Nigerian researchers have enlisted another local plant as one of the major candidates in the quest for better alternatives in the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, pains, obesity, malaria, preventing miscarriages, menstrual disorders, hastening childbirth, boosting immunity in people living with Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), among others. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.
How local plant beats diabetes, pains, others
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BOTANICALLY called Hunteria umbellata, the plant belongs to the family Apocynaceae. In Nigeria, it is known as osu in Edo, erin or aarin in Yoruba and nkpokiri in Ibo. The seeds are generally called abeere.
A professor of Botany at the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology and the Dean of Student Affairs, University of Benin (UNIBEN) Edo State, MacDonald Idu, told The Guardian that Hunteria umbellata is one of the plants his team found to be useful in treatment of diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.
Idu said: "There is a particular plant, which I could not do further investigation on. It is called Hunteria umbellata. We worked on it some years back. We found out that it increases the immunity of the body. During our round table talk, the medicinal microbiologists insisted that this particular plant would be very helpful in the treatment of HIV/AIDS."
Idu said he got to know about the plant from Cote d'Ivoire where they use the plant to effectively treat malaria. Idu further stated: "If I show you the seed you will be surprised. If you taste it now, you would not be able to eat because it is very bitter. We have done the preliminary work. We did the toxicity and the antimicrobial. We have gathered it again. We are hoping to develop it and see if we can get a grant so that we can go outside the country to see if we can harness that immune aspect of it."
Idu said most degenerative diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart attack are because of poor eating habits. "Let me be honest with you, most of these diseases are because of eating habit. Our eating habit in Nigeria is very bad. People just eat anything. Once you can combine good eating habit and the use of that formulation you are at peace with yourself," he said.
According to The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa Vol 1, "The bark and the root are made into a bitter tonic in Nigeria, and powdered root and root-decoction are used to prevent miscarriage and in treatment of menorrhagia (an abnormally heavy and prolonged menstrual period at regular intervals). A number of alkaloids have been detected in the plant."
According to the Polish Pharmaceutical Society's journal, Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica ń Drug Research, Vol. 67 No. 1 pp. 81ń85, 2010, various parts of the plant have been used in herbal medicine for the treatment of diabetes, peptic ulcers, piles, yaws, dysmenorrhea, fevers, infertility, and helminthic infections.
Yaws is a long-term chronic infection that mainly affects the skin, bones, and joints. Dysmenorrhea (or dysmenorrhoea) is a gynecological medical condition characterized by severe uterine pain during menstruation. Helminthic is a medication capable of causing the evacuation of parasitic intestinal worms.
Chemical constituents such as saponins, steroids, tannins, volatile oils, phenols and copious amounts of alkaloids have been reported in the fruits of H. umbellata. Members of the genus Hunteria have been subject of chemical and biological investigation and they have been widely employed in traditional herbal medicine for treatment of pains and inflammations.
The results of a recent study by Nigerian researchers at the UNIBEN indicates that the aqueous extract of H. umbellata possesses acute inflammatory activity which may be mediated by either inhibition or by blocking the release of prostaglandins and histamine, thus supporting the usage of the plant in traditional medicine treatment of inflammation.
The study is titled "Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Aqueous Fruit Pulp Extract of Hunteria umbellata in Acute and Chronic Inflammation."
The researchers concluded: "The aqueous fruit pulp extract of H. umbellata has been shown to be effective against acute inflammation (carrageenan- and dextran-induced paw edema, and xylene-induced ear edema) in a dose related manner but without any significant inhibitory effect on chronic inflammation (formalin-induced arthritis). This present study supports the claim in the use of the fruit pulp extract of H. umbellata in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory conditions."
Inflammation is associated with lower intelligence and premature death, according to Swedish scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Also, West African traditional midwives use Hunteria umbellata as phytomedicine in herbal remedies to treat pregnancy related ailment, and most especially to augment or induce labour in gravid uterus.
Nigerian researchers have investigated this claim with view to validating scientifically the ethno - medicinal usage. The study is titled "Phytochemical Components of Hunteria umbellate and its Effect on Isolated Non-Pregnant Rat Uterus in Oestrus."
This preliminary investigation revealed that Hunteria umbellata has oxytocic (hastening or facilitating childbirth, especially by stimulating contractions of the uterus) effect thus justifying the use by the traditional birth attendants."
Also, researchers at the Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, and University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, have investigated the use of dry seeds of Hunteria umbellata in the treatment of various human diseases, including diabetes mellitus and obesity.
According to the study published in International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products, "Results showed that HU caused progressive and significant dose-related reduction in the blood glucose concentrations in normal and drug-induced hyperglycaemic rats, an effect, which was more than that of glibenclamide (anti-diabetic drug) and mediated via inhibition of intestinal glucose uptake and adrenergic homeostatic mechanisms. HU also caused significant dose-dependent reduction in the average body weight of treated rats when compared to untreated rats."
"The acute oral toxicity study showed that the plant extract had an LD50 of 1020 mg/kg and as such slightly toxic. Results of the phytochemical analysis of HU revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and glycosides. Thus, the data generated in the present study has a strong positive correlation with its folkloric use in the treatment of suspected type 2 diabetic patients, although its use should be with great caution."
