
Abiy YenesewUniversity of Nairobi | UON · Department of Chemistry
Abiy Yenesew
PhD
About
141
Publications
55,217
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
3,517
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
July 2015 - December 2015
July 2015 - present
Education
March 1994 - December 1997
October 1988 - September 1991
September 1981 - June 1984
Publications
Publications (141)
Three new dihydroflavonols, gloverinols A–C (1–3), a new flavon-3-ol, gloverinol D (4), two new isoflavans, gloveriflavan A (5) and B (6), and seven known compounds were isolated from the root bark of Dalbergia gloveri. The structures of the isolates were elucidated by using NMR, ECD, and HRESIMS data analyses. Among the isolated compounds, gloveri...
Three new (1–3) and six known rotenoids (5–10), along with three known isoflavones (11–13), were isolated from the leaves of Millettia oblata ssp. teitensis. A new glycosylated isoflavone (4), four known isoflavones (14–18), and one known chalcone (19) were isolated from the root wood extract of the same plant. The structures were elucidated by NMR...
Sweetbasil(OcimumbasilicumL.)exhibitssignificantchemicalvariability.Thisstudycharacterizedthechem-icalcompositionof49accessionsofO.basilicumcollectedfromdifferentpartsofEthiopiausingGC�MS.Resultsofthisanalysisrevealedthepresenceof46compounds.Fourcompounds(eucalyptol,linalool,estra-gole,andeugenol)werefoundinallaccessions,andsevencompoundswerefoundi...
High malaria mortality coupled with increased emergence of resistant multi-drug resistant strains of Plasmodium parasite, warrants the development of new and effective antimalarial drugs. However, drug design and discovery are costly and time-consuming with many active antimalarial compounds failing to get approved due to safety reasons. To address...
Ethnopharmacological relevance:
Malaria is among the most prevalent and devastating parasitic diseases globally with most cases reported in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the major reasons for the high malaria prevalence is the ever-increasing emergence of resistant strains of malaria-causing parasites to the currently used antimalarial drugs. This, t...
Dalbergia melanoxylon Guill. & Perr (Fabaceae) is widely utilized in the traditional medicine of East Africa, showing effects against a variety of ailments including microbial infections. Phytochemical investigation of the root bark led to the isolation of six previously undescribed prenylated isoflavanones together with eight known secondary metab...
Three new benzo[b]naphtho[2,1-d]furans, usambarins A-C (1-3), five new 2-phenylnaphthalenes, usambarins D-H (4-8), a new flavan (9), and a new phenyl-1-benzoxepin (10) as well as two known compounds (11 and 12) were isolated from the extract of the stem and roots of Streblus usambarensis (Moraceae). The structures were deduced using NMR spectroscop...
The root extract of Suregada zanzibariensis Baill. afforded six previously described ent-abietane diterpenoids, namely 7-oxo-ent-abieta-5(6),8(14),13(15)-trien-16,12-olide (1), mangiolide (2), 8,14β:11,12α-diepoxy-13(15)-abietane-16,12-olide (3), 7β,11β,12β-trihydroxy-ent–abieta-8(14),13(15)-diene-16,12-olide (4), 8α,14-dihydro-7-oxo-jolkinolide E...
Zanthoxylum species are credited with various uses in ethnomedicine due to their rich metabolite composition. In Kenya, these include management of cancer and microbial related ailments. However, there are limited reports showing how the bioactivity of Kenyan Zanthoxylum species is linked to their phytochemical profiles. This study therefore aimed...
An illustrated guide to Introducing 136 of East Africa's most important medicinal plants The use of plants for treating diseases is as old as civilisation itself and plants are still the foundation of most health care systems around the world. An illustrated guide to Medicinal Plants of East Africa is the first illustrated guide to showcase healing...
The CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of Zanthoxylum holstzianum stem bark showed good antiplasmodial activity (IC50 2.5 ± 0.3 and 2.6 ± 0.3 µg/mL against the W2 and D6 strains of Plasmodium falciparum, respectively). From the extract five benzophenanthridine alkaloids [8-acetonyldihydrochelerythrine (1), nitidine (2), dihydrochelerythine (3), norcheleryth...
The CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the stems of Tephrosia uniflora yielded the new β-hydroxydihydrochalcone (S)-elatadihydrochalcone-2′-methyl ether (1) along with the three known compounds elongatin (2), (S)-elatadihydrochalcone (3), and tephrosin (4). The structures were elucidated by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data analyses. Elongati...
Malaria is the most lethal parasitic disease in the world. The frequent emergence of resistance by malaria parasites to any drug is the hallmark of sustained malaria burden. Since the deployment of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) it is clear that for a sustained fight against malaria, drug combination is one of the strategies toward...
The manuscript describes the phytochemical investigation of the roots, leaves and stem bark of Millettia lasiantha resulting in the isolation of twelve compounds including two new isomeric isoflavones lascoumestan and lascoumaronochromone. The structures of the new compounds were determined using different spectroscopic techniques.
Extracts from Securidaca longipedunculata showed antiplasmodial activities against reference clones and clinical isolates using SYBR Green I method. A new benzophenone, 2,3,4,5-tetramethoxybenzophenone (1) was isolated and characterized along with seven known compounds: 4-hydroxy-2,3-dimethoxybenzophenone (2); 3-hydroxy-5-methoxybiphenyl (3), methy...
A new flavanonol, 3-hydroxyerythrisenegalone (1), and four known compounds (2–5) were isolated from the extract of Mundulea sericea leaves. Investigation of the roots of this plant afforded an additional three known compounds (6–8). The structures were elucidated using NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses. The absolute configuration of...
In this study, the antileishmanial and cytotoxic activities of secondary metabolites isolated from Tabernaemontana ventricosa Hochst. ex A. DC., Aloe tororoana Reynolds, and Aloe schweinfurthii var. labworana Reynolds were investigated. Overall, nineteen known compounds were isolated from the three plant species. The compounds were characterized ba...
Dodonaea viscosa Jacq (Sapindaceae) is a medicinal plant with a worldwide distribution. The species has undergone enormous taxonomic changes which caused confusion amongst plant users. In Kenya, for example, two varieties are known to exist based on morphology, i.e., D. viscosa var. viscosa along the coast, and D. viscosa var. angustifolia in the K...
Five new compounds—rhodimer (1), rhodiflavan A (2), rhodiflavan B (3), rhodiflavan C (4), and rhodacarpin (5)—along with 16 known secondary metabolites, were isolated from the CH2Cl2–CH3OH (1:1) extract of the roots of Tephrosia rhodesica. They were identified by NMR spectroscopic, mass spectrometric, X-ray crystallographic, and ECD spectroscopic a...
The phytochemical information on Millettia dura Dunn, M. ferruginea (Hochst.) Baker and M. ferruginea subsp. darassana (Cufod.) J.B. Gillett was reviewed. All the three taxa elaborate mainly isoflavones (33 reported), occurring in the flowers, seeds/seed pods, stem bark and root bark. Out of the 33 isoflavones reported, some 19 (ca. 58%) contain pr...
Zanthoxylum paracanthum Kokwaro (Rutaceae) is an endemic Kenyan and Tanzanian plant used in folk medicine by local populations. Although other Zanthoxylum species have been studied, only Z. paracantum stem extracts have been profiled, even though the roots are also used as herbal remedies. As root extracts may be another source of pharmaceutical co...
Background: Plant derived compounds have provided proming leads in search for safer anticancer chemotherapies. Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides is a common medicinal plant in Uganda whose bioactive composition has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antiproliferative potential of compounds isolated from Zanthoxyl...
The first phytochemical investigation of the flowers of Millettia dura resulted in the isolation of seven isoflavones, a flavonol and a chalcone. Eleven isoflavones and a flavonol isolated from various plant parts from this plant were tested for cytotoxicity against a panel of cell lines, and six of these showed good activity with IC50 values of 6-...
Wood density is an important variable for accurate quantification of woody biomass and carbon stocks. Conventional destructive methods for wood density estimation are resource intensive, prohibiting their use, limiting the application of approaches that would minimize uncertainties in tree biomass estimates. We tested an alternative method involvin...
Background: While incidences of cancer are continuously increasing, drug resistance of malignant cells is observed towards almost all pharmaceuticals. Several isoflavonoids and flavonoids are known for their cytotoxicity towards various cancer cells. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the cytotoxicity of isoflavones: osajin (1), 5,7-di...
