Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
was injected intravenously into phosphamide-primed rats at various concentrations prior to grafting
of MNCs from healthy donors, maximum abrogation of the local XGVHR mounted by the MNCs
was observed.
225
It was shown that the reversal of the cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression by the
administration of the active fraction of the plant drug was complete since the volume of the abro-
gated local XGVHR (39.78 ± 8.3 mm
3
) was comparable to the value of 34.79 ± 5.69 mm
3
(
p
> 0.1)
in the negative saline control group without cyclophosphate priming.
124
Astragalus membraneceus
was also tested on a chemiluminescent oxidative burst system as an
indicator of phagocytic function in a murine macrophage cell line J774.
224
The J774 cells were incu-
bated with the aqueous herbal extract for 18 h at 37°C and 5% CO
2
, and chemiluminescent oxidation
was triggered by adding a zymosan. A suspension containing luminol was assayed in an automated
luminometer. It was observed that a significant dose-related augmentation of chemiluminescence
occurred with the addition of the extract.
228
The drug also potentiates the LAK cell cytotoxicity gen-
erated by low-dose recombinant interleukin-2.
225
Extracts of
Astragalus
are therefore indicated in the
treatment of patients suffering from iatrogenic or inherent immune deficiency.
AZADIRACHTA INDICA
Botanical Name —
Azadirachta indica
A. Juss
Synonyms —
Melia azadirachta
L.,
M. indica
(A. juss) Bandis
Family —
Meliaceae
Common Names —
Neem, nim, margosa tree, bead tree, holy tree, Indian lilac tree
African Names —
Arabic: zanzalacht; Hausa: dogon yaro; Igbo: ogwu akom; Yoruba:
aforo-oyinbo
Description —
A. indica
is a shady tree with an evergreen crown; it grows up to 25 m high in
some places but occurs in West Africa mostly as a medium-size tree. It has rough, dark brown bark
with wide, shallow longitudinal fissures separated by flat ridges. The bole is short and stout. It is
easily confused with
Melia azedarach,
an Asian tree, which has also been introduced to other tropi-
cal parts of the world; references to
A. indica
in very old literature should be viewed with caution.
The leaves are compound, imparipinnate, each comprising 5-15 leaflets; they are very diagnostic
and measure about 6 m long and 2 cm broad. The tree bears many flowered panicles, mostly in the
leaf axils; sepals are ovate-, sub- or bicullar, about 1 cm long, with sweet-scented white oblanceolate
petals. It produces yellow drupes, which are ellipsoid, glabrous, and 12-20 cm long.
9,33
Habitat and Distribution —
This is an introduced plant that is now naturalized in Africa. It
is widely cultivated throughout West and Central Africa as an ornamental plant. It is a drought-
resistant plant and therefore grows well in the arid parts of the continent.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The plant is used widely in Africa, especially on the West Coast, for
the treatment of malaria. It is such a favorite malaria remedy that it is uncommon near homes to see
an intact tree without the stem bark scraped for medicinal use. The extracts from neem have been
acclaimed as effective in malarial attacks for which the allopathic antimalarial drugs were found
ineffective either because of the presence of resistant
Plasmodium
strains or because of acquired
tolerance from repeated dosing with 4- or 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives and their analogues. The
dried flowers are used as a tonic and stomachic and externally for the treatment of chronic eczema
and as a fly repellant. A weak infusion of the bark is drunk as an antipyretic and a bitter. There is
a limited use of the aqueous decoction of the root as an anthelmintic agent. The seed, which yields
an oil of undistinguishable quality with the Indian “margosa oil” (technically the oil from
Melia
azedarach
), is used extensively as an ingredient in the preparation of remedies for hemorrhoids,
jaundice, and peptic ulcers. In Bendel State, Nigeria, the fruit juice is said to be useful in the treat-
ment of boils, syphilitic sores, skin diseases, glandular swellings, jaundice, and peptic ulcers. The
