A Comparative Study of Antimalarial and Toxicological Effects of Aqueous and Methanol Extracts of Glphaea brevis Leaves in Mice

Malaria is the most important parasitic disease of subtropical and tropical countries and its control remains serious challenge, especially through the development of parasite resistance to standard antimalarial drugs. Aqueous and methanol leaves extract of Glyphaea brevis were investigated for their activities against malaria infections using albino mice infected with Plasmodium berghei at dose levels of 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 300mg/kg per day. Artemisinin at 5mg/kg /day was used as standard control. Dose dependent chemo-suppression of the parasites was obtained at different dosages of the tested extract. The methanol extract was found to be more active in parasite inhibition growth than its aqueous counterpart. In the established infected control group, aqueous and methanol extracts both showed significant dose dependent (P< 0.05) inhibitory and suppressive activities on the extracts treated animals when compared with the infected (positive) control groups. The percentage suppression revealed that 400 mg/kg methanol extract treated group had the highest efficacy (81.89%) amongst the various dosages administered. There was reduction in PCV levels in all the Plasmodium berghei infected mice when compared to the normal control group. Also, there were significant (P< 0.05) increase in the serum concentration of alanine aminotransferase (80.75 ± 7.04) and aspartate aminotransferase (68.50 ± 4.66) of the infected control group compared to normal, standard and the extract treated groups. There was significant difference in the serum concentration of alkaline phosphatase in the positive control group and aqueous extract treated groups. Conclusively, aqueous and methanol leaves extracts of G. brevis possess antiplasmodial activity

Awareness of diabetic retinopathy among patients with diabetes mellitus in Ilorin, Nigeria

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of blindness worldwide. The associated loss of productivity and quality of life of the patients with diabetic retinopathy will lead to additional socioeconomic burden. This study aims to determine the level of awareness of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients.Materials and Methods: This hospital-based cross sectional study, was carried out at the Diabetic and Ophthalmology clinics of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria from November 2011 to July 2012. A total of 365 patients had validated, semi-structured, and interviewer-administered questionnaires to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical information and awareness of diabetic retinopathy.Results: A total of 365 patients were enrolled, with age between 19 and 90 years, and a mean of 45.8 ± 16.3 years. The male to female ratio was 1: 2.2. Ninety-nine respondents (27.1%) had no education. The majority (30.4%) had only primary education; 21.1% had tertiary; 14.5% had secondary while 6.8% had Quranic education. The mean duration of diabetes mellitus was 14.1 ± 13.09 years. Of the 365 patients with diabetes mellitus, 279(76.4%) had heard that diabetes mellitus affects the eyes, while 86 (23.6%) had not. Of those who had heard, 221(79.2%) heard it from health personnel, 45 (16.1%) from radio/television, 25(9.0%) from internet, 23 (8.2%) from books/newspapers, while 16 (5.7%) heard from other sources.Conclusion: There was a high level of awareness of diabetic retinopathy amongst the patients. However, the high level of awareness of the blinding complication of diabetes mellitus did not translate to a correspondingly high level of ocular examination for diabetic retinopathy.Keywords: Awareness, Diabetic retinopathy, Diabetes mellitus, Eye examinatio

Ethnobotanical Survey of Some Medicinal Plants for Curing Pile or Hemorrhoids in Ago-Owu Forest Reserve,OsunState Nigeria

Ethnobotanical Survey of some medicinal plants for curing pile or aemorrhoids was conducted in selected villages around Ago-Owu foresty reserved, Osun State Nigeria. A reconnaissance survey was done. Five villages were randomly selected, namely; Arinkinkin, Okodowo, Alaadura, Agbaogun and Alaguntan. Questionnaire copies were administered to a group of people namely; hunters, farmers, herbalists, civil servants and other professionals in each village. The total number of respondents in Arinkinkin, Okodowo ,Alaadura,Agbaogun and Alaguntan were 30,15,23,20 and 22 respectively. The result showed 20 medicinal plants for curing the ailments. Ten medicinal plants identified by the respondents were randomly collected and chemically screened for their chemical constituents including alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids and polyphenols. The medicinal plants investigated were Ficusexasperata, Agerantumconyzoidea, Paullina pinnata, Mormordricacharantia, Sennaalata, Newbouldialaevis, Phyllantusamarus, Sphenocentrumjollyanum, cassampelosowariensisandOcimumgratissimum. All the plants contain percentage yield of alkaloids (ranging from 0.0075% to 0.02%), tannins (0.02% to 0.44%), saponins(0.001% to 0.002%), flavonoids (0.02% to 0.57%) and polyphenols (0.11% to 1.85%). The nutritional values of the phytochemicals were also assessed. It revealed that the plants contained crude protein (14.57% to 29.37%), moisture content (14.40% to 58.09%), crude fibre (4.54% to 29.05%), ash (6.65% to 22.08%) and carbohydrate (2.04% to 43.60%). It showed that they are highly nutritious, anti- viral, anti- microbial, anti- bacterial, anti - parasitic, anti -inflammatory, expectorate  and immune against diseases. Keywords: Ethnobotanical, pile, hemorrhoid, ailments, medicinal plants, phytochemical

