How Local herb juice extracts clear oral thrush in 48 hours

Nigerian doctors identify local herb, which
clears oral thrush faster and better than
conventional drug.
IT is becoming one of the commonest infant
diseases in the country, not sparing adults
with compromised immunity due to certain
diseases. It comes with white patches on
the tongue and general skin diseases in
infants (called nla in Yoruba and obu in Ibo);
and in adults with white patches in genital
areas.
Thrush or candidiasis, caused by Candida
albicans, is on the prowl. But a local herb
has been demonstrated by medical doctors
to be more efficacious than a conventional
antifungal drug, Nystatin, in the treatment
of thrush.
Nigerian researchers have confirmed the
efficacy of the juice extracts of a local plant,
Jatropha multifada, in the management of
oral candidiasis.
The paediatricians in a preliminary study
published in The Internet Journal of
Alternative Medicine concluded: “Compared
to oral Nystatin suspension, it has the
advantages of acting faster and being
efficacious as a single dose. Its use in the
management of oral candidiasis is
recommended in third world countries
where it is easily cultivated and accessible.”
The researchers include: Dr. Aladekomo
Theophilus Adesola,
lecturer/ consultant paediatrician
at the Department of Paediatrics and Child
Health
, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife,
Osun State; and Dr. Oyedeji Olusola
Adetunji, lecturer/ consultant paediatrician
at the
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health
, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
Teaching Hospital (LAUTTH), Osun State.
The study is titled “The Efficacy of Jatropha
multifida in the Management of Oral
Candidiasis: A Preliminary Study. ”
Commonly called French physic nut; Spanish
physic nut; coral plant, Jatropha multifida
belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. It is
called ebosa in Edo; olulu idu in Ibo; botuje,
botuje-pupa, lapalapa, or lobotuje in Yoruba
H. M. Burkill in The Useful Plants of West
Tropical Africa described Jatropha multifida
as, “bush or tree to 6m tall, native of tropical
America, and now dispersed pan-tropically.
It is a village ornamental tree in the Region
and is often planted in hedges, and as an
object of superstition. It is said, like Jatropha
gossypiifolia, to keep off snakes. ”
The Nigerian researchers described
Jatropha multifida as, “a small trees or
shrubs with smooth gray barks, which
exudes whitish colour watery latex when
cut. Other common names are coral plant
and adenoropium multifidum. It normally
grows to attain a height between three and
seven feet. In addition, it grows well in the
tropics and can thrive in almost every kind
of soil. ”
Previous studies conducted in Tanzania
have shown that Jatropha multifida has
significant antifugal activity, against many
species of Candida, but very little against
Candida albicans.
However, the Nigerian study showed that
the specie of Jatropha multifida cultivated in
Nigeria, possess antibiotic activity against
Candida albicans (thrush), and faster and
more efficacious than Nysatin (a
conventional drug) in the management of
thrush.
Oral candidiasis (thrush) is a fungal
infection caused by Candida albicans. This
organism is a normal flora and inhabitant of
the skin, mouth, vagina and intestinal
mucosa. It can be spread to a newborn
infant from the mother ’s birth canal during
vaginal delivery. Prolonged use of
antibiotics, leading to alteration in the oral
flora may also cause thrush. The oral lesions
are usually white flaky plaques and they
may cover all or part of the tongue, lips,
gingival and buccal mucous membranes.
Oral candidiasis can be acute in the
newborn or chronic in children with
nutritional deficiencies or debilitating
conditions.
The differential diagnoses of thrush include
geographical tongue, which is an
asymptomatic, benign condition that
requires no treatment. It is a normal variant
of tongue appearance. The tongue being
covered with milk can also mimic thrush,
however this milk curds can be easily
scrapped off from epithelial surfaces.
Diagnosis of oral candidiasis can be
confirmed by direct microscopic
examination and culture of the scrapings
from the mucous membranes.
Nystatin is the most popular choice of
antifungal agent used for the treatment of
oral fungal infections among general dental
practitioners. Conventionally thrush is
treated by the oral administration of
100,000 I.U of Nystatin suspension four
times a day for seven consecutive days.
