2. “Dose-response Effects of Desmodium adscendens Aqueous Extract on Histamine Response.” “Content and Anaphylactic Reactions in the Guinea-Pig.”

Addy, M.E., et al., 1986

Ethnopharmacology Vol 18 1:13-20 (1986)

3. “Several Chromatography Distinct Fractions of Desmodium Adscendens Inhibit Smooth Muscle Contractions.”

Addy, M.E., et al., 1989

Int J. Crude Res 27 2:81-91 (1989)

4. Effect of butanolic fraction of Desmodium adscendens on the anococcygeus of the rat.

Barreto GS.

Department of Basic Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Av. Fernando Correa Costa, s/n, CEP 78060-900, Coxipo, Cuiaba, MT, Brazil. genesson@cpd.ufmt.br

Braz J Biol. 2002 May;62(2):223-30. Epub 2002 Aug 26.

PMID: 12489394 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5. Effects of an ethanolic extract of Desmodium adscendens on central nervous system in rodents.

N’gouemo P, Baldy-Moulinier M, Nguemby-Bina C.

Laboratoire de Medecine Experimentale, INSERM U249-CNRS UPR9008, Montpellier, France.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1996 Jun;52(2):77-83.

PMID: 8735451 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

6. An activator of calcium-dependent potassium channels isolated from a medicinal herb.

McManus OB, Harris GH, Giangiacomo KM, Feigenbaum P, Reuben JP, Addy ME, Burka JF, Kaczorowski GJ, Garcia ML.

Department of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, New Jersey 07065.

Biochemistry. 1993 Jun 22;32(24):6128-33.

PMID: 7685635 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

7. Some secondary plant metabolites in Desmodium adscendens and their effects on arachidonic acid metabolism.

Addy ME.

Department of Biochemistry, University of Ghana, Legon.

Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1992 Sep;47(1):85-91.

PMID: 1438471 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

8. Effect of Desmodium adscendens fraction 3 on contractions of respiratory smooth muscle.

Addy ME, Burka JF.

Department of Biochemistry, University of Ghana, Legon.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1990 Jul;29(3):325-35.

PMID: 2120518 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

9. Effect of Desmodium adscendens fractions on antigen- and arachidonic acid-induced contractions of guinea pig airways.

Addy ME, Burka JF.

Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada.

Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1988 Jun;66(6):820-5.

PMID: 3139272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10. Dose-response effects of Desmodium adscendens aqueous extract on histamine response, content and anaphylactic reactions in the guinea pig.

Addy ME, Dzandu WK.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1986 Oct;18(1):13-20.

PMID: 2434805 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

11. Effects of the extracts of Desmodium adscendens on anaphylaxis.

Addy ME, Awumey EM.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1984 Aug;11(3):283-92.

Notes: Anaphylaxis is the word used for serious and rapid allergic reactions usually involving more than one part of the body which, if severe enough, can kill. Scientists now use the word ‘anaphylaxis’ to mean any immune reaction of this type, even if it is not serious. But most doctors use it to mean a life-threatening rapid allergic reaction.

12. Extract of Ocimum canum lowers blood glucose and facilitates insulin release by isolated pancreatic beta-islet cells.

Nyarko AK, Asare-Anane H, Ofosuhene M, Addy ME.

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon. anyarko@noguchi.mimcom.net

Phytomedicine. 2002 May;9(4):346-51.

PMID: 12120816 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

13. Free-radical scavenging action of medicinal herbs from Ghana: Thonningia sanguinea on experimentally-induced liver injuries.

Gyamfi MA, Yonamine M, Aniya Y.

Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan.

Gen Pharmacol. 1999 Jun;32(6):661-7.

PMID: 10401991 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4. Effect of butanolic fraction of Desmodium adscendens on the anococcygeus of the rat.

Barreto GS.

Department of Basic Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Av. Fernando Correa Costa, s/n, CEP 78060-900, Coxipo, Cuiaba, MT, Brazil. genesson@cpd.ufmt.br

Braz J Biol. 2002 May;62(2):223-30. Epub 2002 Aug 26.

