Anti-diarrhoeal potential of the ethanol extract of Gongronema latifolium leaves in rats

The leaves of Gongronema latifolium is used in Nigeria for the treatment of diarrhoea and thus, the phytochemical constituents as well as the acute toxicity of the ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium and its effects [at graded doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg body weight (b.w)] against castor oil-induced diarrhoea models in rats were evaluated. The parameters used for the evaluation of the castor oil-induced diarrhoea were: reductions in the wetness of faeces and rate of defaecation. To further understand the probable mechanisms of its anti-diarrhoeal action, its effects were evaluated on gastro-intestinal motility and castor oil-induced enteropooling. The phytochemical screening of the ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides and cardiac glycosides. The ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium at the tested doses caused significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent reductions of castor oil-induced diarrhoea, gastro-intestinal motility and castor oil-induced enteropooling in the treated rats. The results were comparable with those of the standard anti-diarrhoeal drug, atropine sulphate (2.5 mg/kg b.w). The extract was found to be non-toxic even at a dose as high as 5000 mg/kg b.w. The results indicate that the ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium contains compounds with anti-diarrhoeal effect and may possibly originate an anti-diarrhoeal drug in time to come.Keywords: Gongronema latifolium, diarrhoea, castor oil and atropine sulphateAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(27), pp. 4399-440

ENSO and Variability of the Antarctic Peninsula Pelagic Marine Ecosystem

The West Antarctic Peninsula region is an important source of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Southern Ocean. From 1980-2004 abundance and concentration of phytoplankton and zooplankton, krill reproductive and recruitment success and seasonal sea ice extent here were significantly correlated with the atmospheric Southern Oscillation Index and exhibited three- to five-year frequencies characteristic of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. This linkage was associated with movements of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front and Boundary, a changing influence of Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Weddell Sea waters, and eastward versus westward flow and mixing processes that are consistent with forcing by the Antarctic Dipole high-latitude climate mode. Identification of hydrographic processes underlying ecosystem variability presented here were derived primarily from multidisciplinary data collected during 1990-2004, a period with relatively stable year-to-year sea ice conditions. These results differ from the overwhelming importance of seasonal sea ice development previously established using 1980-1996 data, a period marked by a major decrease in sea ice from the Antarctic Peninsula region in the late 1980s. These newer results reveal the more subtle consequences of ENSO variability on biological responses. They highlight the necessity of internally consistent long-term multidisciplinary datasets for understanding ecosystem variability and ultimately for establishing well-founded ecosystem management. Furthermore, natural environmental variability associated with interannual- and decadal-scale changes in ENSO forcing must be considered when assessing impacts of climate warming in the Antarctic Peninsula-Weddell Sea region

Multivariate and spatial assessment of water quality of the Lower Pra basin, Ghana

In this paper, multivariate statistical approaches based on principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with spatial assessment were employed to assess physicochemical parameters (turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, nitrates, nitrite, phosphate, ammonium, total hardness, total alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, BOD, Na, Cl, Ca, HCO3, SO4 and F) and heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Fe, Mn, Pb, Hg and Zn) of more than fifty five (55) water samples from 20 mining and non-communities within the lower Pra basin. The correlation matrix, however, shows significant inter-metal relationships (p<0.05 and p<0.01). The Fe–Mn correlation is recognized as the weakest with a correlation coefficient r=0.422. Also, significant strong correlations (r>0.5) were found between Zn – Cd, Pb–Zn, Pb – Cd, Pb – Cu, Cu – Zn, Cu – Cd, Hg – Zn, Hg – Cd, Hg - Cu and two more toxic metals, Hg and Pb. From the results of the principal component analysis on surface water in the study, component model 1 is interpreted to be contaminated water with mercury. This is because Hg has the highest correlation value (0.985). Within the study area, illegal artisanal small scale miners (popularly referred to as galamsey) use mercury extensively in their activities. The mercury is a steady source of contamination of the surface water in the Lower Pra Basin area. The use of mercury in gold mining by the Artisanal Small Scale Miners constitutes a point source of contamination. Keywords: Multivariate statistical techniques, Principal component analysis, Lower Pra Basin, Heavy Metal

Editorial The Water Hyacinth Crisis in Africa: A Potent Socio-Economic Opportunity for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Livelihoods

(Discovery and Innovation: 2002 14 (3-4): 137-141

Nostalgic reflections from a visit to the Namib Desert in Namibia: a biological, ecological, and palaentological wonderland

No Abstract. Discovery and Innovation Vol. 17(1&2) 2005: 1-

A guide to the collections in the Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia

"In twenty-five years of collecting, the Museum of Art and Archaeology has acquired substantial holdings of Classical archaeology and Western art, as well as representative examples of most other artistic traditions, totaling over eight thousand objects. This Handbook suggests the variety and depth of the collections and presents the more important and significant pieces in a selection of nearly two hundred works."--Prefac

Variability in nutrient concentrations around Elephant Island, Antarctica, during 1991-1993

The nutrient status of the various water mass structures within a large sampling grid around Elephant Island are reported and the nutrient concentrations relative to jata from the physical and biological components of the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Programme are discussed. Concentrations of silicic acid, nitrate and phosphate (Si/N/P) were measured in the upper water column during January-March of three successive years. Samples were taken from eleven depths at 17 stations in 1991, and at four depths at 144 stations in 1992 and 182 stations in 1993. There was considerable variability in the concentrations of all three nutrients within the study area, but silicic acid showed the greatest variance among the water masses present in the sampling grid. The ratios (Si/N/P) of the nutrient deficits (difference in winter and summer values) in the upper 100 m differed considerably in Drake Passage waters as compared to Bransfield Strait waters, with both nitrate and silicic acid showing the greatest variance. Nutrient deficits did not increase from January to February, indicating that rates of replenishment of nutrients to the euphotic zone by physical processes and/or biological regeneration were approximately equal to the rate of uptake and assimilation by phytoplankton during that time period. The seasonal deficits, however, were substantial. Estimates of daily rates of primary production based on these nutrient deficits were comparable to the rates as measured by radiocarbon for Drake Passage waters, but much smaller for Bransfield Strait waters