A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / Unable to load abstract.

MSc (Med) (Pharmaceutical Affairs), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / Fifteen traditional medicinal plants, indigenous to southern Africa, that are used to treat various respiratory ailments were screened for their antimicrobial activity and their chemical profiles were documented. Acetone:methanol (1:1) extracts were prepared from the leaves, stems, roots, barks and thorns of the investigated plant species. The antimicrobial activity was determined against pathogens associated with respiratory conditions i.e. Moraxella catarrhalis, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The MIC values ranged from 0.08 mg/ml to 12 mg/ml. The two pathogens against which the most number of extracts obtained MIC values that were ≤ 1 mg/ml were Moraxella catarrhalis (68% of the extracts) and Bacillus cereus (56% of the extracts). The plant extracts that obtained the five lowest average MIC values against the respiratory pathogens were the root extracts of Terminalia sericea (0.69 mg/ml), leaf and stem extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides (1.04 mg/ml), leaf, stem and flower extract of Leucas martinicensis (1.10 mg/ml), leaf extract of Zanthoxylum davyi (1.29 mg/ml) and the leaf and stem extracts of Lantana rugosa (1.32 mg/ml). For the bioautographic assays, clear zones of inhibition were recorded for Lantana rugosa (leaves and stems) and Vitex rehmannii (leaves) against Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis. The root extract of Ziziphus mucronata had a clear zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus. The leaf and stem extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides had a clear zone of inhibition against Moraxella catarrhalis. The chemical profiles that were recorded for the plant extracts comprised of HPLC and TLC chromatograms. The HPLC and TLC profiles resulted in the separation of the chemical constituents thus providing a chemical fingerprint for the plant extracts. Flavonoids were tentatively identified for Acacia sieberiana (leaves), Alepidea amatymbica (roots), Clematis oweniae (leaves), Clerodendrum glabrum (leaves), Heteromorpha arborescens (bark), Peucedanum caffrum (roots B), Vitex rehmannii (leaves) and Ziziphus mucronata (leaves). The TLC chromatograms qualitatively displayed good separation of the compounds present in the plant extracts. The antimicrobial activity recorded for the plant extracts validates their traditional uses to treat various respiratory infections and the chemical profiles provide a reference of the chemical profiles of the plant extracts that can be used in future investigations

Thesis (M.Sc. (Med.))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1991

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, School of Physiology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine. Johannesburg, 2014 / Sedentary lifestyles and poor dietary choices are the major cause of the global increase in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic dysfunction in children. The high cost and limited access to conventional drugs by poor communities make them depend on ethnomedicines. Terminalia sericea (T. sericea) contains phytochemicals that give its extracts hypolipidaemic and hypoglycaemic properties hence its use in ethnomedicine to treat diabetes mellitus. Using weanling Wistar rat pups fed a high fructose diet to model growing children exposed to high-sugar diets, this study sought to evaluate the effects of aqueous T. sericea leaf extracts on their growth performance, glucose homeostasis, visceral morphometry and their general health profile. Forty 21-day old male Wistar pups were randomly allocated to five treatment regimens. Each group had ad libitum access to a commercially supplied rat chow. Group 1 pups were given plain drinking water and plain gelatine cubes, group 2: 12% fructose solution and plain gelatine cubes, group 3: 12% fructose solution and gelatine cubes containing fenofibrate at a dosage of 100 mg.kg-1 per day, group 4: 12% fructose solution and gelatine cubes with a low dose (100 mg.kg-1 per day) of the T. sericea extract and group 5: 12% fructose solution and gelatine cubes with a high dose (400 mg.kg-1 per day) of the T. sericea extract. The pups were maintained on the regimens for 12 weeks after which they under went an oral glucose tolerance test. Fasting blood metabolite content was then determined after which the rats were killed and tissues collected for visceral morphometrical, linear growth and surrogate markers’ of health determinations. T. sericea extracts had no negative effect on growth performance (body mass and indexes of long bone growth) but rats given fenofibrate had lighter empty carcasses and shorter tibiae. vi The administration of T. sericea extracts neither improved glucose homeostasis nor caused derangement of glucose handling by rats given a high fructose diet following an oral glucose challenge. However, the administration of fenofibrate to rats given a high fructose diet resulted in decreased glucose handling following an oral glucose challenge. With the exception of the administration of fenofibrate which resulted in a significantly high (P < 0.05) fasting blood glucose concentration, treatment regimens had no effect on fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations. Rats given fructose with either plain gelatine cubes or low T. sericea dose had significantly higher (P < 0.05) liver lipid content compared with the control treatment. Administration of T. sericea extracts to rats given a high fructose diet had no effect on the GIT, other abdominal viscera and markers of general health. The administration of fenofibrate to rats given a high fructose diet caused increased relative mass of GIT organs (stomach, small intestine and caecum), increased absolute mass of other viscera (liver and kidney); increased serum phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase concentration. Results from the study revealed that administration of a high dose of aqueous T. sericea leaf extracts has potent phytochemicals properties that has helped to prevent high fructose diet-induced deposition of fat in the in the liver (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), without compromising growth, visceral morphometry and general health of growing Wistar rats.