The impact of spirituality and resilience on mental distress among inmates in a northern state, Nigeria

The burden of mental illness of inmates in low and middle income countries (LMICs) prisons was higher than in the developed ones. Positive interventions common in reversing the increasing prevalence of inmates’ mental distress in developed countries are rare in Nigeria, a LMICs. This study contributed to initiate mental health promotion in Nigerian prisons through studying mediating effect of positive interventions, specifically spirituality and resilience on inmates’ mental wellbeing. Mental distress of 63 male inmates of Bida prison, North-centre Nigeria was assessed with GHQ-12. The impact of resilience and spirituality on mental distress was measured by Resilience Scale and brief Spirituality Involvement and Beliefs Scale respectively. The mean age of participants was 27.27years (SD = 1.43years) and 70% of them had mental distress. Variables with statistically significant experience of mental distress were being single and having high mean resilience score. The study demonstrated the impact of marital status, resilience and spirituality on the mental wellness of the participants. This will aid mental health promotion of inmates in Nigeria prisons

Estimating multidimensional poverty AmongCassava producers in Nigeria: patterns and socioeconomic determinants

Open Access Journal; Published online: 02 Jul 2020The scourge of poverty, including its correlates, has been witnessing an incremental sequence over the years in Nigeria despite the natural endowment of the country. Efforts by various stakeholders to address this problem have not yielded tangible results. Using cross-sectional data collected in 2015 on 775 cassava farmers spread across four geographical zones, this study estimates multidimensional poverty of cassava producers in Nigeria. This is to determine the factors responsible for poverty increase and contribution(s) of these factors to poverty. The study found that about 74% of the respondents were multidimensionally poor. Assets and public/housing utility were the main contributors to aggregate multidimensional poverty index (MPI), while education and health contributed most to povertyreduction. The results also showed major contributing indicators to MPI to be formal employment, school enrolment, years of schooling, frequency of hospital visits, and household assets’ ownership. The South-eastzone of Nigeria had the highest adjusted headcount of poverty among cassava producers. The estimated coefficient of age, farming experience, years of schooling, household size, and access to informal credit were significant determinants of poverty in the study area. In conclusion, the results suggest that although Nigeria is a federation of more than 30 states that continue to rely on nation-wide policy initiatives of the central government, policies on cassava aiming to lift millions of people out of poverty should instead vary according to the peculiar poverty dimensions of each federation unit. We suggest reform in the agriculture sector that will emphasize facilitation and access to incentives (credits, training, extension, cooperate system, etc.) by younger farmers to engage in modern cassava farming, thereby, enhancing the chances of rural cassava growers to move out of poverty

Effects of processing methods on the proximate and physicochemical properties of flour and oil of cashew nut

