Professor of Pharmaceutical chemistry & Dean Faculty of Pharmacy, College of. Medi. 5UPL. A C T A A M A Z Ã N I C A , 1 8 ( I -2) :381 -392 . 1988. 381 ...
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON MEDICINAL PLANTS OF WEST AFRICA.
Ajibola
It
is
nould l i k e
an
outstanding
first
bn the o c c a s i o n Modern
to of
effects b e
tested the
etc., m o v e d of N i g e r i a
into in
efforts
that
growing
in
are
this
Isolated
the
yield
a
and
prologue,
reviews
West A f r i c a ty.
This
or o t h e r .
the
of
Glycoside
et a l . ,
T.
and of
to
be
Echinocystic
than
a
cursory
h i s t o r y s o that t h e i r
a
hit
or
the
chemical
miss
nature.lt
the
was
secrets
of
e r g o t ,qu in i n e , r e s e r p i r e flora
r e c o g n i z e d and the c o n s c ious
constituents
from
the
plants
t r a d i t i o n a I l y t o b e o f med i c i n a 1
new a n d
of
unfold in
the
out
from
on
life
out
value
the
condition showing
of
in
that
proven
it
some k i n d
s e l e c t i v e and
the
t o t h e poss_i_ by
Witkop,
nature
other
are
systems.
plants
growing
b i o I o g i c a I a c t iyi_
should of
compounds
plant materia 1s is
some m e d i c i n a l
and w i t h
and
chemical
pointed
these "children"
by
to
known
1i t t 1 e thought As
dynamics of
chemically
rather
with
new compounds
until
research carried
has been
previously
molecules.
structures
deal
biological
presentation
with
natu
activity is
based
structure.
Sterols
Oleanolic
acid
tetraptera oleanolic
1979)
not
investigated
chemical
according
drugs
all
of
is well
sub-region
novel
participate
of
been
the
elucidation
does
to
in
those
has been c i r c u m s c r i b e d proven
on a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
fruit o f
drama
results
have
exploit
examples of
growing
The approach adopted
Terpenoids
with
structural
the
to
honour
used drugs .The untapped v a s t
general
been proved
plant
digitalis,
immensely in
me t h i s
results.
up w i t h
returned
which
review
ral p r o d u c t s
plants tied
and
grant
Brazil.
of
nature
Symposi u m . T h e r e f o r e , I
to
through
trials
the
this
of
use of man
belladona,
Africa
scientists
abundant
activity
into
to
decision
Plants
endless
such as
have
the
medicinal
pried
West
which
invited
been w i t h
through
reliable
promising
medicinal
taken by man a n d a r e This p a p e r
as
and of
been
Medicinal
have
had
drugs
made by
is
isolation
Still j u s t
major
being
have
traditional
chemist
prominence
literature from
to
scrutinized
that
to
concerned with
products
sub-region,
to
He b i o l o g i c a l Í970,
and
those
Symposium on
Plant
particular
llave s t a r t e d The
8th
medicinal
remedies
privilege all
owe much
reveal.
çnly a f t e r lhe f o l k
the
times
alance w o u l d
thank
A. Olaniyi (*)
responsible acid
from acid
for
glycoside
is
Tetrapleura glycoside
the a
(I)
tetraptera has
a n t i - c o n v u 1s a n t saponin,
been
(f.
Mimosaceae).From the
isolated
properties
of
and
shown (Ades ¡na
t h e ρ l a n t mater ial.
f r o m A l b í z z i a a d i a n t h i f o l i a , f a m i l y Mimo
(*) Professor of Pharmaceutical chemistry & Dean Faculty of Pharmacy, College of
5UPL. A C T A A M A Z Ó N I C A ,
1 8 ( I -2)
:381 - 3 9 2 .
1988.
381
saceae. lated
The
from
marked
is
stem
content
et of
a l . ,
widely
bark
antibacterial
(Olaniyi
of
plant
the
distributed
and
activity
1976).
in
characterised against
gram
plant
clearly
s c a b i e s and
other
skin
supports
its
the
of
the
use
in
Africa.
The
saponin,
aglycone,echinocystic
positive
The d e m o n s t r a t i o n
the
tropical as
and
some g r a m
antibacterial traditional
whichwasiso
a c i d ( 1 1 ) , showed
negative
organisms
p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e saponin
med i c i n e a s i η t h e
treatment
complaints.
Gly.O
Sterols lower
blood
from Momordica
sugar.
A
crystalline
t o s t e r o l - $ - g 1ucos i de
(ill)
(Olaniyi,
the
levels
of
1975)
from
fasting
produced
by
diabetic
animals
is
reported
rats
insulin
to
ot
be a
foetida:
and
whole
over
(Marquis those
in
popular
the et
M.
solid
foetida
f.
