Antihyperglycaemic and Antilipidaemic Activities of the Methanol Seed Extract of Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa) in Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antihyperglycaemic and antilipidaemic effect of methanol extract of seeds of Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Alloxan was administered as a single dose (120mg/kg, b.wt) to induce diabetes mellitus. Thirty albino rats were randomly divided into six groups of five rats each. Group I served as normal control. Group II served as diabetic control. Group III served as diabetic rats treated with oral hypoglycemic agent glibenclamide (2.5mg/kg). Groups IV, V and VI were diabetic rats orally administered with extract of the seeds (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg). The study was carried out for 28 days. On the 29th day, after an overnight fast, blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture under inhaled chlorofoam anesthesia for the determination of the fasting blood glucose (FBS), serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and high density cholesterol (HDL-C). The low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), atherogenic index (AI) were also calculated. The extracts of the seeds at the dose of 100, 200 and 400mg/kg reduced the blood glucose level by 46.89%, 52.13% and 57.52% respectively as compared to standard drug glibenclamide (2.5mg/kg) which showed 66.18% reduction in the diabetic rats. The extract also reduced the elevated lipid profile parameters such as TG, LDL-C, VLDL-C, and TC, increased the reduced level of HDL-C. The result suggests that methanol extract of the seeds of Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa possesses antihyperglycaemic and antilipidaemic properties. Keywords: Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa., Antihyperglyceamia., Antilipidaemia., Alloxan., Glibenclamide

Obesity, overweight, and underweight among urban Nigerians

Background: Disease burden from communicable and noncommunicable diseases is a significant health challenge facing many developing nations. Among the noncommunicable diseases, is obesity, which has become a global epidemic associated with urbanization.Objective: The aim was to evaluate the prevalence of weight abnormalities, their pattern of distribution and regional differences among apparently healthy urban dwelling Nigerians.Methods: A cross‑sectional community‑based descriptive survey was carried out in five urban cities, each from one geo‑political zone of Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedures were used to select participants using the World Health Organization STEPS instrument. Ethical approval and consents were duly and respectively obtained from the Ethics Committee in the tertiary centers and participants in each of these cities. Analysis was performed using SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Amonk, NY; released 2011) with P value set at < 0.05.Results: A total of 5392 participants were recruited; of which, 54.5% and 45.5% were males and females respectively. Mean (standard deviation) age and body mass index (BMI) were 40.6 (14.3) years and 25.3 (5.1) kg/m2. Obesity, overweight, and underweight were found in 17%, 31%, and 5% of participants respectively. Significantly, while underweight declined with increasing age, overweight, and obesity increased to peak in the middle age brackets. Age of ≥ 40 years was found to confer about twice the risk of becoming overweight. The prevalence of obesity and mean BMI were significantly higher both among the females and the participants from southern zones.Conclusion: Obesity and overweight are common in our urban dwellers with accompanying regional differences. Attainment of middle age increases the likelihood of urban dwelling Nigerians to become overweight/obese. There is therefore the need to institute measures that will check development of overweight/obesity early enough, while improving the nutritional status of the few who may still be undernourished.Key words: Nigerians, obesity, urban, weight distributio

Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Study of Methanol Seed Extract of Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa) in Albino Rats

The present study investigates the toxicological properties of the methanol seed extract of Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa. For the acute toxicity study, a limit test dose of 5000mg/kg was used while in the sub-chronic toxicity study, the treatment groups received a daily oral dose of the extract at 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg/kg for 28 days. The acute toxicity study revealed that the extract was safe up to 5000mg/kg. Results of sub-chronic toxicity study revealed significant (p<0.05) increase in body weight at the dose of 3000mg/kg. Neutrophils in all the treatment groups were significantly increased (p<0.05) while all the other haematological parameters tested showed no significant difference with the control group. The extract also showed mild to moderate deleterious effects on some biochemical parameters. ALT, ALP. AST and GGT levels were significantly increased (p<0.05) with mild distortion of hepatic architecture in the liver of the group that received the highest dose (3000mg/kg).  No pathological changes in the kidneys were observed at the various doses. This suggests that the extract should be used with caution with increasing dose. Keywords: Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa, acute toxicity study, sub-chronic toxicity study, haematological parameters, biochemical parameters

Comparative Chemical Analysis, Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Activities of the Rinds, Seeds and Juice of (Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa) Passion Fruit

