Antimycobacterial Evaluation of Fifteen Medicinal Plants in South Africa

Fifteen plant species were collected from the Nelspruit Botanical Garden based on a list of plants provided by Phytomedicine Programme at the University of Pretoria and their ethnopharmacological information. Hexane, dichloromethane (DCM), acetone and methanolic extracts were screened for antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The acetone extract of Milletia stulhimannii was the most active, showing activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.13 mg/ml. Acetone extracts for all plants had lower MIC values ranging between 0.11–1.25 mg/ml against M. smegmatis. Milletia stulhimannii, Albizia gummifera, Xanthocercis zambesiaca and Barringtonia racemosa have shown great potential as anti-tuberculosis agents. They were active against M. smegmatis with average MIC values of acetone extracts of 0.13 mg/ml.     

How participatory is parental consent in low literacy rural settings in low income countries? Lessons learned from a community based study of infants in South India

Background  

A requisite for ethical human subjects research is that participation should be informed and voluntary. Participation during the informed consent process by way of asking questions is an indicator of the extent to which consent is informed.     

Transfection screening for primary defects in the pyruvate dehydrogenase E1alpha subunit gene

In a significant number of patients with biochemical evidence of a defect in the E1 (pyruvate dehydrogenase) component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, it has not proved possible to identify a mutation in the gene coding regions. To assess the need for more extensive genetic analysis in these patients and to establish a test system in which to study the biochemical consequences of mutations in the E1alpha subunit gene (which is responsible for the great majority of defined cases of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency), we have developed a method to screen for E1alpha gene defects based on complementation of the enzyme deficiency in transformed fibroblast cell lines following transfection and expression of the normal cDNA. Using this system, cell lines from patients with a variety of different defined mutations in the E1alpha gene show restoration of enzyme activity. A number of patients have been identified in whom deficient enzyme activity is not restored by expression of the normal cDNA indicating that an alternative explanation for the enzyme defect must be sought.      

IL-1对维甲酸诱致高白细胞症的影响

使用生物活性检测法检测ATRA治疗前后APL患者血清中IL-1活性的动态变化,并分析IL-1活性与外周血白细胞数变化的相关性。观察经ATRA作用后不同时相NB4细胞、巨噬细胞和血管内皮细胞上清液中IL-1活性的动态变化,并以RT-PCR法检测NB4细胞中IL-1 mRNA表达的变化。结果表明,患者外周血白细胞数及粒细胞数与血清中IL-1活性的变化相关;ATRA作用后,NB4细胞、巨噬细胞和血管内皮细胞上清液中IL-1活性均呈时间依赖性增高;ATRA可上调NB4细胞中IL-1的表达。结论:ATRA治疗APL过程中,多种细胞来源的IL-1可能参与了高白细胞症的发生。     

Radical Scavenging Activity of Selected Medicinal Plants From Limpopo Province of South Africa

Plants collected from Limpopo province of South Africa were investigated for their antioxidative potential using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Acetone extracts of Flueggea virosa had the highest antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ value of 30 µg/ml, closely matching the ascorbic acid with an IC₅₀ value of 25 µg/ml. The lowest antioxidant readings were observed with extracts of Rhynchosia venulosa (root extract) and Ficus ingens (leaf extract). Acetone extract of Bridelia virosa leaves had the highest phenolic content (156 mg GAE/g extract), while the lowest content was recorded for R. venulosa root extract and leaf extract of F. ingens (8.3 and 17.7 mg GAE/g extract, respectively). There was a linear correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. Extracts with high phenolic content had low IC₅₀ values, while extracts with low phenolic concentrations had high IC₅₀ values.