Researchers at the University of Ibadan have reformulated the root of a West African medicinal plant into dissolvable effervescent powders, reporting that the new preparation outperformed the raw extract at preventing and reversing the sickling of red blood cells. The work, published in the West African Journal of Pharmacy, was led by Temitayo O. Ajayi, Oladapo A. Adetunji and Jones O. Moody of the university's Faculty of Pharmacy, according to Tribune Online.
The plant is Cissus populnea, known locally as Okoho in Igbo, Ogbolo or Ajara in Yoruba, and Dafaaraa or Latutuwa in Hausa. Its roots have long been used in Nigeria, Ghana and neighbouring countries to manage sickle cell disease, while its stem is widely used as a soup thickener, particularly among the Idoma people of Nigeria's Middle Belt.
Why it matters
Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition in which a gene mutation alters haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in the blood. Red blood cells that would normally be disc-shaped and flexible instead take on a crescent or sickle form, stiffen, and can obstruct blood flow. The consequences include sudden severe pain episodes known as pain crises, as well as chronic pain, stroke, lung and eye problems, infections and kidney disease. It is a lifelong illness managed through screening, preventive care and treatment.
For all its traditional use, raw Cissus populnea extract carries serious drawbacks as a medicine. According to Tribune Online, the unprocessed material has no standardised dosing, flows poorly during manufacturing, degrades quickly, and is often poorly accepted by patients because of its taste or because it irritates the stomach. The Ibadan team set out to address those problems without discarding the remedy itself.
From crude extract to a measured dose
The researchers harvested fresh roots of the plant, dried and ground them, and prepared an extract using ethanol. They then used a wet granulation technique to produce three separate effervescent granule formulations, alongside a control consisting of the crude extract alone. The granules were put through physical testing to assess how well the powder would flow during industrial capsule filling or sachet packaging — a practical hurdle for any product intended for mass production.
Efficacy was assessed with blood samples taken from confirmed HbSS sickle cell patients attending routine clinics at the University College Hospital in Ibadan. In those laboratory tests, the reformulated plant material stopped as many as 72% of red blood cells from adopting the abnormal sickle shape, and reversed sickling in 57% of cells that had already deformed. Tribune Online reports that the preparation matched standard chemical treatments for the condition and, in some tests, exceeded them.
The authors concluded that the granules showed improved flow characteristics and stronger antisickling activity than the crude extract, and said the formulation may have a role in managing sickle cell anaemia.
Why a fizzy powder instead of a capsule
The effervescent format is central to the researchers' argument, not incidental. Dissolved in water, the powder becomes a liquid before it is swallowed, which the team says allows faster absorption into the bloodstream — a potential advantage when a patient is in the middle of a painful crisis. The format also disguises the bitter taste of the raw herb, which the researchers expect to improve adherence among children and older patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets or capsules.
Standardisation is the other gain. Herbal decoctions vary in strength depending on weather, the season of harvest and how they are prepared, so the amount of active compound a patient receives can differ from batch to batch. Granules made to a fixed specification, the team argues, deliver a consistent and predictable concentration of the plant's active phytochemicals in every dose.
The researchers framed the result as significant beyond the pharmacy bench — for public health, for clinical practice, and for what they describe as African medical sovereignty, in which locally sourced plants are developed into properly designed medicines rather than exported as raw material.
What comes next
What the study establishes is a formulation and laboratory evidence, not a proven therapy. The testing was done on blood samples in a laboratory; whether the granules help patients in practice can only be shown through clinical trials. The Ibadan team presents its work as the scientific groundwork for exactly that step, moving an affordable, locally grown treatment closer to the people who need it. Watch for the next stage: controlled trials in patients, and whether a standardised product can clear regulatory review and reach the market at a price that makes sense in the countries where the plant already grows.
