Coagulation of milk as an index of astringency of the bark extract ofBridelia ferruginea benth and lime juice for the formulation of a traditional gargle ‘Ogun Efu’

Bridelia ferruginea Benth.; An ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological review

Ethnopharmacological relevance

Bridelia ferruginea belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, identified as an important commonly growing shrub, is used in traditional medicine for managing arthritis, dysentery, constipation, chronic diabetes, skin diseases, bladder and intestinal disorders, oral infections, thrush, bites and as an arrow poison antidote. This review aims at providing information on the traditional medicinal uses, pharmacological activities, phytochemistry and toxicity studies of Bridelia ferruginea to bridge the gap between traditional medicinal uses and preclinical studies on B. ferruginea and subsequently lead to the development of valued added medicines from B. ferruginea.

Materials and methods

Data in this review were compiled using databases such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, Springer link, Elsevier and Taylor and Francis, articles from peer reviewed journals and other grey literature (short notes, book chapters, short communications) to access all the relevant information available on B. ferruginea.

Results

B. ferruginea contains different phytochemicals including flavonoids, phenolics, phytosterols, triterpenes, saponins, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides. Gallocatechin-(4′-O-7)-epigallocatechin, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 1,3,4,5-tetracaffeoylquinic acid and some derivatives of 3-methoxyflavone, such as quercetin-3-methyl ether, quercetin 3-,7,3′,4′-tetramethyl ether, myricetin 3′,4′,5′-trimethyl ether, myricetin 3,3′,4′,5′-tetramethyl ether, myricetin and quercetin 3-O-glucoside specific flavonoids and biflavonoids like apigenin, kaempferol and glycosides of both have been isolated and further characterized from B. ferruginea. B. ferruginea has several pharmacologically beneficial properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-infective, antipyretic, analgesic, diuretic and natriuretic activities.

Conclusion

The wide distribution, traditional medicinal uses and wealth of phytochemicals present in B. ferruginea suggests that the plant can be useful in lead compound discovery. Although B. ferruginea has been widely studied, further studies on the mechanism of action, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and side effects in humans need to be investigated.

In vivo antiplasmodial activities of aqueous extract of Bridelia ferruginea stem bark against Plasmodium berghei berghei in mice

CONTEXT

Bridelia ferruginea Benth (Euphorbiaceae) is an indigenous medicinal plant in Nigeria. It is usually a gnarled shrub which sometimes reaches the size of a tree in suitable condition. Decoctions of parts of this plant have been employed in ethno medicine in many parts of Africa for treatment of many ailments including malaria fever.

OBJECTIVE

In vivo antiplasmodial activity of aqueous stem bark extract of BF was investigated against Plasmodium berghei-infected mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The aqueous stem bark extract of BF (100-400 mg/kg) was administered orally to P. berghei-infected mice in both early and established models of antiplasmodial studies.

RESULTS

The extract exhibited significant (p < 0.05) antiplasmodial activity in early and established infection tests with a considerable mean survival time comparable to that of chloroquine, 10 mg/kg. The oral LD(50) obtained was greater than 5000 mg/kg in mice.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The findings show that aqueous stem bark extract of Bridelia ferruginea possesses considerable antiplasmodial activity which can be developed in malaria therapy.

Recent trends in research into African medicinal plants

Recent trends in research into African medicinal plants show that while ethnobotanical surveys continue, there is an appreciable increase in research activity in the area of bioactivity of natural products. The biological areas most researched include antimicrobial, molluscicidal, toxicity tests and antitumour in decreasing order. The isolation and characterisation of natural products from African plants without biological testing has yielded several compounds of novel structure and constitutes the majority of all the recent publications on African medicinal plants.