Review of Sudanese Medicinal Plants Screened for Antidiabetic Activity

Diabetes is a serious metabolic disorder and plenty of medical plants are used in traditional medicines to treat diabetes. These plants have no side effects, and many existing medicines are derived from the plants. The purpose of this systematic review is to study diabetes and to summarize the available treatments for this disease, focusing especially on herbal medicine

Lignans, Amides, and Saponins from Haplophyllum tuberculatum and Their Antiprotozoal Activity

A screening of Sudanese medicinal plants for antiprotozoal activities revealed that the chloroform and water fractions of the ethanolic root extract of Haplophyllum tuberculatum exhibited appreciable bioactivity against Leishmania donovani. The antileishmanial activity was tracked by HPLC-based activity profiling, and eight compounds were isolated from the chloroform fraction. These included lignans tetrahydrofuroguaiacin B (1), nectandrin B (2), furoguaiaoxidin (7), and 3,3′-dimethoxy-4,4′-dihydroxylignan-9-ol (10), and four cinnamoylphenethyl amides, namely dihydro-feruloyltyramine (5), (E)-N-feruloyltyramine (6), N,N′-diferuloylputrescine (8), and 7′-ethoxy-feruloyltyramine (9). The water fraction yielded steroid saponins 11–13. Compounds 1, 2, and 5–13 are reported for the first time from Haplophyllum species and the family Rutaceae. The antiprotozoal activity of the compounds plus two stereoisomeric tetrahydrofuran lignans—fragransin B2 (3) and fragransin B1 (4)—was determined against Leishmania donovani amastigotes, Plasmodium falciparum, and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense bloodstream forms, along with their cytotoxicity to rat myoblast L6 cells. Nectandrin B (2) exhibited the highest activity against L. donovani (IC50 4.5 µM) and the highest selectivity index (25.5).

Comparative morph-anatomical studies on selected Sudanese medicinal plants: part iv. abutilon figarianum and abutilon pannosum leaves

In this study, macro and micro morphology of the leaves of Abutilon figarianum and Abutilon pannosum(Malvaceae) were compared to assist as a relevant source of information and contribute towards the standards to dispose the quality and identity of these plants to avoid adulterations. Laminar size, shape, marginal type, leaf length, width, petiole length, leaf base angle and leaf apex angle were observed and measured. The relationships were illustrated by differences of radar shape. Transverse sections of the leaves were done using wax method. Three regions from each leaf were sectioned apex, middle and base. The epidermises formed of one layer of small polygonal cells covered by mucilage, large numbers of epidermal hairs appeared. The two leaves are dorsiventral. The vascular bundles arch shaped surrounded by collenchymas and ground parenchyma. Xylem consists of radial rows of cells. The phloem is found beneath. The structures at the apex, middle and bases of the leaves are similar, trichomes are denser in the middle region followed by the upper and lastly the lower region. Calcium oxalate druses are appeared in some parenchyma cells of the mid rib region, and these are of large numbers in the basal region.