Electrolyte imbalance in type 2 diabetes: a case study from the West region of Cameroon

Background: Diabetes mellitus remains a global public health challenge despite advances in medicine, with Cameroon harboring about half a million patients. Electrolyte imbalance has been reported to contribute to the complications observed in diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate electrolyte disturbances in type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients under follow up in two health facilities (Dschang District Hospital and Bafoussam Regional Hospital) of the West Region of Cameroon.Methods: The study involved 200 T2D patients and 50 non-diabetic control subjects. A questionnaire was used to acquire demographic, anthropometric, clinical and psychosocial data. Fasting blood samples were collected for the determination of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated haemoglobin, calcium, potassium and sodium levels. The diabetic population was divided into two and three groups according to their glycated hemoglobin and FPG levels respectively. The Student’s t-test was used to compare mean values between patients and controls, while the chi square test was used to assess for differences between categorical variables. The significance level was set at 5%.Results: Almost all diabetic patients were diagnosed of hypernatremia (98%) versus 70% for the control group (p<0.001). There was no record of hyponatremia. Hypercalcemia was observed in 30% of the diabetic patients and hypocalcemia in 48%. The prevalence of hyperkalemia was comparable between patients and controls, while control subjects tended to be more hypokalemic (p=0.038). For all three electrolytes investigated, more than 70% of the imbalances were observed in patients with hyperglycemia when compared to patients having normal FPG or hypoglycemia.Conclusions: Electrolyte imbalance is common in type 2 diabetic patients from the West Region of Cameroon, especially those presenting with hyperglycemia

Terminaliamide, a new ceramide and other phytoconstituents from the roots of Terminalia mantaly H. Perrier and their biological activities

Terminaliamide (1), a new ceramide was isolated from the roots of Terminalia mantaly H. Perrier (Combretaceae) along with 4 known compounds (2–5). The structures of the compounds were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy analysis and mass spectrometry. Compound 1 exhibited moderated antibacterial activity towards Staphylococcus aureus with MIC value of 62.5 μg/mL. The crude MeOH extract (TMr) highly reduced Plasmodium falciparum growth with an IC50 value of 10.11 μg/mL, while hexane fraction (F1) highly reduced Trypanosoma brucei brucei growth with an IC50 value of 5.60 µg/mL. All tested samples presented little or no in vitro cytotoxicity on HeLa cell line. The present work confirms that T. mantaly is medicinally important and may be used effectively as an antimicrobial, an antiplasmodial and an antitrypanosomial with promising therapeutic index

Anthraquinones from the stem bark of Stereospermum zenkeri with antimicrobial activity

Lenta BN, Weniger B, Antheaume C, et al. Anthraquinones from the stem bark of Stereospermum zenkeri with antimicrobial activity. Phytochemistry. 2007;68(11):1595-1599.Two anthraquinones, zenkequinones A and B were isolated from the stem bark of Stereospermum zenkeri together with known sterequinone-F, p-coumaric acid, sitosterol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and 3 beta-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods. The antimicrobial activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against six multiresistant strains of pathogens. Zenkequinone B showed the best antibacterial activity (MIC 9.50 mu g/ml) against gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved