Studies on Local Knowledge and In vitro Cytotoxicity of Moringa oleifera L., Andrographis paniculata N. and Asystasia vogeliana B. Extracts

Multi-Purpose Medicinal Plants (J\.1J'v1Ps) are gaining nnprecedented attention apparently because of their potency to contribute to the prevention and treatment of myriads of diseases. As such the toxicity of many herbs including the J\.1J'v1Ps has always been a concern particularly relating to internal organs. The present study investigates the local knowledge use and in vitro cytotoxicity against two cancer cell lines; BGC-823 and HeLa cells on three (MMPs); Moringo oleifero (Lam) (Moringaceae) Androgrophis poniculoto (Burm. f) and Asystasia vogeliana (Benth) (Acanthaceae). The local knowledge was collated through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach from selected locations in the Oke-Ogrm area of Oyo state, Nigeria. Ethanolic extracts were used for the in vitro cytotoxicity study. The extracts were screened in two cancer cell lines (BGC-823 and HeLa cells) using the Sulpha Rhodamine B (SRB) assay. For the treatment of diseases, the local knowledge shows that A. poniculoto recorded higher fidelity level on the treatment of malaria (95% ), diabetes (80% ), high blood pressure (87 .5% ), cancer and tlllllor ( 65.7% ). The infusion of A. vogeliana in combination with the leaves of Cassia alata, Cymbopogon citrutus and fruit juice of Citrus aurantifolia recorded higher fidelity level in the treatment of malaria and chronic fever (74.8%), gonorrhea (65%) and leprosy (40%) suggesting better alternative toM. oleifera and A. paniculata. The medicinal relevance of the species in the treatment of diseases such as malaria, fever, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes among others in local herbal medicine were revealed. Cytotoxicity assay on the two cell lines, BGC-823 and HeLa cells revealed that only the ethanolic extract of A. paniculata exhibited some level (moderate) of cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of 24.7 and 23.1 ).lg/mL, respectively. M. oleifera and A. vogeliana did not show any significant activity on the cell lines. The study highlights the importance of local knowledge in finding cost effective, potent and safe herbs for people and screening of the plant species for their activities against cancer cell line

Comparative Analysis of Natural Radioactivity Content in Tiles made in Nigeria and Imported Tiles from China

In this investigation, natural radioactive contents in tiles manufactured in Nigeria and tiles imported from China were measured using gamma ray spectroscopy. High Purity Germanium detector was used to estimate the concentrations of some radioisotopes present in 17 samples of various tiles from Nigeria and China. The average activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K for the tiles were found to be 68.2 ± 0.5; 173.9 ± 9.2 and 490 ± 15 Bq/kg and 58.2 ± 0.5, 161.5 ± 9.4 and 455.7 ± 15.1 Bq/kg for the tiles from Nigeria and China respectively. Radiological hazard indices such as absorbed dose rate, radium equivalent activity, external Hazard Index (Hex), internal Hazard Index (Hin), Annual Effective Dose (mSv/y), Gamma activity Index (Iγ) and Alpha Index (Iα) were determined for both kind of tiles from Nigeria and China. The mean values obtained were: 354.56 and 317.16 Bq/kg; 169.22 nGyh−1 and 153.92 nGyh−1; 0.95 and 0.87; 1.14 and 1.08; 1.59 mSv/y and 1.52 mSv/y; 1 and 1.15 and; 0.34 and 0.29 respectively. The mean value of radium equivalent obtained in this study is less than that of the international reference value of 370 Bq/kg for the both kind of tiles

Comparative Analysis of Natural Radioactivity Content in Tiles made in Nigeria and Imported Tiles from China

In this investigation, natural radioactive contents in tiles manufactured in Nigeria and tiles imported from China were measured using gamma ray spectroscopy. High Purity Germanium detector was used to estimate the concentrations of some radioisotopes present in 17 samples of various tiles from Nigeria and China. The average activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K for the tiles were found to be 68.2 ± 0.5; 173.9 ± 9.2 and 490 ± 15 Bq/kg and 58.2 ± 0.5, 161.5 ± 9.4 and 455.7 ± 15.1 Bq/kg for the tiles from Nigeria and China respectively. Radiological hazard indices such as absorbed dose rate, radium equivalent activity, external Hazard Index (Hex), internal Hazard Index (Hin), Annual Effective Dose (mSv/y), Gamma activity Index (Iγ) and Alpha Index (Iα) were determined for both kind of tiles from Nigeria and China. The mean values obtained were: 354.56 and 317.16 Bq/kg; 169.22 nGyh−1 and 153.92 nGyh−1; 0.95 and 0.87; 1.14 and 1.08; 1.59 mSv/y and 1.52 mSv/y; 1 and 1.15 and; 0.34 and 0.29 respectively. The mean value of radium equivalent obtained in this study is less than that of the international reference value of 370 Bq/kg for the both kind of tiles

Assessment of natural radionuclides and its radiological hazards from tiles made in Nigeria

Activity concentration of 10 different brands of tiles made in Nigeria were analyzed using High purity Germanium gamma detector and its hazard indices such as absorbed dose rate, radium equivalent activity, external Hazard Index (Hex), internal Hazard Index (Hin), Annual Effective Dose (mSv/y), Gamma activity Index (Iγ) and Alpha Index (Iα) were determined. The result showed that the average activity concentrations of radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) content are within the recommended limit. The average radium equivalent is within the recommended limit of 370 Bq/kg. The result obtained further showed that the mean values for the absorbed dose rate (D), external and internal hazard index, the annual effective dose (AEDR) equivalent, gamma activity index and Alpha Index were: 169.22 nGyh−1, 0.95 and 1.14, 1.59 mSv/y, 1.00 Sv yr−1 and 0.34 respectively. The result established that radiological hazards such as absorbed dose rate, internal hazard, annual effective dose rate, gamma activity index and Alpha Index for some samples are found to be slightly close or above international recommended values. The result for the present study was compared with tiles sample from others countries, it was observed that the concentration of tiles made in Nigeria and other countries are closer, however recommends proper radiation monitoring for some tiles made in Nigeria before usage due to the long term health effec

Assessment of natural radionuclides and its radiological hazards from tiles made in Nigeria

Activity concentration of 10 different brands of tiles made in Nigeria were analyzed using High purity Germanium gamma detector and its hazard indices such as absorbed dose rate, radium equivalent activity, external Hazard Index (Hex), internal Hazard Index (Hin), Annual Effective Dose (mSv/y), Gamma activity Index (Iγ) and Alpha Index (Iα) were determined. The result showed that the average activity concentrations of radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) content are within the recommended limit. The average radium equivalent is within the recommended limit of 370 Bq/kg. The result obtained further showed that the mean values for the absorbed dose rate (D), external and internal hazard index, the annual effective dose (AEDR) equivalent, gamma activity index and Alpha Index were: 169.22 nGyh−1, 0.95 and 1.14, 1.59 mSv/y, 1.00 Sv yr−1 and 0.34 respectively. The result established that radiological hazards such as absorbed dose rate, internal hazard, annual effective dose rate, gamma activity index and Alpha Index for some samples are found to be slightly close or above international recommended values. The result for the present study was compared with tiles sample from others countries, it was observed that the concentration of tiles made in Nigeria and other countries are closer, however recommends proper radiation monitoring for some tiles made in Nigeria before usage due to the long term health effec

Synthesis and evaluation of the antimicrobial potentials of cobalt doped- and magnesium ferrite spinel nanoparticles

The high incidence of infectious disease and increase in the incidence of antibiotic resistance has led to the exploitation of inorganic nanoparticles as novel antimicrobial agents owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. This study reports the synthesis and antibacterial activity of magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4) and cobalt doped magnesium ferrite (Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4)spinel nanoparticles (NPs). The NPs were synthesized using the low temperature combustion synthesis. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive absorption spectroscopy (EDAX) were used to characterize the synthesized NPs. The synthesized NPs exhibited good antibacterial properties against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Serratia marcescens. None of the nanoparticles induced any microbial inhibition against Micrococcus varians, Aspergillus flavus, Bacillus substilis and Candida. albicans. Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 NPs gave better antibacterial activity with a zone of inhibition of >20 mm against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli compared to MgFe2O4 NPs. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 NPs against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was 2500 µg/mL and 1250 µg/mL, respectively. The relatively high antibacterial effect exhibited by Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 nanoparticles on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus suggests its potentials in the treatment of infections commonly associated with these microorganisms.               KEY WORDS: Magnesium ferrite, Nanoparticles, Antibacterial activity, Combustion synthesis, Infectious disease Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018, 32(3), 451-458.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i3.