The chemical composition of plants can vary according to factors such as soil and time of collection. Desmodium adscendens (Sw.) D.C. var. adscendens (Papillionaceae) is a plant employed in the treatment of asthma in Ghana, Africa. Studies have shown that butanolic extract inhibits contraction of the ileum and trachea in guinea pigs. In Mato Grosso, this plant is used only in the treatment of ovarian inflammation. The objective of this work was to verify if the plant found in Mato Grosso also relaxes smooth muscle and to understand better its action. The cumulative application of the butanolic fraction relaxed the contraction maintained in the isolated anococcygeus of a rat, induced by high potassium, but not that induced by phenylephrine. Relaxation was not altered by methylene blue. The butanolic fraction reduced in a concentration-dependent way the maximum response of concentration-response curve to calcium in the anococcygeus muscle. The results suggest that the butanolic fraction acts, at least partly, through the blockade of voltage-sensitive Ca+2 channels.

PMID: 12489394 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5. Effects of an ethanolic extract of Desmodium adscendens on central nervous system in rodents.

N’gouemo P, Baldy-Moulinier M, Nguemby-Bina C.

Laboratoire de Medecine Experimentale, INSERM U249-CNRS UPR9008, Montpellier, France.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1996 Jun;52(2):77-83.

This study investigates some pharmacological effects of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Desmodium adscendens (Papillionaceae), a medicinal plant in the African traditional medicine, on the central nervous system. The plant extract induced hypothermia and had analgesic effect in mice. D. adscendens suppressed the tonic phase of convulsion and mortality induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) in mice. In addition, the plant extract delayed the onset of PTZ forelimb clonus, and generalized limbic seizures induced by kainic acid. In contrast, the plant extract did not affect either tonic convulsion induced by maximal electroshock in mice or the progression of limbic seizures towards the status epilepticus in rats.

PMID: 8735451 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

6. An activator of calcium-dependent potassium channels isolated from a medicinal herb.

McManus OB, Harris GH, Giangiacomo KM, Feigenbaum P, Reuben JP, Addy ME, Burka JF, Kaczorowski GJ, Garcia ML.

Department of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, New Jersey 07065.

Biochemistry. 1993 Jun 22;32(24):6128-33.

Large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium (maxi-K) channels play an important role in regulating the tone of airway smooth muscle and the release of bronchoconstrictive substances from nerves in the lung. Crude extracts of Desmodium adscendens, a medicinal herb used in Ghana as a treatment for asthma, inhibit binding of monoiodotyrosine charybdotoxin (125I-ChTX) to receptor sites in bovine tracheal smooth muscle membranes that have been shown to be associated with maxi-K channels. Using this assay, three active components have been purified and identified by NMR and MS. Comparison with authentic samples revealed the three active components as the known triterpenoid glycosides dehydrosoyasaponin I (DHS-I), soyasaponin I, and soyasaponin III. The most potent of these compounds, DHS-I, is a partial inhibitor of 125I-ChTX binding (Ki = 120 nM, 62% maximum inhibition). Inhibition of 125I-ChTX binding is primarily due to a decrease in the observed maximum number of binding sites, with a smaller decrease in affinity. DHS-I increases the rate of toxin dissociation from its receptor, suggesting that modulation of ChTX binding occurs through an allosteric mechanism. DHS-I reversibly increases the open probability of maxi-K channels from bovine tracheal smooth muscle incorporated into planar lipid bilayers when applied to the intracellular, but not the extracellular, side of the membrane at concentrations as low as 10 nM. In contrast, DHS-I had no effect on several other types of potassium channels or membrane transporters. This natural product is the first example of a high-affinity activator of calcium-dependent potassium channels and is the most potent known potassium channel opener.

PMID: 7685635 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

7. Some secondary plant metabolites in Desmodium adscendens and their effects on arachidonic acid metabolism.

Addy ME.

Department of Biochemistry, University of Ghana, Legon.

Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1992 Sep;47(1):85-91.

