Formulation and proximate evaluation of complementary diets from locally available foods in southwestern Nigeria

Objective: Complementary foods in Nigeria among low-income households are based on staple cereals. Malnutrition among the affected infants could be attributed to unfortified or poorly-fortified cereal-based complementary foods. The present study was conducted to formulate composite blends using locally available but cheap cereals and legumes, chemically evaluate their respective nutritive values, compare them with most traditionally used sieved maize pap ('ogi'), and also evaluate the acceptability of the composite blends.Methods: Four composite blends were formulated from common white bean, soya bean, groundnut, fluted pumpkin, bitter leaf, crayfish, dried tomato and palm oil with unsieved yellow maize and guinea corn as the project food base. Standard procedures of Association of Official Analytical Chemists were used to determine the proximate chemical composition while atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the mineral element composition. Sensory evaluation to test their acceptability was assessed with 25 panelists using four organoleptic attributes with a five point hedonic scale. Results: The results showed that protein, fat, ash, calcium, iron and zinc contents of the four composite blends were higher than in the traditionally most-used sieved maize pap. The results further showed that formulation with UYM + GC + GT + UG + BL + CF + O was the most acceptable composite blend by the panelists.Conclusion: We concluded that nursing mothers do not have to spend so much money to take care of the nutritional status of their infants by adopting these new formulations of complementary foods.Keywords: Complementary foods, malnutrition, proximate chemical composition, composite blends, sensory evaluation, organoleptic attributes

Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Citrus sinesis seeds: Effects on hepatic and renal functional integrities and antioxidant activities.

Objective: This work reports the possible toxicological effects of AgNPs on the liver and kidney. Additionally, it also beamed its searchlight on its effects on the antioxidant defense mechanism in male Wistar rats.Method: Male Wistar rats (n=28) were used for the study. Control animals (n=7) were exposed to only drinking ware ad-libitum for 12 weeks. The remaining 21 rats were randomized into 3 groups of 7 animals each and were exposed to 50, 150 and 250 kg/mg body weight AgNPs biosynthesized from Citrus sinensisi for the same period after which blood and liver were removed from the rats and analyzed spectrophotometrically.Results: A non-significant reduction of plasma ALT, AST, ?GT and ALP characterized the effects of AgNPs in the animal tested. Similarly, AgNPs significantly depleted the plasma creatinine and urea level. The exposure also up-regulated the activities/concentration of antioxidant markers. Malondialdehyde concentration was also significantly depleted by AgNPs.Conclusion: The findings from this study revealed that biologically synthesized AgNPs induced no toxicological potential on hepatic and renal structural and functional integrity. Meanwhile, it enhanced the activities and concentration of antioxidant markers

Ascorbic acid modulates prefrontal cortex cellular changes in androgen deprived rats

Background: Testosterone deficiency has been implicated in numerous neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson and Huntington's disease. We used a model of androgen deprived rats to determine the effects of ascorbic acid on prefrontal cortex (PFC) cellular changes associated with a subset population of androgen deprived patients.Methodology: Chemical castration (using testosterone antagonist) as well as orchiectomy can induce androgen deprivation. Twenty-one (21) adult male Wistar rats with an average weight of 170g±10g were randomly assigned into three groups with each group containing seven (7) rats. Group A was control group, Group B= Orchiectomy + Flutamide (11 mg/kg body weight), and group C= Orchiectomy + Flutamide (11 mg/kg body weight)+Ascorbic acid (100 mg/kg body weight). Treatment lasted for 30 days. Nitric oxide and Malondialdehyde levels were assessed; while serum testosterone level was assayed. Histological, Histochemical, and immunohistochemical investigations were performed using Hematoxylin & Eosin, Cresyl fast violet, and Bielschowsky stains respectively.Result: Our results showed increased expression of Nitric Oxide (NO), and increased lipid peroxidation (MDA) in the PFC of orchiectomized animals with altered cytoarchitectural morphology evidenced by decreased Nissl staining polarity in neuronal axons and aggregation of neurofibrillary tangles. Oxidative and nitrosative stress were well modulated in animals treated with ascorbic acid with unaltered prefrontal cortex morphology.Conclusion: The results indicated that decline in brain androgen activities caused nitrosative and oxidative stress-driven pathology in the prefrontal cortex while supplementing endogenous ascorbic acid offered therapeutic value by scavenging free radicals in the prefrontal corte