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Herbal tea to treat malaria heads for clinical trial   A herbal tea that could combat malaria is due to start its first clinical trial in July, researchers have announced. The brew, called Saye, will be trialled against the conventional malaria drug artemisinin with funding from the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso. The Saye tea has been used in the country for more than 30 years. Saye is a mixture of three plants, including the root of the local N’Dribala plant ( Cochlospermum planchonii ), and was first licensed as a herbal medicine in Burkina Faso ten years ago. But the compounds it contains that might act against malaria have yet to be identified. An article published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine last week (15 April) explores the anecdotal and laboratory results for Saye ahead of the clinical trial in humans. “It’s not good enough just to reduce parasites in the blood. You really need to clear malaria completely”  David Baker,

Reported by our correspondent Niger Republic, one of Nigeria’s allies in the ongoing war against Boko Haram in the North East, yesterday suffered a devastating attack as Boko Haram insurgents attacked its Army base. Niger’s defense ministry was said to have confirmed the attack which sources said the army may have suffered “heavy losses” in the attack on Karamga Island. However, casualty figures were not provided in the confirmation by the Nigerien defence ministry. A similar attack on Karamga Island in February killed seven Niger soldiers, and 14 Boko Haram fighters were also killed, military officials said at the time. In the latest attack, the assailants were said to have approached at dawn in about 10 motorised canoes. Niger had joined in the offensive earlier this year and has been very supportive in the reclaim of large swaths of territory in Nigeria from Boko Haram.   Sources at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, DHQ, said Boko Haram insurgents were

Eranga Isaac, reporting Toxicology reports have confirmed that the mysterious deaths at Ode Irele in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State were not caused by viral infection but by ethanol poison from a local gin popularly called ‘Ogogoro’ in pidgin English parlance. Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dayo Adeyanju, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists in Akure. Adeyanju said: “Our clinical analysis reveals that there were no known viruses, while toxicology reports have confirmed our prime suspicion of methanol poisoning.” The commissioner further disclosed that heavy concentration of ethanol of about 16.3 per cent was found in the system of the affected victims. Adeyanju, who said the death toll had risen to 23, added that 10 survivors were recorded and that two of the victims had regained their sights. To prevent such deaths, he announced the state government’s decision to ban production, sale and consumption of