The effects of three chemically different groups of compounds, (triterpenoid saponins, beta-phenylethylamines and tetrahydroisoquinolines), known to be present in Desmodium adscendens, on plasma membrane ion channel, cytochrome P450 NADPH-dependent oxygenation of arachidonic acid, and production of prostaglandins by the cyclooxygenase enzyme system, are described. The very high-conductance calcium-activated potassium ion channel, which is responsible for the maintenance of tone in smooth muscles, was activated by the saponins. The cytochrome P450 NADPH-dependent monooxygenase reaction, which produces epoxy- and hydroxylated eicosanoids from arachidonic acid metabolism, was inhibited by an analogue of the tetrahydroisoquinoline present in the plant. This analogue also acted as a reductant in the prostaglandin synthesizing system using microsomes from ram seminal vesicles. The same system was activated by the beta-phenylethylamines found in the plant material, with the formation of more prostaglandins, the type being dependent on the amount of cyclooxygenase enzyme used and the presence or absence of coenzyme.

PMID: 1438471 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

8. Effect of Desmodium adscendens fraction 3 on contractions of respiratory smooth muscle.

Addy ME, Burka JF.

Department of Biochemistry, University of Ghana, Legon.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1990 Jul;29(3):325-35.

The third flash chromatography fraction prepared from an aqueous extract of Desmodium adscendens leaves (DAF3) was evaluated for pharmacological activity using contractions of tracheal spirals and lung parenchymal strips caused by ovalbumin, arachidonic acid, histamine and carbachol. DAF3 inhibited both the early and late phases of antigen-induced contractions of both tissues dose-dependently, but had no effect on arachidonic-induced contractions. With tracheal spirals, the inhibition occurred whether the tissue was pretreated with indomethacin or not. On tracheal spirals, the maximum contraction (Emax) caused by histamine and carbachol were enhanced, but the pD2 value for histamine was not affected while that for carbachol was decreased. DAF3 had no effect on Emax or pD2 values for these agonists on lung parenchymal strips. The results suggest that DAF3 may inhibit the release of free arachidonic acid.

PMID: 2120518 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Note: Arachidonic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid found in animal fats, that is essential in human nutrition and is a precursor in the biosynthesis of some prostaglandins.

9. Effect of Desmodium adscendens fractions on antigen- and arachidonic acid-induced contractions of guinea pig airways.

Addy ME, Burka JF.

Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada.

Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1988 Jun;66(6):820-5.

Three fractions (n-butanol, F2, and L5), isolated from an aqueous extract of Desmodium adscendens, a plant used in Ghana for the management of asthma, were evaluated for their pharmacological activity using ovalbumin and arachidonic acid-induced contractions of guinea pig airways. All three fractions inhibited the ovalbumin-induced contractions of indomethacin-pretreated tracheal spirals from sensitized animals dose dependently, but only L5 and n-butanol inhibited such contractions in the absence of indomethacin. The concentrations required to inhibit ovalbumin-induced contractions of lung parenchymal strips were threefold higher than with trachea. The contractile response over a 60-min period was divided into three phases. F2 and n-butanol inhibited all phases, whereas L5 inhibited only the late phase. n-Butanol and L5 inhibited arachidonic acid-induced contractions on indomethacin-pretreated tracheal spirals, a leukotriene-dependent reaction. There was no inhibition of arachidonic acid-induced contractions of lung parenchymal strips, which is largely a thromboxane-dependent reaction. The results suggest that D. adscendens contains several pharmacologically active substances that can inhibit allergic airway smooth muscle contraction at multiple sites, including the synthesis and (or) activity of the bronchoconstrictor leukotrienes.

PMID: 3139272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10. Dose-response effects of Desmodium adscendens aqueous extract on histamine response, content and anaphylactic reactions in the guinea pig.

Addy ME, Dzandu WK.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1986 Oct;18(1):13-20.

Different concentrations of a hot water extract of Desmodium adscendens, a plant used in Ghana to control asthmatic attacks, were used in drinking water to evaluate the plant’s anti-anaphylactic properties in guinea pigs. The results show that the extract’s inhibition of histamine-induced ileal contraction is largely competitive and that its effect of reducing lung histamine content is dose-dependent. The results also show that the extract causes a dose-dependent reduction in the amount of spasmogens released anaphylactically and in anaphylactic-induced contraction of ileal muscle.

