dc.contributor.author | Karumi, E W | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2014-01-09T10:22:40Z | |
dc.date.available | 2014-01-09T10:22:40Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2013 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Karumi,Esther W.,2013.Phytochemical, Anthelmintic And Antimicrobial Investigation Of Hagenia Abyssinica (bruce) Gmelin. | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11295/62684 | |
dc.description.abstract | Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) Gmelin is a flowering plant that is widespread in the
afromontane regions of Central and Eastern Africa. It is an important medicinal plant that
societies relied on for generations for combating various ailments. Its inflorescence, for
example, is used traditionally as an anthelmintic. Its roots are cooked in soup for
treatment of malaria and the pounded bark is used for treatment of diarrhea. Besides
being a source of medicine, Hagenia has been utilized for various other purposes such as
construction, furniture, fuel and soil fertility management. As a result of its enormous
significance, H abyssinica is at risk of becoming an endangered tree species due to
overexploitation. The objective ofthis study was to carry out phytochemical/investigation
of its chemical constituents and screen it for in vitro anthelmintic and antimicrobial
activities.
The plant material was collected from South Kinangop, Nyandarua county in September,
2009. Phytochemical tests showed that the plant powders contained alkaloids, tannins,
saponins and cardiac glycosides. The plant extraction was done by maceration and
percolation using petroleum ether, chloroform, dichloromethane / methanol mixture and
methanol. The petroleum ether and chloroform extracts were subjected to open column
chromatography using solvents of varying polarity as the mobile phase. Thin layer
chromatography was used to monitor the fractions. Two crystalline compounds were
isolated from the chloroform extract and subjected to spectroscopic analysis. One of the
compounds was identified as sitosterol. The second one was obtained in insufficient
quantities and thus its structure could not be elucidated.
The in vitro anthelmintic activities of crude extracts of the stem bark and flowers were
investigated. Screening for anthelmintic activity was carried out using Panagrellus
redivivus model whereby the methanol and dichloromethane/ methanol extracts exhibited
activity. Further tests were carried out on the stem bark methanol extract. These were the
whole worm and the cut worm assays using Caenorhabditis elegans species. In these
assays, the activity of the methanol extract was compared to levamisole to show the
percentage of worms alive after incubation at room temperature for 24 hours for whole
worm assay; and the time in minutes taken to paralysis in cut worm assay. The extract
showed significant but weaker activity than levamisole.
Some of the plant extracts were screened for both antibacterial and antifungal activities
using agar diffusion method. Petroleum ether and dichloromethane/ methanol extracts
showed activity against: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis.
The respective diameters of zones of inhibition were 17, 16 and 16 mm for petroleum
ether extract; and 19, 20 and 18 mm for dichloromethane/ methanol extract, while that of
positive control was 20 mm for all the bacterial microorganisms. Chloroform extract at
the same concentration only exhibited weak activity against Bacillus subtilis and the
methanol extract did not exhibit any activity. All the Hagenia extracts tested lacked any
antifungal activity at a concentration of 50 mg/ml.
The present study shows there may be a scientific basis for the traditional use of Hagenia
abyssinica as an anthelmintic and also for treatment of diarrhea and livestock diseases
caused by bacteria. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | University of Nairobi | en_US |
dc.title | Phytochemical, Anthelmintic And Antimicrobial Investigation Of Hagenia Abyssinica (bruce) Gmelin | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
dc.description.department | a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya | |