Cancer is the third leading cause of premature death in sub-Saharan Africa. Cervical cancer has the highest number of incidences in sub-Saharan Africa due to high HIV prevalence (70% of global cases) in African countries which is linked to increasing the risk of developing cervical cancer, and the continuous high risk of being infected with Human papillomavirus In 2020, the risk of dying from cancer amongst women was higher in Eastern Africa (11%) than it was in Northern America (7.4%). Plants continue to provide unlimited pharmacological bioactive compounds that are used to manage various illnesses, including cancer. By reviewing the literature, we provide an inventory of African plants with reported anticancer activity and evidence supporting their use in cancer management. In this review, we report 23 plants that have been used for cancer management in Africa, where the anticancer extracts are usually prepared from barks, fruits, leaves, roots, and stems of these plants. Extensive information is reported about the bioactive compounds present in these plants as well as their potential activities against various forms of cancer. However, information on the anticancer properties of other African medicinal plants is insufficient. Therefore, there is a need to isolate and evaluate the anticancer potential of bioactive compounds from other African medicinal plants. Further studies on these plants will allow the elucidation of their anticancer mechanisms of action and allow the identification of phytochemicals that are responsible for their anticancer properties. Overall, this review provides consolidated and extensive information not only on diverse medicinal plants of Africa but on the different types of cancer that these plants are used to manage and the diverse mechanisms and pathways that are involved during cancer alleviation.

Plants continue to provide unlimited pharmacologically active compounds that can treat various illnesses, including cancer. The Solanaceae family, besides providing economically important food plants, such as potatoes and tomatoes, has been exploited extensively in folk medicine, as it provides an array of bioactive compounds. Many studies have demonstrated the anticancer potency of some of the compounds, but the corresponding molecular targets are not well defined. However, advances in molecular cell biology and in silico modelling have made it possible to dissect some of the underlying mechanisms. By reviewing the literature over the last five years, we provide an update on anticancer mechanisms associated with phytochemicals isolated from species in the Solanaceae plant family. These mechanisms are conveniently grouped into cell cycle arrest, transcription regulation, modulation of autophagy, inhibition of signalling pathways, suppression of metabolic enzymes, and membrane disruption. The majority of the bioactive compounds exert their antiproliferative effects by inhibiting diverse signalling pathways, as well as arresting the cell cycle. Furthermore, some of the phytochemicals are effective against more than one cancer type. Therefore, understanding these mechanisms provides paths for future formulation of novel anticancer drugs, as well as highlighting potential areas of research.

Kabo Masisi, Riach Masamba, Keletso Lashani, Chunyang Li, Tebogo E. Kwape, Goabaone Gaobotse. J Pharmacopuncture 2021;24:24-31. https://doi.org/10.3831/KPI.2021.24.1.24

Cell culture underpins virus isolation and virus neutralisation tests, which are both gold-standard diagnostic methods for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Cell culture is also crucial for the propagation of inactivated foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccines. Both primary cells and cell lines are utilised in FMDV isolation and propagation. Widely used cell lines for FMDV and isolation and propagation include baby hamster kidney cells (BHK-21), swine kidney cells (IB-RS-2), foetal goat tongue (ZZ-R 127), foetal porcine kidney cells (LFBKvB6), bovine kidney cells (BK), human telomerase reverse transcriptase bovine thyroid (hTERT-BTY) and porcine kidney-originating PK-15 or SK 6 cell lines. This review highlights how different receptors and molecules—integrins, heparan sulphate (HS), and the Jumonji C-domain containing Protein 6 (JMJD6)—found on the surface of different cell types contribute to differences experienced with susceptibility and sensitivity of the cells to infection with different serotypes of FMDV. This review specifically focuses on Southern African territory (SAT) serotypes, which are unique to the Southern African context and are often under-investigated in cell line development for FMDV isolation and propagation.

: Treating diseases such as Muscular dystrophy (MD) and HIV/AIDS pose several challenges to the rapidly evolving field of regenerative medicine. Previously, stem cell therapy has been said to affect the clinical courses of HIV/AIDS and MD, but, in practice, eradication or control of these diseases was not achievable. The introduction of gene editing into stem cell therapy has stimulated HIV/AIDS and MD cell therapy research studies substantially. Here, we review current methods of treating HIV/AIDS and MD using stem cell therapy. This review also details the use of different types of cells and methods in cell therapy and the modeling of new cell-based therapies to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We speculate that the effective use of stem cell therapy in conjunction with other treatment therapies , such as steroids and rehabilitation , could improve livelihood.

Background: Repeated heating of cooking oils induces the overproduction of reactive oxygen species with an overwhelmed cellular antioxidant defense system, resulting in oxidative stress, the known cause of cardiovascular diseases. Elaeodendron transvaalense is a medicinal plant believed to have phytochemicals that help ameliorate the effects of oxidative stress. Objective: This study investigated the pro-oxidant effects of repeatedly heated sunflower oil and the possible ameliorative potential of Elaeodendron transvaalense leaf powder in Sprague Dawley rats. Methods: Four groups of male Sprague Dawley rats were fed for 4-weeks a standard diet supplemented without (a) control or with (b) 15% (w/w) repeatedly heated sunflower oil (RHSO), (c) 15% (w/w) non-heated sunflower oil, (d) 15% (w/w) RHSO and 1.5% ETLP. Results: Endogenous antioxidants: Catalase and SOD activities were observed to rise significantly (p <0.05) in Group 2 when compared to Group 1 and Group 3 respectively. A significant decline in the SOD and catalase activities was observed in group 4 fed RHSO + ETLP. No significant differences were observed in the body, liver, and kidney weights of Group 2 when compared with Groups 1, 3 and 4 respectively, and no significant differences were observed when comparing Group 4 to Groups 1, 2 and 3. The levels of Lipid profiles; Low-density Lipoproteins (LDL), Total cholesterol (TC), and Triglycerides (TG) were observed to rise significantly (p <0.05) in Group 2 when compared to Group 1 and 3, while their significant (p <0.05) decline was observed in Group 4 fed with RHSO + ETLP. The levels of HDL showed no significant difference across all groups because the p-values for the difference between groups exceeded the null hypothesis (p <0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this experiment indicate the possible ameliorative potential of ETLP observed in the significantly (p <0.05) reduced SOD and catalase activities. A significant (p <0.05) decline in the TC, TG, and LDL to desirable levels further indicated the ameliorative effects.