The study is titled "Hypoglycaemic effects of the aqueous seed extract of Hunteria umbellata in normoglycaemic and glucose- and nicotine-induced hyperglycaemic rats."
How local plant beats diabetes, pains, others
advertisement
BOTANICALLY called Hunteria umbellata, the plant belongs to the family Apocynaceae. In Nigeria, it is known as osu in Edo, erin or aarin in Yoruba and nkpokiri in Ibo. The seeds are generally called abeere.
A professor of Botany at the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology and the Dean of Student Affairs, University of Benin (UNIBEN) Edo State, MacDonald Idu, told The Guardian that Hunteria umbellata is one of the plants his team found to be useful in treatment of diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.
Idu said: "There is a particular plant, which I could not do further investigation on. It is called Hunteria umbellata. We worked on it some years back. We found out that it increases the immunity of the body. During our round table talk, the medicinal microbiologists insisted that this particular plant would be very helpful in the treatment of HIV/AIDS."
Idu said he got to know about the plant from Cote d'Ivoire where they use the plant to effectively treat malaria. Idu further stated: "If I show you the seed you will be surprised. If you taste it now, you would not be able to eat because it is very bitter. We have done the preliminary work. We did the toxicity and the antimicrobial. We have gathered it again. We are hoping to develop it and see if we can get a grant so that we can go outside the country to see if we can harness that immune aspect of it."
Idu said most degenerative diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart attack are because of poor eating habits. "Let me be honest with you, most of these diseases are because of eating habit. Our eating habit in Nigeria is very bad. People just eat anything. Once you can combine good eating habit and the use of that formulation you are at peace with yourself," he said.
According to The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa Vol 1, "The bark and the root are made into a bitter tonic in Nigeria, and powdered root and root-decoction are used to prevent miscarriage and in treatment of menorrhagia (an abnormally heavy and prolonged menstrual period at regular intervals). A number of alkaloids have been detected in the plant."
According to the Polish Pharmaceutical Society's journal, Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica ń Drug Research, Vol. 67 No. 1 pp. 81ń85, 2010, various parts of the plant have been used in herbal medicine for the treatment of diabetes, peptic ulcers, piles, yaws, dysmenorrhea, fevers, infertility, and helminthic infections.
Yaws is a long-term chronic infection that mainly affects the skin, bones, and joints. Dysmenorrhea (or dysmenorrhoea) is a gynecological medical condition characterized by severe uterine pain during menstruation. Helminthic is a medication capable of causing the evacuation of parasitic intestinal worms.
Chemical constituents such as saponins, steroids, tannins, volatile oils, phenols and copious amounts of alkaloids have been reported in the fruits of H. umbellata. Members of the genus Hunteria have been subject of chemical and biological investigation and they have been widely employed in traditional herbal medicine for treatment of pains and inflammations.
The results of a recent study by Nigerian researchers at the UNIBEN indicates that the aqueous extract of H. umbellata possesses acute inflammatory activity which may be mediated by either inhibition or by blocking the release of prostaglandins and histamine, thus supporting the usage of the plant in traditional medicine treatment of inflammation.
The study is titled "Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Aqueous Fruit Pulp Extract of Hunteria umbellata in Acute and Chronic Inflammation."
The researchers concluded: "The aqueous fruit pulp extract of H. umbellata has been shown to be effective against acute inflammation (carrageenan- and dextran-induced paw edema, and xylene-induced ear edema) in a dose related manner but without any significant inhibitory effect on chronic inflammation (formalin-induced arthritis). This present study supports the claim in the use of the fruit pulp extract of H. umbellata in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory conditions."
Inflammation is associated with lower intelligence and premature death, according to Swedish scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Also, West African traditional midwives use Hunteria umbellata as phytomedicine in herbal remedies to treat pregnancy related ailment, and most especially to augment or induce labour in gravid uterus.
Nigerian researchers have investigated this claim with view to validating scientifically the ethno - medicinal usage. The study is titled "Phytochemical Components of Hunteria umbellate and its Effect on Isolated Non-Pregnant Rat Uterus in Oestrus."
This preliminary investigation revealed that Hunteria umbellata has oxytocic (hastening or facilitating childbirth, especially by stimulating contractions of the uterus) effect thus justifying the use by the traditional birth attendants."
Also, researchers at the Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, and University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, have investigated the use of dry seeds of Hunteria umbellata in the treatment of various human diseases, including diabetes mellitus and obesity.
According to the study published in International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products, "Results showed that HU caused progressive and significant dose-related reduction in the blood glucose concentrations in normal and drug-induced hyperglycaemic rats, an effect, which was more than that of glibenclamide (anti-diabetic drug) and mediated via inhibition of intestinal glucose uptake and adrenergic homeostatic mechanisms. HU also caused significant dose-dependent reduction in the average body weight of treated rats when compared to untreated rats."
"The acute oral toxicity study showed that the plant extract had an LD50 of 1020 mg/kg and as such slightly toxic. Results of the phytochemical analysis of HU revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and glycosides. Thus, the data generated in the present study has a strong positive correlation with its folkloric use in the treatment of suspected type 2 diabetic patients, although its use should be with great caution."
The study is titled "Hypoglycaemic effects of the aqueous seed extract of Hunteria umbellata in normoglycaemic and glucose- and nicotine-induced hyperglycaemic rats."