In our continuous search for cytotoxic compounds from the genus Zanthoxylum, chromatographic separation of the MeOH/CH2Cl2 (1:1) extract of Z. chalybeum yielded one new alkamide; 4-(isoprenyloxy)-3-methoxy-3,4-deoxymethylenedioxyfagaramide (1) and a known one; fagaramide (2). Similarly, from the MeOH/CH2Cl2 (1:1) extract of the stem bark of Z. para...
Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome recognized as the most prevalent chronic liver disease across all age groups. NFLD is strongly associated with obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Extensive research efforts are geared, through pharmacological approach...
A phytochemical investigation of the roots of Aspilia plurisetaled to the isolation of ent-kaurane-type diterpenoids and additional phytochemicals (1–23). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses. The absolute configurations of seven of the ent-k...
A new isoflavone, 4′-prenyloxyvigvexin A (1) and a new pterocarpan, (6aR,11aR)-3,8-dimethoxybitucarpin B (2) were isolated from the leaves of Lonchocarpus bussei and the stem bark of Lonchocarpus eriocalyx, respectively. The extract of L. bussei also gave four known isoflavones, maximaisoflavone H, 7,2′-dimethoxy-3′,4′-methylenedioxyisoflavone, 6,7...
Chromatographic separation of the extract of the roots of Dorstenia kameruniana (family Moraceae) led to the isolation of three new benzylbenzofuran derivatives, 2-(p-hydroxy-benzyl)-6-hydroxybenzofuran (1), 2-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-6-hydroxy-7-methoxybenzofuran (2) and 2-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-6-hydroxy-4'-prenylbenzofuran (3) (named dorsmerunin A, B and C,...
Phytochemical investigation of the CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the roots of Lannea rivae (Chiov) Sacleux (Anacardiaceae) led to the isolation of a new alkenyl cyclohexenone derivative: (4R,6S)-4,6-dihydroxy-6-((Z)-nonadec-14′-en-1-yl)cyclohex-2-en-1-one (1), and a new alkenyl cyclohexanol derivative: (2S*,4R*,5S*)-2,4,5-trihydroxy-2-((Z)-nonadec-1...
Four new flavones with modified prenyl groups, namely (E)-5-hydroxytephrostachin (1), purleptone (2), (E)-5-hydroxyanhydrotephrostachin (3), and terpurlepflavone (4), along with seven known compounds (5–11), were isolated from the CH 2 Cl 2 /MeOH (1:1) extract of the stem of Tephrosia purpurea subsp. leptostachya, a widely used medicinal plant. The...
The CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the aerial parts of Tephrosia subtriflora afforded a new flavanonol, named subtriflavanonol (1), along with the known flavanone spinoflavanone B, and the known flavanonols MS-II (2) and mundulinol. The structures were elucidated by the use of NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The absolute configuration of the...
A new isoflavone, 8-prenylmilldrone (1), and four new rotenoids, oblarotenoids A–D (2–5), along with nine known compounds (6–14), were isolated from the CH2Cl2/CH3OH (1:1) extract of the leaves of Millettia oblata ssp. teitensis by chromatographic separation. The purified compounds were identified by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyse...
In our search for new antiplasmodial agents, the CH2Cl2/CH3OH (1:1) extract of the roots of Tephrosia aequilata was investigated, and observed to cause 100% mortality of the chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) strain of Plasmodium falciparum at a 10 mg/mL concentration. From this extract three new chalconoids, E-2′,6′-dimethoxy-3′,4′-(2″,2″-dimethyl)pyrano...
Background: In Kenya, several species of the genus Maytenus are used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases including malaria. In this study, phytochemical constituents and extracts of Maytenus undata, M. putterlickioides, M. senegalensis and M. heterophylla were evaluated to determine compound/s responsible for antimalarial activity. Objec...
Catha edulis (qat) is an evergreen tree or shrub whose young leaves and stems are widely chewed in Eastern Africa. The aim of the present study was to document ethnomedicinal value of Catha edulis as used traditionally by the Ameru and Aembu communities of Kenya. The study was conducted between the months of September (2014) and February (2015), an...