PMID: 2434805 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

11. Effects of the extracts of Desmodium adscendens on anaphylaxis.

Addy ME, Awumey EM.

J Ethnopharmacol. 1984 Aug;11(3):283-92.

Desmodium adscendens, used by herbalists in Ghana for the treatment of asthma, is anti-anaphylactic in vitro. As the plant material is administered orally, in vivo studies of its anti-anaphylactic property were undertaken using the guinea-pig. The results show that both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of D. adscendens, when taken orally, reduce anaphylactic contractions, interfere with histamine-induced contractions, and reduce the amount of smooth muscle stimulating substances released from lung tissue of guinea pigs.

PMID: 6482479 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Notes: Anaphylaxis is the word used for serious and rapid allergic reactions usually involving more than one part of the body which, if severe enough, can kill. Scientists now use the word ‘anaphylaxis’ to mean any immune reaction of this type, even if it is not serious. But most doctors use it to mean a life-threatening rapid allergic reaction.

12. Extract of Ocimum canum lowers blood glucose and facilitates insulin release by isolated pancreatic beta-islet cells.

Nyarko AK, Asare-Anane H, Ofosuhene M, Addy ME.

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon. anyarko@noguchi.mimcom.net

Phytomedicine. 2002 May;9(4):346-51.

Aqueous extract of Ocimum canum Sim, (Lamiaceae) is used by some Ghanaians to manage diabetes mellitus. In vivo modulation of levels of fasting blood glucose by 0. canum extract was evaluated in type-II diabetes mellitus using the C57BL/KsJ db/db genetically diabetic animal model, and its effects on glucose-stimulated insulin release in vitro were monitored using isolated rat pancreatic beta-islet cells. The results showed that fasting blood glucose levels and body weight decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in diabetic and non-diabetic C57BL/KsJ mice, which were administered aqueous extract of 0. canum. In vitro, the 0. canum extract significantly enhanced insulin release from isolated rat pancreatic beta-islet cells. Insulin release was found to be dependent on glucose concentration and increased with increasing O. canum concentration in the incubation medium up to an optimum extract concentration of 0.03 mg/ml. Release of the hormone decreased beyond this concentration of extract in the medium. Addition to the medium of Desmodium adscendens, a plant preparation used to manage inflammatory disorders, did not increase but rather inhibited insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta-islet cells. These results could explain the use of 0. canum in Ghanaian folk medicine to manage diabetes mellitus.

PMID: 12120816 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

13. Free-radical scavenging action of medicinal herbs from Ghana: Thonningia sanguinea on experimentally-induced liver injuries.

Gyamfi MA, Yonamine M, Aniya Y.

Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan.

Gen Pharmacol. 1999 Jun;32(6):661-7.

The antioxidant action of medicinal herbs used in Ghana for treating various ailments was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Five plants, Desmodium adscendens, Indigofera arrecta, Trema occidentalis, Caparis erythrocarpus, and Thonningia sanguinea were tested for their free radical scavenging action by their interaction with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Of these five plants, only Thonningia sanguinea was found to scavenge the DPPH radical. Lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes induced by H2O2 was also inhibited by T. sanguinea. The hepatoprotective effect of T. sanguinea was studied on acute hepatitis induced in rats by a single dose of galactosamine (GalN, 400 mg/kg, IP) and in mice by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4, 25 microl/kg, IP). GalN induced hepatotoxicity in rats as evidenced by an increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and glutathione (GSH) S-transferase activities in serum was significantly inhibited when T. sanguinea extract (5 ml/kg, IP) was given to rats 12 hr and 1 hr before GalN treatment. The activity of liver microsomal GSH S-transferase, which is known to be activated by oxidative stress, was increased by the GaIN treatment and this increase was blocked by T. sanguinea pretreatment. Similarly, T. sanguinea pretreatment also inhibited CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. These data indicate that T. sanguinea is a potent antioxidant and can offer protection against GalN- or CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.

PMID: 10401991 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]