24 research outputs found
In Vitro and In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Ficus thonningii Blume (Moraceae) and Lophira alata Banks (Ochnaceae), Identified from the Ethnomedicine of the Nigerian Middle Belt
Drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum requires that new drugs must be developed. Plants are a potential source for drug discovery and development. Two plants that used to treat febrile illnesses in Nigeria were tested for in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines. Methanol, hexane, and ethyl acetate leaf extracts of Ficus thonningii and Lophira alata were active in in vitro assays against P. falciparum NF54 (sensitive) and K1 (multiresistant) strains. Hexane extracts of F. thonningii and L. alata were the most effective extracts in in vitro assays with IC50 of 2.7±1.6 μg/mL and 2.5±0.3 μg/mL for NF54 and 10.4±1.6 μg/mL and 2.5±2.1 μg/mL for K1 strain. All extracts were nontoxic in cytotoxicity assays against KB human cell line with IC50 of over 20 μg/mL, demonstrating selectivity against P. falciparum. In vivo analysis shows that hexane extracts of both plants reduced parasitaemia. At the maximum dose tested, L. alata had a 74.4% reduction of parasitaemia while F. thonningii had a reduction of 84.5%, both extracts prolonged animal survival in mice infected with P. berghei NK65 when compared with vehicle treated controls. The antiplasmodial activity observed justifies the use of both plants in treating febrile conditions
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Effect of Poverty Level and Food Insecurity Status on Poultry Farmers' Response to High Feed Costs in South-West Nigeria
The rising cost of feed is a major challenge in Nigeria’s poultry industry. It impacts production costs and threatens the industry's sustainability and food security. Implementing effective coping strategies for rising feed costs is crucial for poultry enterprises. This study examines poverty level, food insecurity status, and poultry farmers’ coping strategies to high feed costs in South-West, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed for this study. Three states (Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo) were purposively selected from the six states in the South-West of Nigeria. In the second stage, 575 poultry farmers from all Poultry Association of Nigeria zones were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data on the production activities of poultry farms were collected from the farmers using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean per capita household expenditure, household food insecurity access scale, double log regression, multinomial logistic regression, and stochastic frontier production models at p< 0.05. The results of data analysis showed that 48% of the poultry farmers adopted mixed farming to cope with the rising feed cost while 24.7%, 16.1% and 6.2% adopted the use of finished feed, downsizing their flock size and at the verge of exiting the venture, respectively, while 5.2% did not change strategy. At a poverty line of ₦48,500/year, 70.7% of the poultry farmers were poor. The results also indicated that 25.8% of the poultry farmers were food secure, 1.6%, 27.2% and 45.4% were mildly, moderately and severely food insecure, respectively. The multinomial logit analysis results showed that sex (p<0.1), age (p<0.05), education (p<0.01), farm size (p<0.05), food security status (p<0.01), and access to credit (p<0.01) were factors for coping with rising feed costs in South-west Nigeria. The study concludes that the more educated the poultry farmers are the likely they will adopt the most suitable strategies to reduce the effect of rising feed costs. The study recommends that poultry farmers should engage in mixed farming which enables them to be in production
Contribution of indigenous health care givers to the herbal managament of febrile illnesses in Rivers state, South-south, Nigeria
This study was carried out in two rural communities: Kaani and Boue, in Khana Local Government Area (LGA) and, in one urban community, Eleme, in Eleme LGA, all in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria. The investigations involved in-depth interviews conducted with 104 health care givers comprising indigenous healers: herbalists, sellers of herbal remedies and community elders. Information was obtained on types of fevers (febrile illnesses) treated, symptoms and methods of establishing illnesses, and traditional herbs used in the prevention and treatment of febrile illnesses. On types of febrile illnesses treated, respondents presented the following: malaria (78.8%), typhoid (23.1%), yellow fever (21.2%), high fever (19.2 %), convulsion (15.4%), and pregnancy fever (2.9%). Other illnesses treated were yellow eyes (4.8%) headache (11.5%), waist pain (14.4%), and joint pains, (8.7%). Respondents determined whether a person had fever by the following: physical examination (85.4 %), listening to patients' complaints (9.4 %), through divination and inspiration (9.4 %), while others (0.2 %) were not quite explicit on their methods of diagnoses. On the treatment of febrile illnesses, respondents used herb teas (88.5%), herb powders (42.3%), incantation (3.3 %), and performance of sacrifice (4.8%) or use of special fluids (27.9%). Majority of the respondents, in describing the best herbal medicines for the treatment of febrile illnesses, 62.5 % said that dogonyaro (Azadiracta indica) was the best medicine. Other responses were: lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratys, 51.9 %), mango (Mangifera indica) bark (29.8 %); lime (Citrus limetta) juice (30.0 %), paw paw (Carica papaya) leaf/fruit (20.2 %); guava (Psidium guajava) leaf (18.3 %), akpagbogoro (Salacia nitida), 7.7 %, plantain (Musa sapientum) sucker (6.7 %), Lipton tea (3.8 %) and scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum), 1.9%. Keywords: Malaria, fever, febrile illness, herbal remedies, NigeriaWest African Journal of Pharmacology and Drug Research Vol. 21 (1&2) 2005: pp. 48-5