In this study, an attempt had been made to determine the proximate composition and anti-nutritional factors of the juice, rind and seed of passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa. Crude lipid was determined by Soxhlet extraction, crude protein by microkjeldahl method and crude carbohydrate by difference. The result of proximate composition showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in fibre, protein, lipid, and moisture content between the rind, juice and seed.  The oxalate, phytate, tannin and cyanide content of the rind, seed and juice were low but differed significantly. The methanol extract of the rind, seed and juice of Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa were screened for the presence of secondary plant metabolites and tested for antimicrobial activity. Flavonoids, alkaloids, volatile oils and balsam were detected in all the extracts. Saponins and steroids were detected in seed and juice extracts. Glycosides and saponin glycosides were detected in seed and peel extracts. The antibacterial activity was tested against Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by well-in agar method. The rind and seed showed significant antibacterial activity against the test organisms at all the concentrations tested (30, 60 and 90 mg/ml). The juice extract showed moderate activity. The rind, seed and juice showed antifungal activity. The fungus isolate used was Aspergillus niger using agar incorporation method. The methanol extracts of seed and rind showed extremely significant differences (p<0.05) against the Aspergillus niger, while juice extract considered not quite significant (p>0.05). The result showed a significant increase in the activity of the extracts at all the concentrations tested (10, 20, 40, 70 and 100 mg/ml). The observed result may be attributed to the presence of detected phytochemical constituents. It can be concluded that Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa possess antimicrobial activity and is also nutritionally relevant and could serve as a rich source of nutrients. Keywords: Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa, Comparative, Chemical, Antinutritional. Phytochemical, antimicrobial

Oxidative stress among subjects with metabolic syndrome in Sokoto, North.Western Nigeria

Background: Oxidative stress is known to play a role in the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome and its components. Racial differences may exist in the level of markers of oxidative stress and antioxidants in patients with metabolic syndrome.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the oxidative stress and antioxidants status in subjects with metabolic syndrome in Sokoto, North.Western Nigeria.Methods: A cross.sectional community.based study was carried out. Two hundred subjects (96 males and 104 females) were recruited for the study using a multi.stage sampling technique. Demographic data were obtained from the participants. Evaluation of anthropometric variables, blood pressure, blood  glucose levels, lipid profiles, plasma insulin levels, total antioxidant status, and oxidative stress markers was performed.Results: The subjects with metabolic syndrome had significantly higher malondialdehyde as compared to those without metabolic syndrome (236.4 [92.2] vs. 184 [63.2] nmol/l). The antioxidant enzymes  (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase) were significantly lower in subjects with metabolic syndrome than in those without metabolic syndrome (11.3 [4.2] vs. 13.9 [4.1] U/ml, 160[42] vs. 220[32] U/ml, and 2.12 [0.2] vs. 2.42 [0.2] U/ml, respectively). Similarly, the antioxidant Vitamins (A, C, and E) levels were significantly lower in subjects with metabolic syndrome than in those withoutmetabolic syndrome (7.1 [4.1] vs. 7.7 [4.2] µmol/L, 225 [55.3] vs. 227.6 [62.3] µmol/L, and 75.9 [13.9] vs. 82.8 [18.6] mg/dl, respectively). There was a positive correlation between components of metabolic syndrome and free radicals.Conclusion: Significantly increased oxidative stress and diminished antioxidant defenses were found among Nigerians with metabolic syndrome.Key words: Antioxidants, metabolic syndrome, oxidative stres

Therapies for neonatal encephalopathy: Targeting the latent, secondary and tertiary phases of evolving brain injury

In term and near-term neonates with neonatal encephalopathy, therapeutic hypothermia protocols are well established. The current focus is on how to improve outcomes further and the challenge is to find safe and complementary therapies that confer additional protection, regeneration or repair in addition to cooling. Following hypoxia-ischemia, brain injury evolves over three main phases (latent, secondary and tertiary), each with a different brain energy, perfusion, neurochemical and inflammatory milieu. While therapeutic hypothermia has targeted the latent and secondary phase, we now need therapies that cover the continuum of brain injury that spans hours, days, weeks and months after the initial event. Most agents have several therapeutic actions but can be broadly classified under a predominant action (e.g., free radical scavenging, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, neuroregeneration, and vascular effects). Promising early/secondary phase therapies include Allopurinol, Azithromycin, Exendin-4, Magnesium, Melatonin, Noble gases and Sildenafil. Tertiary phase agents include Erythropoietin, Stem cells and others. We review a selection of promising therapeutic agents on the translational pipeline and suggest a framework for neuroprotection and neurorestoration that targets the evolving injury