Background: Cashew nut is an underutilized crop, majorly used as a snack, while its other potentials are unexploited. It is nutritious and its oils could serve as alternative source for edible oils.Objective: The study investigated the effect of roasting, sun and oven-drying on the proximate and physicochemical properties of cashew nut flour and oil.Methods: Cashew nuts were bought from Sayedero market, Ilaro, extraneous objects and bad ones were removed, the nuts cut into halves, dried using sun, oven-drying and roasting (95ºC for 16hr) and milled into flours. Oil was extracted from the flour using standard laboratory methods. The proximate properties of the flour and the physicochemical properties of the oil were investigated; data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 23.0Results: The moisture, ash, fibre, protein, fat and carbohydrates contents of the flours ranged from 5.73 to 5.83%, 3.12 to 3.49%, 2.01 to 2.30%, 22.05 to23.97%, 40.16 to 42.13% and 22.39 to 26.72%, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the oil from the three samples showed no significant difference in the specific gravity (1.02), refractive index (1.02). Significant differences existed in the saponification (139.50 to 141.33mgKoH/g), peroxide (20.63 to 22.35Meg/kg), acid (12.39 to 12.60mgKOH/g) and iodine (42.52 to 43.79 g/100g) values of the sample.Conclusion: The cashew nut seed flour was found to be a good source of protein, the oils exhibit good physicochemical properties. . Oven dried samples had the best values in terms of proximate and physicochemical properties.Keywords: Cashew nut flour, oil, proximate, physicochemical propertie

Suicide Prevention In Nigeria: A Medicoreligious Approach

The aim of the World Health Organization to reduce suicide by 10% by 2020 is a call to all countries to establish national prevention strategies. The establishment of the Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN) was prompted because there is a shortage of comprehensive and structured suicide prevention initiativeswith a national spread, as there are only a handful of organizationsdedicated to this. The aim of the initiative is to organize suicide research and prevention activities targeted at at risk groups and to offercrisis intervention services. It organized several community activities including trainings for religious leaders, media practitioners and university campus campaigns. The most impactful of SURPIN's activities has been the crisis hotlines and its ability to link callers from different parts of the country with mental health services near them, and thus enable them seek medical care. The initiative set up mobile hotlines which can be called from all parts of the country covering four major telecommunications networks. The first one hundred calls were from a regional spread, with 78% from the South-West; mainly the commercial capital Lagos (77%), 6% from the Federal Capital Territory, 5% from South-East/South-South, and 11% from the North. The experience so far has shown that there is a yearning need for hotlines through which the citizens can seek help, information and other helpful services. There is recommendation for the hotlines to be tollfree and for improved government funding of such and similar initiatives. Key words: Suicide prevention, crisis hotlines, research

Nutritional Status and Functional Capacity of Elderly in Selected Communities in Ibadan, Oyo State

Background: Elderly are vulnerable to malnutrition due to some age related factors. Continuous evaluation of these factors will help in reducing this risk.Objective: The study assessed the nutritional status and functional capacity of elderly in selected communities in Ibadan, Oyo state.Method: A cross-sectional study involving 450 elderly selected using multistage sampling techniques from four local government areas in Ibadan. Socio-demographic characteristic of the respondents was obtained using a semi-structured and interviewer administered questionnaire. Data on dietary intake was obtained using 24 hours dietary recall. Weight (kg) and height (m) measurement was done and Body Mass 2 Index {BMI (kg/m )} was calculated. Functional capacity was assessed using Bristol activity of daily living and Lawton and Brody instrumental activities of daily living scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS. version 20.0Results: More than half (56%) of the respondents were female, 62% had no formal education, 27% were petty trader and estimated monthly income of majority (36.4%) of the respondents was ₦1,000-₦5,000. 66.7% had normal BMI, 17.1% were underweight while 8.2% of the respondents were overweight. Intake of Energy and nutrients like Protein, Fibre, vitamin C and Calcium were below the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) while Carbohydrate intake was above the RDA. 91.0% and 71.0% were functional independent in basic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living respectively. Significant (p< 0.05) association was observed between the level of functional impairment and BMI of the respondents.Conclusion: Functional capacity is a factor that is independently associated with nutritional status of elderly

Antimicrobial effects of Jatropha curcas sap and leaf extracts on Bacillus subtilis

Extracts of fresh, dry leaves and sap ofJatropha curcas  were  screened for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal properties. Methanolic and aqueous extracts of each of fresh, dry leaves and sap were screened using 3 gram negative, 3 gram positive bacteria and a fungus, which are all clinical strains of human pathogenic microorganism. Cotrimoxazole was used as a standard reference drug while methanol was used as a negative control. The extracts exhibited various degrees of activity in both bioassays at concentrations of 10, 20, 40 and 80mg/ml, respectively. Mean diameters of zones of inhibition for the five extracts and drug ranged from 14.2mm to 32.2mm while the Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) ranged from 0.004mg/ml to 1.00 mg/ml. This study showed that extracts of Jatropha curcas  have potential for use in antibacterial and antifungal preparations for a wide range of infection