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND MICROBIAL ASSESSMENT OF DIFFERENT WATER SOURCES IN OTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Pollution of water bodies is one of the areas of major concern to en vironmentalists and requires continuous assess ment. This necessitated the evaluation of the physical, chemical an d microbiological quality of water from the primary sources of supply in different locations of Ota using standard methods. Results of the values of the surface and potable water in the study area showed that turbidity(0.19 to 11.6 NTU), conductivity (36.5 to 396 µs/cm), salinity (10 to 80 mg/L), alkalinity (0 to 64 mg/L), nitrate (0.20 to 4.60 mg/L), total hardness (5.0 to 80.0 m g/L), total solid (4000 to 7000 mg/L) total suspended solids (3967 to 6978 mg/L) total dissolved solids (17.9 to 198 mg/L), dissolved oxygen (4.50 to 9.60 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (ND to 4.67 mg/L), MPN c ount (2 to 1600 MPN/100 ml) and the faecal coliform counts ranged between ND to 2.5×104. The Physico chemic al parameters of most of the samples analysed were within the limits set by both National and International standa rd regulatory bodies for drinking and domestic waters (SON, 2007; WHO, 2011). Overall, the potable water sources are suitable for drinking, but the faecal contamination in Iju River makes it unfit for drinking

Natural radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in commercial building materials and their lifetime cancer risk assessment in dwellers

Elevated radioactivity levels of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in building materials were measured using gamma-ray spectrometry and their associated lifetime cancer risks were also determined. The mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K are 45.72 § 0.55, 65.90 § 8.89, and 487.32 § 15.20 Bq kg¡1, respectively. Statistically, the principal component (PC) analysis indicates that higher loadings were recorded in Principal Component One (PC1) with large contribution from 232Th and 40K. The leverage studies indicate that BN Ceramics (BNC) contributes more to the loadings in PC1 followed by Golden Crown Ceramic (GCC) sample and GC. The mean values of 0.399 mSv y¡1 for annual effective dose from the samples surpassed the world’s average value of 0.07 mSv y¡1 by a factor of 5.7. The mean gamma index from the measured samples is 0.644, whereas a mean value of 0.271 for alpha index is noted in the samples. The activity utilization index (AUI) from the samples satisfied the AUI <2, which corresponded with the annual effective dose of <0.3 mSv y¡1, except interlock Site 2 and Gomez Spain tiles. Significantly, the mean value of excess lifetime cancer risk of 0.0014 is slightly lower than the world average value of 0.29 £ 10¡3

Synthesis And Evaluation Of The Antimicrobial Activity Of Cobalt Substituted MgFe2O4 Nanoparticles

The high incidence of infectious disease and increase in the incidence of antibiotic resistance has led to the application of inorganic nanoparticles as novel antimicrobial agents owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. The present study reports the synthesis and antimicrobial activity of MgFe2O4 and Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs). The NPs were synthesized using the low temperature combustion synthesis and the synthesized NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive absorption spectroscopy (EDAX). The synthesized NPs exhibited good antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens). Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 NPs showed higher zone of inhibition than MgFe2O4 NPs for E. coli and S. aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2.5 mg/ml as compared to gentamicin as standard antibiotic. The relatively large zone of inhibition exhibited by Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 on E. coli and S. aureus suggests its potentials in the treatment of infections commonly associated with these microorganisms

A STUDY OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY IN SOME BUILDING MATERIALS IN NIGERIA

Building materials of different brands were assessed for the concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K using HPGe detector. The activity concentrations in the measured samples ranged from 27 ± 8 to 82 ± 8 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 41 ± 4 to 101 ± 8 Bq kg−1 for 232Th and 140 ± 8 to 940 ± 19 Bq kg−1 for 40K, respectively. The Radium equivalent (Raeq) activity from the samples was found to be <370 Bq kg−1 as the recommended value for construction materials. This study will set a baseline data for significant standards on radiation exposure of the measured radionuclides in the selected building materials used in Nigeri