In vitro Inhibition of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Some Nigerian Medicinal Plants

Some Nigerian plants used in traditional medicine to treat tuberculosis and/or some of its symptoms were screened for in vitro activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis and a clinical isolate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Only 3 of the 6 crude methanolic extracts of the 6 plant species exhibited inhibitory activities against M. smegmatis, while 5 inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis. Three and four water extracts inhibited M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis, respectively. Both methanol and water extracts of Artemisia annua, Pterocarpus erinaceus and Piper guiniense showed inhibitory activities against the two Mycobacteria. Methanol extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Piper guiniense exhibited the highest activity against M. tuberculosis with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.1 mg/ml. Key Words: Nigerian medicinal plants, Mycobacterium species, Inhibition East & Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.6(1) 2003: 15-1

Flavanols and terpenes/sterols with antimycobacterial activity from the stem bark of Pterocarpuse erinaceus Poir (Leguminosae)

The antimycobacterial activity of parts of Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (Leguminosae) was studied using the agar proportion method. Phytochemical screening was also carried out to determine the major phytochemical groups responsible for the activity. Only the stem bark of the plant was found to possess varying degrees of activity against four Mycobacterial species namely M. smegmatis ATCC 607, M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and M. avium-complex. Phytochemical screening of the active fractions revealed the presence of flavanols and terpenes/sterols in the fraction isolated from the hexane crude and tannins and terpenes/sterols in the fraction isolated from the methanol crude. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the active fractions ranged between 0.25 mg/ml and 2.0 mg/ml. Keywords: flavanols, terpenes/sterols, antimycobacterial activities, Pterocarpus erinaceus East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 7 2004: 40-4

Nutritional and Health Benefits of Acha (Digitaria exilis) in the Human Diet – A Review

The African ancient traditional cereal grain acha, though poorly studied, has received an increasing attention by scientists within the last decade. It has the potential to contribute significantly to whole grain diets, wellness, economic status improvement and play an important role in medicine, animal feed and food security in a developing nation like Nigeria. Acha is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, fibre, carbohydrate, protein, amino acids containing methionine and cysteine. It has health benefits, because it is rich in energy, iron, aids digestion and cardiovascular function, good for diabetics, gluten-free diet, an excellent meal for weight loss, good for the skin and also hair formation. This cereal grain with excellent nutritional properties should be encouraged considering the challenging cost of health care. The exploitation of this grain requires a collaborated effort of the government, academia and the food industry to assist in funding the development of equipment that would make it possible to mechanize the production of the grain, if the growing population of Nigeria is to experience the full benefits of acha for active health life; hence this review.Keywords: Production, utilization, food securit

Survey of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7 from diarrhoeal patients in Jos, Nigeria

No Abstract.Sahel Medical Journal Vol. 8(2) 2005: 37-3

Effect of Phosphorus Fertilizer Application on Some Soil Chemical Properties and Nitrogen Fixation of Legumes at Bauchi, Northeastern Nigeria

Research was conducted during the 2004, 2005 and 2006 cropping seasons to study the effect of phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties and nitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchi, northeastern Nigeria. Composite soil samples were collected from sites before planting and after harvesting at the depths of 0-15 and 15-30 cm. The treatment consisted of legumes namely; cowpea local variety (Yar Sokoto), groundnuts (Ex-Dakar) and soybean (TGX1448-2E) and four levels of phosphorus fertilizer (0, 13.2, 26.4 and 39.6 kgP/ha). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The result showed that soil pH., organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus increased in the soil samples collected after harvesting as compared to the soils sample before planting across the depths. Phosphorus fertilizer application significantly (P=0.05) increase nitrogen fixation up to 26.4 kgP/ha, but declined significantly (P=0.05) at higher levels of 39.6 kgP/ha in the cropping seasons. Legumes differ significantly (P=0.05) in their ability to fixed nitrogen, with soybean fixing the highest amount of nitrogen in the cropping seasons. Interaction between phosphorus fertilizer application and legumes showed that in 2004 cropping seasons the application of 13.2 kgP/ha gave (P=0.05) the same amount of nitrogen fixed irrespective of the legumes. However, in 2005 and 2006 cropping seasons, the interaction showed that at 0 kgP/ha phosphorus levels of the amount of nitrogen fixed by the legumes was significantly the same. It is concluded that the application of phosphorus fertilizer did not only increase the nutrient status of the soil but enhances the nitrogen fixation ability of the legumes for a sustainable legume production and soil fertility management at Bauchi. Keywords: Phosphorus fertilizer, chemical properties, nitrogen fixation, legumes, Nigeri

In vitro Antibacterial Activity of Crude Ethanol, Acetone and Aqueous Garcinia kola seed Extracts on Selected Clinical Isolates

No Abstract

Blockchain-Based Federated Learning in Medicine

ISBN 978-3-030-59136-6International audienceWorldwide epidemic events have confirmed the need for medical data processing tools while bringing issues of data privacy, transparency and usage consent to the front. Federated Learning and the blockchain are two technologies that tackle these challenges and have been shown to be beneficial in medical contexts where data are often distributed and coming from different sources. In this paper we propose to integrate these two technologies for the first time in a medical setting. In particular, we propose a implementation of a coordinating server for a federated learning algorithm to share information for improved predictions while ensuring data transparency and usage consent. We illustrate the approach with a prediction decision support tool applied to a diabetes data-set. The particular challenges of the medical contexts are detailed and a prototype implementation is presented to validate the solution