Malacantha alnifolia (Sapotaceae) is a perennial plant found in the tropical rainforests of West Africa. In Côte d’Ivoire, this species usually used rheumatism and diarrhea children treatment. This study evaluated anti-arthritic effect of hydroethanol extract of Malacantha alnifolia (HEMa) at doses of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg bw in rats. HEMa is prepared by cold maceration of 100 g of M. alnifolia trunk bark powder in one liter of a 30% water/70% ethanol mixture for 24 h. Thirty-six albino Rattus norvegicus rats (130-185 g), aged 8 to 16 weeks, were divided into 6 batches of 6 rats each and treated daily during 10 days. Healthy and arthritic rats control received NaCl 9 ‰ (10 mL/kg bw) by gavage, those from batches 2, 3 and 4 received HEMa at 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg bw, respectively. Positive control rats received methotrexate at 0.75 mg/kg bw by gavage. Non-immunological arthritic model induced by injection of 0.1 mL 2.5% formaldehyde was used. Arthritic was assessed throught paw and knee edema, arthritic index scores, sedimentation rate, and inflammation-related hematological and biochemical parameters. Percentages inhibition of these parameters were calculated for each treated group of rats compared to the control group with arthritis. Edema established for 3 days by formaldehyde was significantly reduced by HEMa at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg bw with reductions in paw thickness ranging from 23.18 to 28, respectively. 89% and 25.60 to 31.34% compared to paw thickness of arthritic control rats. Hydroethanolic extract of Malacantha alnifolia has remarkable anti-arthritic properties similar to that of methotrexate.

The prevalence of obesity is steadily increasing and varies across studied populations. In Côte d’Ivoire, data on obesity among adults in rural areas are scarce. This study aimed to determine the anthropometric characteristics of obese individuals aged 18 to 60 years in a rural setting. A descriptive cross-sectional study with prospective data collection was conducted from April 23 to June 25, 2023. A total of 156 obese adult subjects, of melanodermic phenotype and with obesity defined by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, were recruited from two villages in the sub-prefecture of Sikensi. Measurements of age, body mass, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, and heart rate were taken at the participants’ homes. The mean age of the subjects was 38.6 ± 0.7 years. The studied obese population had a mean BMI of 35.1 ± 0.4 kg/m2 and a mean waist circumference of 104 ± 1 cm. Among the 156 subjects, 61.5% had grade 1 obesity, 23.7% had grade 2 obesity, and 14.7% had grade 3 obesity. Additionally, 66.02% of women and 28.2% of men had android obesity. The association of BMI and waist circumference indicated 61.2% with grade 1 obesity, 24.5% with grade 2, and 14.3% with grade 3. The prevalence of hypertension was 14.1% and that of tachycardia was 3.21% within the study population. This study reveals that obesity is indeed prevalent in rural areas within the two villages of Sikensi.

Medicinal plants are widely used in Africa, especially in rural areas, to meet primary health care needs. Among them Massularia acuminata (Rubiaceae) is mainly used for its aphrodisiac properties.In order to verify its acute toxicity, a single dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight (bw) of the ethanolic extract of the stems of this plant was administered to a group of 10 female rats. The control group, also consisting of 10 female rats, received only distilled water. During the 14 days observation, all clinical signs and deaths were reported. At the end of the study, the LD50, blood hematological and biochemical parameters, and hepatic and renal histological examination were performed.The results showed that the administration of the ethanolic extract of the stems of Massularia acuminata did not modify the behavior of the rats and the estimated LD50 was higher than 5000 mg/kg bw. The evaluation of hematological and biochemical parameters revealed a significant decrease (p <0.05) in the level of white blood cells and platelets, and a significant increase (p <0.05) in creatinine and total cholesterol. As for the histological study, apart from some hepatic apoptosis, the result did not show any hepatic and renal lesions.This study showed that the ethanolic extract of the stems of Massularia acuminata could exhibit hematotoxicity, nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity when higher doses were used.