THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF K. AFRICANAIN THE TREATMENT OF SOME MICROBIAL INFECTIONS

THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF K. AFRICANAIN THE TREATMENT OF SOME MICROBIAL INFECTIONS                                             

  CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                   INTRODUCTION

Plants have been used for thousands of years as medicines for treating a variety of different diseases and medical complaints by most, if not all civilisations. Phytotherapy in Asia is particularly widespread and documented. Similarly, plant based medicinal systems continue to be the primary therapeutic system in many parts of Africa. For example, Phytolaccadodecandrais used as a moluscicide in the control of schistosomiasis (Lemma, 1991). Some African plant derived medicines have also found a place in modern Western medicinal systems. The antitumour agents vinblastine and vincristine (derived from Catharanthusroseus) are currently used in the treatment of a variety of tumours( Reich et al.,1999) The medicinal properties of other African plant species are less well understood despite a long history of ethnobotanical usage.

Kigeliaafricana( family Bignoniaceae ), commonly known as sausage or cucumber tree due to the shape of its fruit, is an African plant with a wide geographical range of usage, ranging from Southern Africa, through Central Africa, to Western Africa (www.plantzafrica.com,2014)

In Nigeria the Igboʼs  call it okpokolo, the Yorubaʼs call it sapo while the Hausaʼs call it kwari.Its use as both a therapeutic agent and as a food have been recorded over much of sub-Saharan Africa. K.africanais a large tree, growing to 20 m in height. It hassmooth grey bark which regularly peels off older trees.The grey-brown fruit is a large woody berry, often morethan 30 cm (and up to 1 m) in length and up to 18 cm indiameter,which hangs vertically on long peduncles. Somefruit have been reported to weigh as much as 5–10 kg.They are indehiscent, with a woody wall and multiple lenticles at the surface. Once mature, the fruit contain manyoboid seeds embedded in the fibrous pulp. Whilst the fruit is most often cited as having therapeuticproperties, multiple parts of the K. africanatree have been used in traditional healing systems in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions and complaints. The powdered mature fruit is used to treat wounds, abscesses, and ulcers, whilst the green fruit is used to treat syphilis andrheumatis (Van et al., 1996). An infusion made from the ground bark and fruit is used to treat stomach problems in children( Hutchingset al.,1996) Roots and bark are used to treat pneumonia (Van,1996). In West Africa, leaves and twigs are used to treat wounds, dysentery, stomach and kidney disorders, snakebite, and rheumatism.(Jackson,1997; Houghton, 1996). The fruit is used to treat constipation, gynaecological disorders, haemorrhoids, lumbago and dysentery (Jackson,1997). Slices of mature baked fruits are used to ferment(Laswaiet al., 1997).  Due to its range of medicinal uses, K. africanamay provide a source of useful phytochemicals with therapeutic properties which could be used as alternatives to currently used medicines.

1.1       Significance Of The Study

The cost of antibiotics is high and there are cases of resistance by microorganism to them. As such the use of natural products will go a long way to reduce the cost of the drugs and check the resistance problem.

1.2       Statement Of The Problem

Escherichia coli and Candida albicans  are common organisms that cause some ailment such as diarrhea, anemia and itching. However because of drugs abuse they have developed resistance to commonly used antibiotics.

This work will probably profer solution, by the use of natural product.

1.3       Aims And Objectives

The aim of this work is to ascertain the therapeutic effect of K. africanain the treatment of some microbial infections.