugandensis: A Review of Compounds and Bioactivity
International Journal of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry, 2023
Warburgia species (Canellaceae) are traditionally used to treat a wide range of illnesses including stomach ache, diarrhea, abdominal pains, toothache, oral thrush, venereal diseases, cold and cough, fever, muscle pains, weak joints, skin diseases, malaria, parasitic infections and snake bite. Therapeutic properties of medicinal plants have been linked to the secondary metabolites which are biosynthesized by the plants. The aim of this study was to review the bioactivities and chemical composition of Warburgia ugandensis. The findings from this study show that extracts from the plant have antifungal, antibacterial, antiulcer, insect antifeedant, molluscicidal, antimycobacterial, antileishmanial and anti-plasmoidal effects. The most investigated part of W. ugandensis is the stem bark (22 articles) followed by leaves (15), root bark (6), seeds (2) and fruits (2). All parts the plant have important bioactivities. Sixty nine compounds have been reported from the plant including sesquiterpenes (43), flavonoids (15), lignanamides, and macrocyclic glycosides (10) and fatty acid (1) some of which have demonstrated different bioactivities. The drimane sesquiterpenes are the main class of sesquiterpenes in the plant. The Further investigation of the not well studied parts of the plant such as the flowers and fruits is recommended to determine their chemical composition and efficacy in disease management.
South African Journal of Botany, 2019
Warburgia salutaris is one of the most popular trees used in traditional medicine throughout tropical southeast Africa, because of its ability to treat a wide variety of illnesses caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and insects. The aim of the study was to test the antimicrobial activity of W. salutaris and its isolated compounds against selected skin and respiratory pathogens. Furthermore, to investigate the main chemical compounds of this species and compare their antimicrobial activities with previously published studies. Crude extracts, essential oils and isolated compounds from the bark of W. salutaris, showed antimicrobial activity against skin pathogens (Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 743971 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) and respiratory tract pathogens (Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883 and Moraxella catarrhalis ATCC 23246). Bioassay guided fractionation of the dichloromethane extract (muthi market bark sample) and essential oil (from the bark of the cultivated tree) yielded six compounds, which included the two major essential oil components drimenol (1) and E-nerolidol (2) and the less volatile drimane sesquiterpenes from the muthi market bark: 12α-acetal-polygodial (3), polygodial (4), ugandensidial (5) and warburganal (6). Noteworthy activity against M. catarrhalis was observed by 2 with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 31 μg/ml and by 4 with an MIC of 25 μg/ml against K. pneumoniae. This is the first report of 1,2 and 3 isolated from W. salutaris and the identification of these compounds could explain the traditional use of this species as an inhalation therapy to treat respiratory ailments. Despite numerous studies, the chemical composition and biological activities of the leaves and bark of W. salutaris are not yet fully explored.
ABSTRACT Warburgia ugandensis Sprague is one of the most valuable medicinal plants in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. The roots, leaves, stem barks and heartwoods of this plant species are commonly used in traditional and modern herbal medicine to treat several diseases. Though widely used in phytomedicine, there is no published data on the interaction effects of sites, samples, plant parts and solvent types on either antibacterial or antifungal activities of the Kenyan populations of W. ugandensis. The extracts of this plant species exhibited antimicrobial potential against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Candida albicans (ATCC 90028). This was statistically confirmed by the test of normality for dependent variables with mean antibacterial and antifungal effects of 3.169±0.27 and 1.761±0.21mg/ml, respectively regardless of the interaction effects of samples, plant parts, sites and solvent types. This study demonstrated that sites (origin) of plant materials, types of solvents used for extraction, plant parts analyzed and their interactions had statistically significant effects on antimicrobial activities of W. ugandensis (p ≤ 0.05). From the results of this research work, there is need for effective conservation strategies for this useful medicinal plant species in Kenya. KEYWORDS: Warburgia ugandensis; phytomedicine; interactions; conservation; Kenya
Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants of Ethiopia
Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal, 2008
Measles is a killer disease of children in Uganda. The treatment of the disease is mainly directed at the secondary microbial infections. A large proportion of the population in Uganda still relies on the use of herbal remedies, which have been claimed to produce beneficial responses. In this study, the efficacy of Warburgia ugandensis and Zanthoxylum chalybeum against common bacteria and fungi was investigated. Bactericidal and antifungal assays were done using extracts derived from Z. chalybeum and W. ugandensis (agar well diffusion, disc diffusion and colony count assays). All extracts (ethanolic, petroleum ether and aqueous) of Z. chalybeum did not show antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical investigations of Zanthoxylum chalybeum (seed) yielded a pure crystalline alkaloid (27-135D) which was characterized as skimianine based on 1 H-NMR spectroscopy and comparison with spectra of authentic samples. Skimmianine did not have antimicrobial activity in this test system. W. ugandensis water extracts elicited antibacterial activity against both Escherischia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the agar well assay but not in the disc diffusion assay. Warburgia ugandensis water extracts and fraction 27-163D also showed antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Chromatography of extracts of Warburgia ugandensis stem bark afforded compound 49-169K, which was characterized as the sesquiterpine muzigadial (by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy), which did not show antibacterial activity but had antifungal activity against C. albicans. Therefore, the claimed efficacy of W. ugandensis could be attributable to antibacterial and antifungal activity of its components. Since Z. chalybeum extracts had neither antifungal nor antibacterial activities, its mode of action is unclear from these results.