Restitution analysis of alternans and its relationship to arrhythmogenicity in hypokalaemic Langendorff-perfused murine hearts

Alternans and arrhythmogenicity were studied in hypokalaemic (3.0 mM K+) Langendorff-perfused murine hearts paced at high rates. Epicardial and endocardial monophasic action potentials were recorded and durations quantified at 90% repolarization. Alternans and arrhythmia occurred in hypokalaemic, but not normokalaemic (5.2 mM K+) hearts (P < 0.01): this was prevented by treatment with lidocaine (10 μM, P < 0.01). Fourier analysis then confirmed transition from monomorphic to polymorphic waveforms for the first time in the murine heart. Alternans and arrhythmia were associated with increases in the slopes of restitution curves, obtained for the first time in the murine heart, while the anti-arrhythmic effect of lidocaine was associated with decreased slopes. Thus, hypokalaemia significantly increased (P < 0.05) maximal gradients (from 0.55 ± 0.14 to 2.35 ± 0.67 in the epicardium and from 0.67 ± 0.13 to 1.87 ± 0.28 in the endocardium) and critical diastolic intervals (DIs) at which gradients equalled unity (from −2.14 ± 0.52 ms to 50.93 ± 14.45 ms in the epicardium and from 8.14 ± 1.49 ms to 44.64 ± 5 ms in the endocardium). While treatment of normokalaemic hearts with lidocaine had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on either maximal gradients (0.78 ± 0.27 in the epicardium and 0.83 ± 0.45 in the endocardium) or critical DIs (6.06 ± 2.10 ms and 7.04 ± 3.82 ms in the endocardium), treatment of hypokalaemic hearts with lidocaine reduced (P < 0.05) both these parameters (1.05 ± 0.30 in the epicardium and 0.89 ± 0.36 in the endocardium and 30.38 ± 8.88 ms in the epicardium and 31.65 ± 4.78 ms in the endocardium, respectively). We thus demonstrate that alternans contributes a dynamic component to arrhythmic substrate during hypokalaemia, that restitution may furnish an underlying mechanism and that these phenomena are abolished by lidocaine, both recapitulating and clarifying clinical findings

Acute heart failure caused by a giant hepatocellular metastatic tumor of the right atrium

We present a symptomatic 40-year-old cirrhotic man who presented with sudden onsets of syncope. Echocardiography revealed right ventricular outflow track obstruction caused by a huge right atrial mass. The tumor was surgically excised under cardiopulmonary bypass. Although no primary cancerous lesion in the liver was detected, histopathology revealed that the mass was a metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this report is to show the value of urgent preoperative computed tomography and its contribution in the operative strategy. The importance of urgent surgical treatment with tricuspid valve sparing tumor resection is emphasized even though the prognosis for such patients is dismal. We also discuss the further management options of such rare case

Deriving an optimal threshold of waist circumference for detecting cardiometabolic risk in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Waist circumference (WC) thresholds derived from western populations continue to be used in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite increasing evidence of ethnic variation in the association between adiposity and cardiometabolic disease and availability of data from African populations. We aimed to derive a SSA-specific optimal WC cut-point for identifying individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk. METHODS: We used individual level cross-sectional data on 24 181 participants aged ⩾15 years from 17 studies conducted between 1990 and 2014 in eight countries in SSA. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to derive optimal WC cut-points for detecting the presence of at least two components of metabolic syndrome (MS), excluding WC. RESULTS: The optimal WC cut-point was 81.2 cm (95% CI 78.5-83.8 cm) and 81.0 cm (95% CI 79.2-82.8 cm) for men and women, respectively, with comparable accuracy in men and women. Sensitivity was higher in women (64%, 95% CI 63-65) than in men (53%, 95% CI 51-55), and increased with the prevalence of obesity. Having WC above the derived cut-point was associated with a twofold probability of having at least two components of MS (age-adjusted odds ratio 2.6, 95% CI 2.4-2.9, for men and 2.2, 95% CI 2.0-2.3, for women). CONCLUSION: The optimal WC cut-point for identifying men at increased cardiometabolic risk is lower (⩾81.2 cm) than current guidelines (⩾94.0 cm) recommend, and similar to that in women in SSA. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these cut-points based on cardiometabolic outcomes.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 31 October 2017; doi:10.1038/ijo.2017.240