One per cent aqueous solution of gential
violet is also effective orally and topically,
but it is messy.
According to the Nigerian study, all the
clinically detected cases of children with oral
candidiasis at the children ’s outpatient
department of the Osun State Hospital,
Osogbo and children ’s welfare clinic of the
Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa were
randomized into either Jatropha multifadum
Juice extract therapy or the Nystatin group.
The juice extracts from the Jatropha
multifada leaves were applied to the tongue
and the oral mucosal areas affected by
candida lesions as a single application in the
patients randomized to this group. Oral
Nystatin was administered four times a day,
for seven consecutive days to the children
randomized to the Nystatin group.
The researchers studied a total of five
patients (three boys and two girls) were
studied with their ages ranging from two to
10 months. Clearance of the white lesions
on the tongue was defined as cure and this
was recorded within 24 hours in the
patients on Jatropha multifada juice
extracts, while those on oral Nystatin
showed features of cure at 48 hours.
The researchers wrote: “…The present study
has shown that Jatropha multifada leaf juice
extract is effective in the management of
thrush and works faster compared to
Nystatin. Its mechanism of action is
however unknown, as well as the active
ingredient responsible for the antifungal
action. The drug however appears relatively
safe because of the absence of
complications in the present study. No side
effects were also reported to Nystatin
therapy in the present study. However,
vomiting and diarrhea are some of the
known side effects that might arise from
Nystatin therapy. The small sample size in
the present study might have hindered us
from encountering these complications.
“The Jatropha multifada fruit has been
documented to contain toxins such as
toxabulmin ricin. Ingestion of large
quantities of this fruit has been
documented to cause severe diarrhea,
dehydration, shock and hepatic impairment
in children. Ricin also has cardiotoxic and
hemolytic effects and several deaths have
been reported from it. On the converse the
roots, stems and leaves of the Jatropha
multifida plant possess useful ingredients
and activities. The fruits are widely used in
traditional folk medicine in many parts of
West Africa. Other chemotherapeutic
properties of this plant are used in the
treatment of ascites, gout and constipation.
“In conclusion, Jatropha multifida is a plant
whose juice provides a cure for oral
candidiasis. It acts faster compared to
Nystatin and compliance on the part of
patients is likely to be better since it is a
single dose application. It is recommended
for use in communities where it is easily
accessible. However, further studies need to
be carried out on this plant in order
determine the ingredient in it, having the
anti-fungal activities. This can be selectively
extracted and made into oral preparations
for general and commercial use. ”
According to The Useful Plants of West
Tropical Africa, the leaves and leaf-sap are
purgative, but not so violently as of
Jatropha curcas. It reads: “In the Antilles it is
said that 10–12 leaves lightly cooked and
eaten in a salad provide a non-griping
purge, but the leaf contains a saponin and
an active toxic principle, jatrophin. Leaves
and fruit are boiled and taken internally or
used externally in a bath as a febrifuge in
Nigeria, and an infusion of young leaves is
used for most urinary complaints. Root-bark
and the roots are ground up as a wound-
dressing, and the root is taken internally for
worms and, with salt added, for gonorrhoea
in Nigeria.
“The root produces long tubers which can
be eaten like tapioca/manihot/cassava root
(Manihot esculenta) after roasting. The red
inflorescences are attractive, and are an
item of demand by florists in the
Philippines. The seeds are strongly
purgative. They are sometimes used in
Ivory Coast-Upper Volta. They have a nutty
flavour and there are records of fatalities
from eating them. A single one is sufficient
to produce violent illness. An antidote is said
to be a glass of white wine or other
stimulant with lime-juice. Seed-oil amounts
to about 30 per cent and is know as
Pinhoen Oil in Brazil. It has properties similar
to the oil of Jatropha curcas, and has been
used as an illuminant.
There is latex throughout the plant and the
rubber content of leaves has been reported
as 0.52 per cent. Latex has been used in the
Caribbean on cancers. ”