Journal of Plant Biotechnology, 2023
Malaria remains to be one of the most severe global public health concerns. Traditionally, Aspilia africana and Warburgia ugandensis have been used to treat malaria in several African countries for millennia. In the current study, A. africana calli (AaC), A. africana in vitro roots (AaIR), A. africana wild leaf (AaWL), and W. ugandensis stem bark (WuSB) were dried and pulverized. Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the powdered samples, while 80% ethanolic extracts of each sample were assayed for antiplasmodial activity (against Plasmodium falciparum strains DD2 (chloroquine-resistant) and 3D7 (chloroquine-sensitive)) and cytotoxicity. WuSB showed the highest antiplasmodial activity (IC 50 = 1.57 ± 0.210 µg/ml and 8.92 ± 0.365 µg/ml against P. falciparum 3D7 and DD2, respectively) and selectivity indices (43.90 ± 7.914 and 7.543 ± 0.051 for P. falciparum 3D7 and DD2, respectively). The highest total polyphenolic contents (total phenolic and flavonoid contents of 367.9 ± 3.55 mg GAE/g and 203.9 ± 1.43 mg RUE/g, respectively) were recorded for WuSB and the lowest were recorded for AaC. The antiplasmodial activities of the tested plant tissues correlated positively with total polyphenolic content. The high selectivity indices of WuSB justify its traditional applications in treating malaria and present it as a good candidate for discovering new antimalarial compounds. We recommend elicitation treatment for AaIR, which showed moderate antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum DD2, to increase its secondary metabolite production for optimal antimalarial activity.
Journal of Plant Biotechnology
Malaria remains to be one of the most severe global public health concerns. Traditionally, Aspilia africana and Warburgia ugandensis have been used to treat malaria in several African countries for millennia. In the current study, A. africana calli (AaC), A. africana in vitro roots (AaIR), A. africana wild leaf (AaWL), and W. ugandensis stem bark (WuSB) were dried and pulverized. Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the powdered samples, while 80% ethanolic extracts of each sample were assayed for antiplasmodial activity (against Plasmodium falciparum strains DD2 (chloroquine-resistant) and 3D7 (chloroquine-sensitive)) and cytotoxicity. WuSB showed the highest antiplasmodial activity (IC 50 = 1.57 ± 0.210 µg/ml and 8.92 ± 0.365 µg/ml against P. falciparum 3D7 and DD2, respectively) and selectivity indices (43.90 ± 7.914 and 7.543 ± 0.051 for P. falciparum 3D7 and DD2, respectively). The highest total polyphenolic contents (total phenolic and flavonoid contents of 367.9 ± 3.55 mg GAE/g and 203.9 ± 1.43 mg RUE/g, respectively) were recorded for WuSB and the lowest were recorded for AaC. The antiplasmodial activities of the tested plant tissues correlated positively with total polyphenolic content. The high selectivity indices of WuSB justify its traditional applications in treating malaria and present it as a good candidate for discovering new antimalarial compounds. We recommend elicitation treatment for AaIR, which showed moderate antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum DD2, to increase its secondary metabolite production for optimal antimalarial activity.
Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology
Although Warburgia salutaris is popular and well-known medicinal plant in southern Africa, there is still a wealth of undocumented therapeutic uses of the species within the Vhavenda ethnic group in South Africa. The literature studies confirmed that there is a sparse rather than a paucity of information about W. salutaris preparation method, administration processes and dosage used for therapeutics. This study was aimed at documenting the therapeutic uses of W. salutaris, by the Vhavenda ethnic group within the Soutpansberg Region, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data on therapeutic uses of the species were collected using semi-structured interview, supplemented by field guided-walk with 346 participants. The total of nine therapeutic uses of W. salutaris were recorded and this includes being used as herbal medicine for bilharzia (FL=15.3%), womb cleaning after recurring miscarriages (FL=13.8%), period pain (FL=12.5%), earache (FL=8.8%), asthma (FL=7.5%), spinal cord pains (FL=10.0%), genital sore (FL=8.1%), colds (FL=6.5%) and toothache (FL=17.7%). The therapeutic preparation process of the species includes decoction (33.4%), soaking (22.2%), powder-grounding (22.2%) and leaf-squeezing (22.2%) whereas, the administration processes involved oral (45%), smoking (11%), bathing (11%), injection (11%), sap-pouring (11%). This study present novel traditional therapeutic knowledge associated with W. salutaris which was never been reported before. The therapeutic uses of W. salutaris in the traditional health care seemed to be prevalent and reliable in combating illnesses in scant resources communities.