A LOCAL herbal preparation has been shown to stop crisis in sickle cell patients by inhibiting and reversing sickling activities. Results of a pre-clinical evaluation of Solamin, a herbal extract, for sickle cell by researchers at the Natural Medicine and Molecualar Pharmaco-Biotechnology Laboratories at the College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL), Idi-Araba, showed sickling inhibition and sickling reversal activities when incubated with HbSS erythocytes (red blood cell of a sickle cell patient) within the concentration range 0.25mg/ml to 5mg/ml. Solamin, made from Andrographis peniculata and lemon, was developed by Rev. Solomon Balosibina of the Esoma Herbal Research Institute, Abuja. Esoma Herbals Limited a subsidiary of Esoma Herbal Research Institute is also the producer of Esoma Bitters and Esomaron immune booster- a nutritional supplement.According to the researchers led by the Dean of the School of Pharmacy CMUL, Prof. Herbert A. B. Coker, average or percentage sickling inhibition of 89.56 to 97.95 per cent was obtained using extract concentration of 0.25mg/ml to 5 mg/ml, whilst the same concentration range gave 63.82 to 84 per cent sickling reversal.The study is entitled 'Pre-Clinical Evaluation of Solamin, a Herbal Preparation for Antisickling Properties.' The other researchers include: M. O. Kehinde; E.O Temiye; A. A. F. Banjo; Fola Tayo; O.A. Sofola; S.O. Eleha; S.C. Alaibe; O.S. Ajala; S.A. Adesegun; M.O. Owolabi; O.O. Adeyemi; and J.A. Sodipo, Idowu Papa.The researchers wrote: 'Pre-clinical studies on the antisickling properties of Solamin have been carried out. Solamin is a honey-based herbal product comprising of about three plant materials. Phytochemical investigation of the herbal preparation revealed the presence of the secondary metabolites of the groups: saponins, steroidal glycosides, anthraquinone glycosides, alkaloids. Phenolics were not confirmed.'The sickle cell group at the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Internal Medicine and Paediatrics University of Lagos have been involved in a focused screening and bioassay of a series of plant materials, marine-based extracts and environment species, hoping that these extracts and isolates would serve as leads in the quest to discovering potent anti-sickling remedies that would enable our unfortunate brothers suffering from sickle cell disorders live a normal and more productive lives.'They continued: 'The Median Corpuscular Fragility (MCF) was used in this study to quantify osmotic fragility and hence as a measure of haemolytic tendencies of the various extract concentrations of Solamin. Increase in MCF relative to that of the negative control meant increase in osmotic fragility and hence an increase in the haemolytic tendency of the respective extract concentration relative of the negative control.'The average MCF of 0.409 obtained for the HbSS (sickle cell anaenia) blood samples treated with the negative control (that is no extract) falls within the 0.40 to 0.42 per cent normal range for an HbAA (red blood without the sickle cell trait) blood, though HbSS blood is expected to have a lower MCF value because of associated dehydration.'This result is, however, possible as there might not be any dehydration at all in HbSS erythrocytes used because dehydration itself depends on the donors' physiological condition. This is corroborated by the fact that none of the donors was under crisis, neither was any of them known to have suffered any crisis in the recent past.'The developer of Solamin, Solomon Balosibila, an architect by profession and a Reverend with Four Square Bible Church, told The Guardian: 'We are about 10 years old in the business. We have by the grace of God researched into Solamin for sickle cell anaemia with herbal extract which was proven by University of Lagos to contain up to 97 per cent sickling inhibition and 84 per cent sickling reversal. In fact the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research had to do a comparative trial of Solamin and Nicosan, and the result was announced in Johannesburg in 2003 during World Health Organisation (WHO) seminar.'The researchers concluded that Solamin is 10 times better than Nicosan but the then Health Minister, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, was not satisfied with the result and had to send it to the University of Lagos for retrial and they came up with that. We are also able to have a good report on Solamin that it removes the fragile look of sicklers, not just removing the crisis but the fragile look is completely eliminated; retarded growth is eliminated as well.
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