RESUMEN
Objective: To investigate the larvicidal activity of Syzygium guineense (Myrtaceae) (S. guineense), Monodora myristica and Zanthoxylum heitzii (Rutaceae) (Z. heitzii) ex-tracts against Aedes albopictus (Ae. albopictus). Methods: The larvicidal activity of the hydro-ethanolic extracts from these plant species was assessed at three different concentrations (50, 100 and 200 mg/L) on first-instar of Ae. albopictus larvae in comparison with untreated controls. Mortality rate was recorded daily for a period of 12 days. The values of LC50 and lethal time killing 50%of the tested individuals (LT50) were calculated using the log-probit analysis. Results: The root extract of S. guineense exhibited the best activity with 100%mortality after 8 days of treatment at 200 mg/L, followed by the fruit extract of Z. heitzii with 83.33%mortality at the same concentration. Nonetheless, larvae were most susceptible to the fruit extract of Z. heitzii both in terms of LC50 (39.89 mg/L) and LT50 (145.68 h). A statistically significant difference between the control and the group treated at 200 mg/L was noticed in all the extracts. Conclusions: The present study shows that the hydro-ethanolic extracts of S. guineense, Monodora myristica and Z. heitzii tested have significant larvicidal activity. These pre-liminary results are of great interest and some of these plant species can be proposed for the formulation of new bioinsecticides to control Ae. albopictus populations.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Several plant extracts from Rutaceae family are currently used to the management of sickle cell disorder (SCD) in the African. Few reports have shown that extracts from Zanthoxyllum or Fagara genus demonstrated anti-sickling property. This study investigates the in vitro antisickling and antioxidant properties of extracts from Zanthoxyllum heitzii. METHODS: The sickling of red blood cells (RBCs) was induced using sodium metabisulfite (2%) followed by treatment with extracts at different concentrations. The osmotic fragility tests permits to explore the effect of Z. heitzii extracts on haemoglobin S solubility and sickle cells membrane stability. For each extract, qualitative phytochemical tests were used to identify the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides and phenols, while some quantitative methods such as Folin, Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and diphenyl 1, 2 picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) were used to determine the antioxidant potential of these extracts. RESULTS: Sodium metabisulphite increased the sickling of RBCs from 29.62 to 55.46% during 2 h. Treatment of sickling cells with extracts at different concentrations showed that a decrease of the percentage of sickling cells was found in both induced and non induced sickling cells. The fruits extract of Z. heitzii demonstrated the best anti-sickling property. The same extract at 250 µg/mL showed the best membrane cell stability compared to others. All the extracts revealed an antioxidant and anti-radical activities although lesser compared to the standard. CONCLUSION: The fruit extract of Z. Heitzii demonstrated the most significant antisickling effect with a potential for use in the clinical management of SCD.