Cucurbitaceae
characterised
as a
is
used
homogeneous
locally
mixture
glucoside
plant
shown t o lower the blood
and
unripe
fruit
experimental
period
a l . ,
However,
which
1977).
diabetes
folklore
remedy
and
of
18 h o u r s it
was
induced.
for
diabetes
had A
no
(IV)
of
5,25-stigmasta-diene-36-ol
was
S i
isolated glucose
comparable
with
appreciable
effect
related
mel 1 i t u s
in
specie,M.
to
that: in
charantia
I n d i a n ( R i v e r a , 19^1).
Macrocyclic
dtterpene
of t h e g e n u s E u p h o r b i a known f o r b o t h
their
tumor-promoting fractions
from
lated f r o m
been
(Abo
cells. of
shown
rat basophilic
&
and phorbol toxic
Evans,
kamerunica
activity
lymphoma
f r o m Euphorbia k a m e r u n i c a
ingenol
and chronic
activities
the latex
esters h a v e cultured
acute
Euphorbia
)to p r o - i n f l a m m a t o r y couse T L X / 5
esters
produce
it
effects
E . kamerunica to have
growing
anti-cancer
leukemia
cells
During
that
pronounced
Three macrocyclic
a r e well
pro-inflammatory testing
of
in
a c tiν ity inv i t r o esters
have
(Abo & Evans,
in v i t r o
column have
against
been
1981).
tests
and
iso These
carried
out on
communication).
Me or4
\
ingol
in N i g e r i a
Me
II
compounds
routine
cytotoxic
(Abo, personal
0
Euphorbiaceae). Plants
t h e non-polar fract ions which
diterpene
activity
(f.
and these
including
1981).
was found
demonstrated
esters
, ;
H
\0 Η
Off
Me Es ter
R
V
CH C0
OR
2
CH C0
3
3
3
R
h
3
CH C0 3
E
CH,CH=CC0 CH
CH CO
Η
CH C0 3
ug/mi
1 .0
/
3
VI
°5Q
3
CH,CH=C.CO 3 ι Cr¡
0.8
CH.CH=C.CO 3 1 CH
0.1
3
VI 1
Η
Η
CH C0 3
Coumarins The
identification
Dvaria a f z e l i i rest a c t i v e
(f.
of
constituent,
was found
subtil i s a n d M y c o b a c t e r i u m Ltivity
(Hufford
v a f z e l in
( V I M ) and uvafzel in
A n n o n a c e a e ) h a s been
et al . ,
t o be a c t i v e
smegmatis 1981).
reported
(Hufford against
( I X ) and other const i tuents of et al . ,
1980).
Staphlococcus
b u t showed no s i g n i f i c a n t
Uvafzel i n , the
aureus,
anti-tumor
or
Bacillus cytotoxic
Scopoletin perennial
tree
medicine
in
From
fruit
&
the
of
in
(hypotensive)
molytic
throughout
management the
of
plant
the
rain
scopoletin
laboratory
effects
in
r e s p o n s e s on
activity
on
animals
and
anaesthesized
guinea
smooth
pig
Τ.
forest
convulsions, (X)
1 981 ; 1 3 8 3 ) . The ca rd i o v a s c u 1 a r
demonstrated
inotropic
growing
the
Ojewole,
from T e t r a p l e u r a t e t r a p t e r a .
tetraptera, of
West
f.
M i m o s a c e a e , i s a large
A f r i c a a n d is used
in
folkloric
leprosy,
inflammation
and
has
isolated
characterised
been
and
rheumatic
pains.
(Adesina
a n d n e u r o m u s c u l a r a c t i o n s o f s c o p o l e t i η have been
the
compound
rats
isolated
and
has
been
produced
atria.
It
a
shown
negative
also
to
p o s s e s s depressor
chronotropic
and
p o s s e s s e d a n o n - s p e c i f i c spas
muscles.
HO
Lignans Lignans flourishes fevers, fish.
of
in
Justicia
West
were
From
the
isolated
were
shown
ED^Q
of
the
Africa,
diarrhoea,
(XI)
and
to
0.6^
and
studies
named o r o s u n o l anticancer
of
on
and
in
χ
in
10
'
Acanthaceae, a
in
folk
the
test
while
(XII)
P-388
of
extract
the
(XV) .
which
1 e a v e s a r e used i n k i l l i n g
as
of
l e a v e s t w o known I i gnans
a
1980).
Both
lignan,
justicinol
Hehoxanthin leukemia
and w e r e
extracts root
the
new
lymphocytic
. flava of
plant
powdered
extract
respectively J
herbaceous
r e m e d i e s , s u c h a s in t r e a t i n g rheumatism the
as well
& Powell,
8-demethylorosunol
the
f.
rnethanol'ic
yg/ml
activity
methanol ic
( X I V ) and
activity
1.0
cytotoxic the
use
(Olaniyi
in v i t r o
