In vivo antimalarial activity of methanol leaf extract of Bombax buonopozense in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei

Bombax buonopozense is used in ethnomedical practice for the treatment of fever. The methanol leaf extract of this plant was evaluated for in vivo antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine sensitive plasmodium berghei in mice. The antiplasmodial effect during early and established infections was investigated. The extract (200-600 mg/kg, p.o) exhibited significant (P<0.05) antimalarial activity both in four-day early and in an established infection tests. The LD50 of the extract was established to be greater than 5000 mg/kg, p.o in mice. The result suggests that B. buonopozense leaf extract possesses significant (P< 0.05) antiplasmodial activity thus confirming its traditional use in malarial therapy.Keywords: Bombax buonopozense; Herbal medicine; Plasmodium berghei berghei; Mic

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in Nigeria in 1995 and 2020: A systematic analysis of current evidence

Improved understanding of the current burden of hypertension, including awareness, treatment, and control, is needed to guide relevant preventative measures in Nigeria. A systematic search of studies on the epidemiology of hypertension in Nigeria, published on or after January 1990, was conducted. The authors employed randomeffects meta-analysis on extracted crude hypertension prevalence, and awareness, treatment, and control rates. Using a meta-regression model, overall hypertension cases in Nigeria in 1995 and 2020 were estimated. Fifty-three studies (n = 78 949) met our selection criteria. Estimated crude prevalence of pre-hypertension (120-139/80-89 mmHg) in Nigeria was 30.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 22.0%-39.7%), and the crude prevalence of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg) was 30.6% (95% CI: 27.3%-34.0%). When adjusted for age, study period, and sample, absolute cases of hypertension increased by 540% among individuals aged ≥20 years from approximately 4.3 million individuals in 1995 (age-adjusted prevalence 8.6%, 95% CI: 6.5-10.7) to 27.5 million individuals with hypertension in 2020 (age-adjusted prevalence 32.5%, 95% CI: 29.8-35.3). The age-adjusted prevalence was only significantly higher among men in 1995, with the gap between both sexes considerably narrowed in 2020. Only 29.0% of cases (95% CI: 19.7-38.3) were aware of their hypertension, 12.0% (95% CI: 2.7-21.2) were on treatment, and 2.8% (95% CI: 0.1-5.7) had at-goal blood pressure in 2020. Our study suggests that hypertension prevalence has substantially increased in Nigeria over the last two decades. Although more persons are aware of their hypertension status, clinical treatment and control rates, however, remain low. These estimates are relevant for clinical care, population, and policy response in Nigeria and across Africa

Estimating the burden of selected non-communicable diseases in Africa: a systematic review of the evidence

Background The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rapidly increasing globally, and particularly in Africa, where the health focus, until recently, has been on infectious diseases. The response to this growing burden of NCDs in Africa has been affected owing to a poor understanding of the burden of NCDs, and the relative lack of data and low level of research on NCDs in the continent. Recent estimates on the burden of NCDs in Africa have been mostly derived from modelling based on data from other countries imputed into African countries, and not usually based on data originating from Africa itself. In instances where few data were available, estimates have been characterized by extrapolation and over-modelling of the scarce data. It is therefore believed that underestimation of NCDs burden in many parts of Africa cannot be unexpected. With a gradual increase in average life expectancy across Africa, the region now experiencing the fastest rate of urbanization globally, and an increase adoption of unhealthy lifestyles, the burden of NCDs is expected to rise. This thesis will, therefore, be focussing on understanding the prevalence, and/or where there are available data, the incidence, of four major NCDs in Africa, which have contributed highly to the burden of NCDs, not only in Africa, but also globally. Methods I conducted a systematic search of the literature on three main databases (Medline, EMBASE and Global Health) for epidemiological studies on NCDs conducted in Africa. I retained and extracted data from original population-based (cohort or cross sectional), and/or health service records (hospital or registry-based studies) on prevalence and/or incidence rates of four major NCDs in Africa. These include: cardiovascular diseases (hypertension and stroke), diabetes, major cancer types (cervical, breast, prostate, ovary, oesophagus, bladder, Kaposi, liver, stomach, colorectal, lung and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), and chronic respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma). From extracted crude prevalence and incidence rates, a random effect meta-analysis was conducted and reported for each NCD. An epidemiological model was applied on all extracted data points. The fitted curve explaining the largest proportion of variance (best fit) from the model was further applied. The equation generated from the fitted curve was used to determine the prevalence and cases of the specific NCD in Africa at midpoints of the United Nations (UN) population 5-year age-group population estimates for Africa. Results From the literature search, studies on hypertension had the highest publication output at 7680, 92 of which were selected, spreading across 31 African countries. Cancer had 9762 publications and 39 were selected across 20 countries; diabetes had 3701 publications and 48 were selected across 28 countries; stroke had 1227 publications and 19 were selected across 10 countries; asthma had 790 publications and 45 were selected across 24 countries; and COPD had the lowest output with 243 publications and 13 were selected across 8 countries. From studies reporting prevalence rates, hypertension, with a total sample size of 197734, accounted for 130.2 million cases and a prevalence of 25.9% (23.5, 34.0) in Africa in 2010. This is followed by asthma, with a sample size of 187904, accounting for 58.2 million cases and a prevalence of 6.6% (2.4, 7.9); COPD, with a sample size of 24747, accounting for 26.3 million cases and a prevalence of 13.4% (9.4, 22.1); diabetes, with a sample size of 102517, accounting for 24.5 million cases and a prevalence of 4.0% (2.7, 6.4); and stroke, with a sample size of about 6.3 million, accounting for 1.94 million cases and a prevalence of 317.3 per 100000 population (314.0, 748.2). From studies reporting incidence rates, stroke accounted for 496 thousand new cases in Africa in 2010, with a prevalence of 81.3 per 100000 person years (13.2, 94.9). For the 12 cancer types reviewed, a total of 775 thousand new cases were estimated in Africa in 2010 from registry-based data covering a total population of about 33 million. Among women, cervical cancer and breast cancer had 129 thousand and 81 thousand new cases, with incidence rates of 28.2 (22.1, 34.3) and 17.7 (13.0, 22.4) per 100000 person years, respectively. Among men, prostate cancer and Kaposi sarcoma closely follows with 75 thousand and 74 thousand new cases, with incidence rates of 14.5 (10.9, 18.0) and 14.3 (11.9, 16.7) per 100000 person years, respectively. Conclusion This study suggests the prevalence rates of the four major NCDs reviewed (cardiovascular diseases (hypertension and stroke), diabetes, major cancer types, and chronic respiratory diseases (COPD and asthma) in Africa are high relative to global estimates. Due to the lack of data on many NCDs across the continent, there are still doubts on the true prevalence of these diseases relative to the current African population. There is need for improvement in health information system and overall data management, especially at country level in Africa. Governments of African nations, international organizations, experts and other stakeholders need to invest more on NCDs research, particularly mortality, risk factors, and health determinants to have evidenced-based facts on the drivers of this epidemic in the continent, and prompt better, effective and overall public health response to NCDs in Africa