The phytochemical investigation of the CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the roots of Pentas parvifolia led to the isolation of three new naphthalenes, parvinaphthols A (1), B (2), and C (3), two known anthraquinones, and five known naphthalene derivatives. Similar investigation of the roots of Pentas bussei afforded a new polycyclic naphthalene, bussei...
From the CH2Cl2/CH3OH (1:1) extract of the root bark of Millettia micans, a new pterocarpan, (6aR,11aR)-3-hydroxy-7,8,9-trimethoxypterocarpan (1), named micanspterocarpan, was isolated. Similar investigation of the CH2Cl2/CH3OH (1:1) extract of the root bark of Millettia dura gave a further new pterocarpan, (6aR,11aR)-8,9-methylenedioxy-3-prenyloxy...
Five new compounds, 4-O-geranylisoliquiritigenin (1), 12-dihydrousararotenoid B (2), 12-dihydrousararotenoid C (3), 4'-O-geranyl-7-hydroxyflavanone (4), and 4'-O-geranyl-7-hydroxydihydroflavanol (5), along with 12 known natural products (6-17) were isolated from the CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the root bark of Millettia usaramensis ssp. usaramensi...
Ethnopharmacological relevance:
Medicinal plants play a major role in many communities across the world, in the treatment and prevention of disease and the promotion of general health. The aim of the study was to escalate documentation from an earlier study of medicinal plants, traditionally used to combat malaria by the Ameru community of Imenti...
Turraea robusta and Turraea nilotica are African medicinal plants used for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases, including malaria. The genus Turraea is rich in limonoids and other triterpenoids known to possess various biological activities.
From the stem bark of Turraea robusta six compounds, and from various parts of Turraea nilotica elev...
The stem bark extract of Schizozygia coffaeoides (Apocynaceae) showed moderate antiplasmodial activity (IC50 = 8-12 mu g/mL) against the chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Chromatographic separation of the extract led to the isolation of a new schizozygane indoline alkaloid, named 3-oxo-14 al...
The CH2Cl2/MeOH (1: 1) extract of the roots of Tephrosia villosa showed good antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum with IC50 values of 3.1 +/- 0.4 and 1.3 +/- 0.3 mu g/mL, respectively. Chromatographic separation of the extract yielded a new rotenoid, 6 alpha-h...
The known flemingins A-C (1-3) and nine new chalcones, named flemingins G-O (4-12), along with deoxyhomoflemingin (13) and emodin (14) were isolated from a leaf extract of Flemingia grahamiana. The isolated chalcones were found to have a geranyl substituent modified into a chromene ring possessing a residual chain, as shown by spectroscopic methods...
Phytochemical investigation of the dichloromethane/methanol (1:1) extract of the roots of Bulbine frutescens led to the isolation of a new xanthone, 8-hydroxy-6-methylxanthone-1-carboxylic acid (1) and a new phenylanthraquinone, 6',8-O-dimethylknipholone (2) along with six known compounds. The structures were elucidated on the basis of NMR and MS s...
The dichloromethane/methanol (1:1) extract of the stem bark of Millettia usaramensis subspecies usaramensis was tested for its larvicidal activity against the 4th instar Aedes aegypti larvae and demonstrated activity with LC50 value of 50.8 +/- 0.06 mu g/mL at 48 h. Compounds isolated from the extract were also tested for their larvicidal activitie...
A new triterpenoid, 3-oxo-12β-hydroxy-oleanan-28,13β-olide (1), and six known triterpenoids 2-7 were isolated from the root bark of Ekebergia capensis, an African medicinal plant. A limonoid 8 and two glycoflavonoids 9-10 were found in its leaves. The metabolites were identified by NMR and MS analyses, and their cytotoxicity was evaluated against t...
The CH2Cl2/MeOH (1: 1) extract of the stem bark of Millettia oblata ssp. teitensis showed antiplasmodial activity (IC50 = 10-12 mu g/mL) against the chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Chromatographic separation of the extract led to the isolation of a new isoflavone, 4'-prenyloxyderrone (1),...
The surface exudates of the leaves of Dodonaea angustifolia from Ngong forest population (6 km from Nairobi city center, Kenya) demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli), Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus pumilus) bacteria and the fungus Sacchromyces cerevisiae. Chromatographic separation of the ex...
