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The African Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics 

About: The African Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Medicinal plants & Population. Over the lifetime, 164 publications have been published receiving 523 citations.

Papers published on a yearly basis

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Journal Article
TL;DR: The main objective of this review is to examine the current state of traditional herbal medicine practise in Kenya, the challenges facing the sector and the possible solutions to streamline the practice and maximize on the benefits.
Abstract: The use of herbal medicine is increasingly finding more relevance today, especially with the recognition that we are facing more challenges in the treatment of some medical conditions such as diabetes and cancer. To date, there are not many publications or records on the traditional herbal medicine use among the various Kenyan communities despite the widespread use. There is therefore an urgent need to document traditional medicines in Kenya for future reference and research. The main objective of this review is to examine the current state of traditional herbal medicine practise in Kenya, the challenges facing the sector and the possible solutions to streamline the practice and maximize on the benefits. The method adopted in this research involved the analysis of the available records on herbal medicine in Kenya from various sources including internet and the available books. This information was then compared with those in other countries with established systems in order to establish the existing inadequacies. The various efforts to document herbal medicine incorporate into mainstream healthcare and the legal framework was also reviewed. Key words: Herbal medicine, documentation, research

67 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Screening and comparing antimicrobial and hemolytic activities in different organs/tissues of the sea urchin suggest that marine echinoderms are a potential source of new types of antibiotics for pharmaceutical development.
Abstract: The recent appearance of a growing number of bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics has stimulated the search for novel antimicrobial agents or lead compounds from a variety of sources, including natural sources crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms, with particular interest on their secondary metabolites with desirable antimicrobial properties (Haug et al, 2002, Casas et al, 2010). Antimicrobial activity in several species of echinoderms collected from Gulf of California, Mexico, Caribbean and Coast of Norway has been reported (Rinehart et al, 1981; Bryan et al, 1994; Haug et al, 2002). In addition, a variety of antimicrobial factors, including steroidal glycosides (Andersson et al, 1989), polyhydroxylated sterols (Iorizzi et al, 1995), naphthoquinone pigments (Service and Wardlaw, 1984), lysozymes (Canicatti and Roch, 1989; Stabili and Pagliara, 1994), complement like substances (Leonard et al, 1990) and antimicrobial peptides (Beauregard et al, 2001) have also been isolated from echinoderms. These findings suggest that marine echinoderms are a potential source of new types of antibiotics for pharmaceutical development. Tripneustes gratilla (Echinoidea) collected from the Kenyan Coast. Unfortunately, in most of these studies on antimicrobial activity in echinoderms, whole bodies or body walls have been tested for activity. Recently, Haug et al. (2002) observed wide differences in antibacterial activities between different extracts and organs/tissues, as well as between species, of three echinoderms. Whether the same antibacterial factors are responsible for the activity in all organs or tissues remains unclear. The present work focused on screening and comparing antimicrobial and hemolytic activities in different organs/tissues of the sea urchin

38 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: The results of the study support the medicinal use of these plants and indicate that useful compounds from Hagenia abyssinica and Fuerstia africana can be isolated for further exploitation.
Abstract: Background: The world health organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of population in Africa relies on traditional remedies for their healthcare. However, very few studies have been carried out to establish the therapeutic effects of these remedies. Objective: Four medicinal plants were investigated for antimicrobial activity and toxicity. Materials and Methods: Plants were collected from their natural habitat, dried, and extracted with organic and aqueous solvents. Antimicrobial activity was determined by the disc diffusion assay technique. In vitro cytotoxicity studies were carried out on extracts using MTT assay on Vero cell lines while acute toxicity in Swiss mice. Results: Extracts from H. abyssinica , F. africana and A. racemosus exhibited antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration of ≤ 6.25mg/ml against S . aureus , MRSA and P. aeruginosa . However, the plants studied had weak antifungal activity. H. abyssinica and F. africana extracts were found to be cytotoxic with CC 50 of ˂ 90 µg/ml. These extracts were tested for acute toxicity and found to be safe at 5000 mg/kg body weight per day. Conclusion: The results of the study support the medicinal use of these plants and indicate that useful compounds from Hagenia abyssinica and Fuerstia africana can be isolated for further exploitation. Keywords: Medicinal plants, Antimicrobial activity, Cytotoxicity, Acute toxicity

18 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: This study was undertaken to screen organic extracts obtained from three Kenyan medicinal plants for antibacterial and antifungal activity as a basis for further phytochemical studies.
Abstract: In recent years, drug resistance to human pathogenic bacteria and fungi has increasingly been reported all over the world (Levy and Marshall, 2004; WHO 2004). Consequently, the increasing prevalence of multidrugresistant strains of microorganisms raises an urgent need to search for new sources of antimicrobial agents (Sieradzki et al, 1999) alongside other strategies such as regulated and rational use of antibiotics (Hernandez, 2005). The vast majority of traditionally used medicinal plants have not been adequately evaluated. This study was therefore undertaken to screen organic extracts obtained from three Kenyan medicinal plants for antibacterial and antifungal activity as a basis for further phytochemical studies. The plants to be studied were selected on the basis of ethnopharmacological reports of their use in traditional medicine; this approach is generally considered effective in the discovery of new bioactive agents from higher plants (Kloucek et al, 2005).

13 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Self-medication for perceived malaria is prevalent in Kisumu city, Western Kenya, and Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) is the drug of choice for self-medicated.
Abstract: Background : The choice and sources of antimalarial drugs used for self-medication has important implication to the current malaria treatment policies in Kenya. However, data on the choice of antimalarial drugs used for self-medication and their sources remains scanty. Objectives : The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of self-medication, the choice and sources of antimalarial drugs used for malaria self-medication in Kisumu city, Western Kenya. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional community based study, in which semi-structured questionnaires were randomly administered to 338 participants, in five administrative wards of Kisumu city. Results: Overall, 250 (74%) of the participants reported self-medication for perceived malaria illness. Of the 250 participants, 219 (87.6%) had used an antimalarial drug(s), while 31 (12.4%) took other drugs (antipyretics and herbs), which they perceived to have antimalarial effect. Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT), was the drug of choice for majority 154 (70.3%) of those who had self-medicated. The other antimalarials used were sulphadoxine/sulphalene-pyrimethamine 25 (11.4%), amodiaquine 11 (5%), chloroquine 5 (2.3%), quinine 2 (0.9%), dihydroartemisinin 1 (0.5%), halofantrene 1 (0.5%) and 20 (9%) of participants had used two different antimalarials. The antimalarial drugs were sourced from private pharmacies/chemists (78.4%), general retail shops (29.2%), left over drugs at home (1.6%), or friends, relatives and neighbors (2.8%). Conclusion: Self-medication for perceived malaria is prevalent in Kisumu city. ACT is the drug of choice for self-medication. However, a substantial proportion of individuals use currently ineffective antimalarials or other drugs, for example antipyretics, with no known antimalarial efficacy. Pharmacies/chemists and general retail shops are the major sources for self-prescribed drugs. Key words: Self-medication, antimalarial drugs, choices, sources

12 citations

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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Journal in previous years
YearPapers
20205
20193
20189
201729
201631
201523