University of Macau / Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences

University of Macau / Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences

University of Macau / Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences

The non-random selection of medicinal plants theory, which states that phylogeny affects the selection of medicinal plants, was proposed by Daniel Moerman to indirectly prove that traditional medicinal systems are rational and based in part by the therapeutic efficacy of plants. The logic of this theory is that because members of a taxonomical group share similar characteristics, some groups will be more medicinal and will be over-used in pharmacopoeias, while other groups bereft of secondary metabolites and therapeutic potential will be under-used medicinally. To test this theory, Moerman linearly regressed the total number of medicinal plants per family against the total number of plants per family present in an area and examined residual values to find over-used and under-used medicinal plant families. The method has been praised for its simplicity. Nonetheless, shortcomings have been noted and criticized, inspiring researchers to propose new procedures to test for phylogenetic biases in pharmacopoeias. Negative Binomial regression and examination of studentized residuals, the method used in this investigation, ameliorates the original one with a few corrections, conserving the simplicity and solving for all the criticized flaws. Also, this study incorporated different sociodemographic factors to determine if the intracultural homogeneity of traditional knowledge affects the results of the non-random selection of medicinal plants theory analysis. By testing Moerman’s theory, which is one of Ethnobotany’s major theories, this investigation is in agreement with the call to have more hypothesis-driven research within a theoretical framework to continue to advance the Ethnobotany field. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

