Ascaris lumbricoides is a large parasitic roundworm of the genus Ascaris. It is the most common parasitic worm in humans. An estimated 807 million–1.2 billion people are infected with A. lumbricoides worldwide. People living in tropical and subtropical countries are at greater risk of infection. Infection by Ascaris lumbricoides infection is known as Ascariasis.
Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. Symptoms increase with the number of worms present and may include shortness of breath and fever in the beginning of the disease. These may be followed by symptoms of abdominal swelling, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Children are most commonly affected, and in this age group the infection may also cause poor weight gain, malnutrition, and learning problems.
Argyreia nervosa is a perennial climbing vine native to the Indian subcontinent and introduced to numerous areas worldwide, including Hawaii, Africa, and the Caribbean. Though it can be invasive, it is often prized for its aesthetic and medicinal value. Common names include Hawaiian baby woodrose, adhoguda अधोगुडा or vidhara विधारा (Sanskrit), elephant creeper and woolly morning glory. Its seeds are known for their powerful entheogenic properties, greater or similar to those of Ipomoea species, with users reporting significant psychedelic and spiritual experiences. The two botanical varieties are A. n. var. nervosa described here, and A. n. var. speciosa, which are used in Ayurvedic medicine for their medicinal value.
Mesembryanthemum tortuosum is a succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It is known as kanna, channa, kougoed —which literally means, 'chew(able) things' or 'something to chew'.
Major sperm protein (MSP) is a nematode specific small protein of 126 amino acids with a molecular weight of 14 kDa. It is the key player in the motility machinery of nematodes that propels the crawling movement/motility of nematode sperm. It is the most abundant protein present in nematode sperm, comprising 15% of the total protein and more than 40% of the soluble protein. MSP is exclusively synthesized in spermatocytes of the nematodes. The MSP has two main functions in the reproduction of the helminthes: i) as cytosolic component it is responsible for the crawling movement of the mature sperm, and ii) once released, it acts as hormone on the female germ cells, where it triggers oocyte maturation and stimulates the oviduct wall to contract to bring the oocytes into position for fertilization. MSP has first been identified in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Emodepside is an anthelmintic drug that is effective against a number of gastrointestinal nematodes, is licensed for use in cats and belongs to the class of drugs known as the octadepsipeptides, a relatively new class of anthelmintic, which are suspected to achieve their anti-parasitic effect by a novel mechanism of action due to their ability to kill nematodes resistant to other anthelmintics.
Barringtonia acutangula is a species of Barringtonia native to coastal wetlands in southern Asia and northern Australasia, from Afghanistan east to the Philippines, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Common names include freshwater mangrove, itchytree and mango-pine.
Conessine is a steroidal alkaloid found in a number of plant species from the family Apocynaceae, including Holarrhena floribunda, Holarrhena antidysenterica and Funtumia elastica. It acts as a histamine antagonist, selective for the H3 subtype (with an affinity of pKi = 8.27; Ki = ~5 nM). It was also found to have long CNS clearance times, high blood–brain barrier penetration and high affinity for the adrenergic receptors.
Toxiferine, also known as c-toxiferine I, is one of the most toxic plant alkaloids known. It is derived from several plant species, including Strychnos toxifera and Chondrodendron tomentosum. Historically, it has been used as an arrow poison by indigenous peoples in South America for its neuromuscular blocking properties, allowing them to paralyze animals during hunting, but also possibly kill due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. Toxiferine functions as an acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antagonist. The paralysis caused by toxiferine can in turn be antagonized by neostigmine.
Guiera is a flowering plant genus in the family Combretaceae. Guiera senegalensis is the only known species in the genus, found in Tropical Africa in dry areas from Senegal to Sudan. The plant produces the tannin 3,4,5-Tri-O-galloylquinic acid and several alkaloids of the harmane family.
Burkinabin C is a divanilloylquinic acid found in the root bark of Fagara zanthoxyloides.
Flemingia vestita, famously known as sohphlang, is a nitrogen fixing herb with characteristic tuberous root, belonging to the genus Flemingia. The root is edible and is a common vegetable in some Asian tribal communities. In addition, it has been traditionally used as an anthelmintic, the basis of which is scientifically validated.
Zanthoxylum gilletii, the East African satinwood, is a tree species in the genus Zanthoxylum found in Africa. The fruits are used to produce the spice uzazi.
Chelidonine is an isolate of Papaveraceae with acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.
Clausena anisata (Willd.) Hook.f. ex Benth. is a deciduous shrub or small tree, belonging to the Rutaceae or Citrus family, and widespread in the Afrotropical realm or Sub-Saharan Africa, but absent from the drier regions. It is also found in tropical and South-East Asia, growing in India and Sri Lanka and extending as far as Queensland in north-eastern Australia and some Pacific islands. It is cultivated in Malaysia and Indonesia. As with other plants useful to mankind its large range of medicinal properties has led to a global distribution and its growth wherever the climate is suitable. It grows in higher-rainfall regions in savanna, thickets, riverine forest, disturbed areas and secondary forest, up to an altitude of 3000 m. The leaves, which are foetid when bruised, give rise to the common name 'Horsewood' or the more descriptive Afrikaans common name 'Perdepis', meaning 'horse urine'.
Ivan Addae-Mensah, is a Ghanaian chemist and university administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon from 1996 to 2002. He is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the same institution. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Ghana Chemical Society.
Strychnos icaja is a species belonging to the plant family Loganiaceae, native to West Tropical Africa. It is a very large, tropical rainforest liana which may attain a length of 100 m (330 ft).
Zanthoxylum austrosinense, or South Chinese Sichuan pepper, is a woody plant in the family Rutaceae and is native to southern China.
Zanthoxylum avicennae is a woody plant in the family Rutaceae.
Spines
Fruits
Fruits