Seven naphthoquinones and nine anthraquinones were isolated from the roots of Aloe dawei by chromatographic separation. The purified metabolites were identified by NMR and MS analyses. Out of the sixteen quinones, 6-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone is a new compound. Two of the isolates, 5,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-2-methylnaphthalene-...
Tephrosia species are widely used in East African traditional medicinal practice to treat various infectious diseases. In our continued search for antiplasmodial agents from Tephrosia species found in Kenya a new flavone [(+)-Tephrodin] from the stem of T. purpurea was isolated. 1 Its 1 H NMR spectrum is identical with the spectrum reported for tep...
Two new 3-hydroxyisoflavanones, (S)-3,4',5-trihydroxy-2',7-dimethoxy-3'-prenylisoflavanone (trivial name kenusanone F 7-methyl ether) and (S)-3,5-dihydroxy-2',7-dimethoxy-2 '',2 ''-dimethylpyrano[5 '',6 '':3',4']isoflavanone (trivial name sophoronol-7-methyl ether) along with two known compounds (dalbergin and formononetin) were isolated from the s...
Two new 3-hydroxyisoflavanones, (S)-3,4',5-trihydroxy-2',7-dimethoxy-3'-prenylisoflavanone (trivial name kenusanone F 7-methyl ether) and (S)-3,5-dihydroxy-2',7-dimethoxy-2 '',2 ''-dimethylpyrano[5 '',6 '':3',4']isoflavanone (trivial name sophoronol-7-methyl ether) along with two known compounds (dalbergin and formononetin) were isolated from the s...
Extracts of the rhizomes of Kniphofia foliosa exhibited antiplasmodial activities against the chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum with IC50 values of 3-5 microg/mL. A phenyloxanthrone, named 10-acetonylknipholone cyclooxanthrone (1) and an anthraquinone-anthrone dimer, chryslandicin 10-methyl e...
A new phenylanthrone, named knipholone cyclooxanthrone and a dimeric anthraquinone, 10-methoxy-10,7′-(chrysophanol anthrone)-chrysophanol were isolated from the roots of Kniphofia foliosa together with the rare naphthalene glycoside, dianellin. The structures were determined by NMR and mass spectroscopic techniques. The compounds showed antiplasmod...
Toddalia asiatica is a commonly used medicinal plant in East Africa for the management of pain and inflammatory conditions. The present study investigated the antinociceptive and the anti-inflammatory effects of T. asiatica in Swiss albino mice.
The antinociceptive and the anti-inflammatory effects of T. asiatica were investigated using formalin-in...
Pentas micrantha is used in the East African indigenous medicine to treat malaria. In the first investigation of this plant, the crude methanol root extract showed moderate antiplasmodial activity against the W2- (3.37 μg/mL) and D6-strains (4.00 μg/mL) of Plasmodium falciparum and low cytotoxicity (>450 μg/mL, MCF-7 cell line). Chromatographic sep...
Supplementary File (PDF, 494 KB)
The CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:1) extract of the aerial parts of Sphaeranthus bullatus, an annual herb native to tropical East Africa, showed activity against chloroquine sensitive D6 (IC50 9.7 microg/mL) and chloroquine resistant W2 (IC50 15.0 microg/mL) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Seventeen secondary metabolites were isolated from the extract through c...
Two new naphthoquinones, 5-hydroxy-3,6-dimethoxy-2-methylnaphthalene-1,4-dione and 5,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-2-methylnaphthalene-1,4-dione, were isolated from the roots of Aloe secundiflora together with the known compounds chrysophanol, helminthosporin, isoxanthorin, ancistroquinone C, aloesaponarins I and II, aloesaponols I and II, laccaic acid d m...
The CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:1) extract of the aerial parts of Sphaeranthus bullatus, an annual herb native to tropical East Africa, showed activity against chloroquine sensitive D6 (IC50 9.7 μg/mL) and chloroquine resistant W2 (IC50 15.0 μg/mL) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Seventeen secondary metabolites were isolated from the extract through conventio...
Four new naphthohydroquinones, named busseihydroquinones A-D (1-4), along with a known homoprenylated dihydronaphthoquinone (5), were isolated from the CH(2)Cl(2)/MeOH (1:1) extract of the roots of Pentas bussei. Although the genus Pentas is frequently used by traditional healers for the treatment of malaria, only marginal activities against the ch...