by Cho Chi Shing. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references. / Acknowledgements --- p.I / Table of Contents --- p.II / Abbreviations --- p.VII / Aim and Scope of This Dissertation --- p.X / Abstract --- p.XII / Chapter Chapter One --- General Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- An Overview of the Immune System --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Humoral antibody immune responses --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Cell-mediated immune responses --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2 --- Immunomodulation --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3 --- An Overview of the Anti-tumour Strategies --- p.6 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Immunological defense mechanisms against tumours --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3.1.1 --- T and B lymphocytes --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.1.2 --- The monocytes/macrophages --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.1.3 --- Non-specific killer cells --- p.10 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Adoptive immunotherapy against tumours --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Induction of tumour cell differentiation --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4 --- Traditional Chinese Medicines as Potential Immunomodulators and Anti-tumour Agents --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5 --- General Properties of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Materials and Methods --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1 --- Materials --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Animals --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Astragalus membranaceus --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- "Buffers, culture media and chemicals" --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Cell lines --- p.25 / Chapter 2.2 --- Methods --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Extraction and fractionation of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Characterization of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- In vivo drug treatment --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Isolation and preparation of cells --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Assays for the immunomodulatory activities of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Assays for the immunorestorative properties of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Assays for the anti-tumour activities of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Statistical analysis --- p.47 / Chapter Chapter Three --- "Extraction, Fractionation and Characterization of Bioactive Components from Astragalus membranaceus" --- p.49 / Introduction --- p.49 / Results --- p.50 / Chapter 3.1 --- Extraction and Fractionation of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.50 / Chapter 3.2 --- Lack of Cytotoxicity of A.M. to Mouse Splenocytes --- p.51 / Chapter 3.3 --- Mitogenic Effect of A.M. Fractions on Mouse Splenocytes --- p.51 / Chapter 3.4 --- AP and AI Fractions Did Not Exhibit Lectin-like Activity --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5 --- Heat Stability of AP and AI Fractions --- p.52 / Chapter 3.6 --- Chemical Destruction of the Mitogenic Activity of AI by Sodium Periodate But Not by Acetic Acid Treatment --- p.53 / Discussion --- p.54 / Chapter Chapter Four --- The Immunomodulatory Activities of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.63 / Introduction --- p.63 / Results --- p.65 / Chapter 4.1 --- Effect of Astragalus membranaceus on the Specific and Nonspecific Immunity --- p.65 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Mitogenic effect of AI on mouse splenocytes in vivo --- p.65 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Effect of AI on lymphocyte sub-populations --- p.66 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Co-mitogenic effect of AI on mouse splenocytes in vitro --- p.66 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Enhancement of the mitogen-induced lymphocyte transformation in vitro by oral administration of AI --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1.5 --- Mitogenic and co-mitogenic effects of AI on human cord blood lymphocytes in vitro --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1.6 --- Primary humoral immune response to SRBC in AI-treated mice --- p.68 / Chapter 4.1.7 --- Effect of AI on interleukin-2 production --- p.68 / Chapter 4.1.8 --- Effect of AI on interleukin-2 receptor expression on mouse splenocytes --- p.69 / Chapter 4.1.9 --- Immunopotentiating effects of AI on macrophage functions --- p.70 / Chapter 4.1.9.1 --- Effect of AI on the cytostatic activity of macrophages in vitro --- p.70 / Chapter 4.1.9.2 --- In vivo migration and phagocytic activity of macrophages in AI-treated mice --- p.70 / Chapter 4.1.9.3 --- Cytostatic activity of macrophages in AI-treated mice --- p.71 / Chapter 4.1.9.4 --- Effect of AI on the Fc receptor expression on mouse resident peritoneal exudate cells --- p.71 / Chapter 4.2 --- Immunorestorative Properties of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Effect of AI on lymphocyte blastogenesis in aging mice --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Effect of AI on lymphocyte blastogenesis in tumour-bearing mice --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Effect of AI on lymphocyte blastogenesis in cyclophosphamide- treated mice --- p.73 / Discussion --- p.74 / Chapter Chapter Five --- The Anti-tumour Activities of Astragalus membranaceus --- p.94 / Introduction --- p.94 / Results --- p.95 / Chapter 5.1 --- Lack of Direct Cytotoxicity of AI to Murine and Human Tumour Cell Lines In Vitro --- p.95 / Chapter 5.2 --- Cytostatic Effect of AI on Various Murine and Human Cell Lines In Vitro --- p.96 / Chapter 5.3 --- Effect of AI on the Growth of Transplantable Tumour Cells In Vivo --- p.97 / Chapter 5.4 --- Effect of AI on TNF Production in Tumour-bearing Mice --- p.97 / Chapter 5.5 --- In Vitro Induction of Lymphokine-activated Killer Cell Activity by AI --- p.98 / Chapter 5.6 --- Tumour Cell Differentiation-inducing Activity of AI --- p.99 / Discussion --- p.100 / Chapter Chapter Six --- General Discussion and Future Perspectives --- p.120 / References --- p.130

by Chun Yiu-to. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Bibliography: leaves 72-79.