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Type 2 Diabetes Patients attending Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the proximate composition and anti-nutrient content of new varieties of cowpea and maize released by the Institute for Agricultural Research [IAR], Ahmadu Bello University [ABU] – Zaria. Materials and Methods: Samples of eleven varieties each of cowpea and maize were collected from their respective breeders in the Department of Plant Science, IAR, ABU, Zaria. Carbohydrate, crude protein, ash, moisture, crude lipid and crude fiber contents were determined using standard methods. Determination of phytate, tannin, cyanide, saponin and oxalate were conducted on the cowpea varieties while for the maize varieties, all the above listed anti-nutrients were determined except oxalate. The various analyses were expressed as mean + standard deviation and analyzed using one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA]. Results: Crude protein content in the cowpea varieties ranged from 22.66 to 24.10% and for maize 9.62 to 10.16%, carbohydrate ranged between 56.48 and 59.70% in cowpea and 72.88 to 74.35% in maize, lipid from 2.16 to 3.14% in cowpea and 0.23 to 1.80% in maize, ash from 2.68 to 3.40% in cowpea and 2.84 to 3.66% in maize, moisture from 8.12 to 9.46% in cowpea and 9.66 to 10.16% in maize and crude fibre from 3.30 to 4.42% in cowpea and 1.42 to 2.12% in maize. Phytate content varied from 1.04 to 1.88% in cowpea and 0.16 to 0.26% in maize, tannin from 0.18 to 0.48% in cowpea and 0.02 to 0.18% in maize, cyanide from 0.04 to 0.16% in cowpea and 0.10 to 0.16% in maize and saponin from 0.02 to 0.08% in cowpea and 0.0002 to 0.0004% in maize. Oxalate ranged from 0.00 to 0.004% in cowpea. Conclusion: The study showed that the IAR released cowpea and maize varieties were nutritionally rich, low in anti-nutrients and suitable for local consumption and industrial utilization. Key Words:Nutrients, Anti-nutrients, Cowpea, Maize, New varietie

Effect of Mother's Characteristics and Infant Feeding Practices on the Nutritional Status of Children (0-2 years) in a Rural Community in Enugu State, Nigeria

Objective: This study was aimed at determining the effect of mother's characteristics and infant feeding practices on the anthropometric status of children (0-2 years). Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in a rural community in Enugu State. Information on mother's characteristics and infant feeding practices was obtained using validated, pretested questionnaire, while anthropometric status of the children were obtained by measuring their weights and heights using standard methods. Height-for-age (stunting), weight-for-height (wasting) and weightfor-age (under nutrition) indices were calculated from the raw data. The relationship between these indices and mother's characteristics was evaluated using Chi-square analysis Result: The results showed that 28% of the children were stunted, 20% were malnourished and 30.8% were wasted. Up to 74.4% of mothers with children 0-6 months of age exclusively breastfed their infants. Few mothers (7.5%) gave breast milk to their babies immediately after birth, while 28.3% gave breast milk 24 hours after birth. The major reason for giving breast milk 24 hours after birth was because breast milk had not started flowing (70.6%).Water was mostly used to sustain the babies within the first 24 hours after birth (46.4%). It was found that none of the exclusively breastfed babies were stunted, malnourished or wasted. Mothers who earned higher income had less stunted malnourished and wasted infants than those who earned lower income. Education and occupation affected the nutritional status of these infants negatively. Conclusion: The study has shown that exclusive breastfeeding remains the best for the infant. It also showed that mother's care giving behaviour was a strong determinant of the nutritional status of the children. Key words: Infant feeding practices, mother characteristics, nutritional status, rural Nigeria