Human Brucellosis in Khartoum State: A Commonly Underdiagnosed Disease.

Back ground: Human brucellosis is a major debilitating zoonotic disease. It is caused by bacteria of the genus BrucellaMethods: The serum antibody titres to Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus of one thousand febrile patients, randomly selected from Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman Teaching Hospitals, were estimated by the STAT.Results: Eighty nine (8.9%) of the febrile patients had brucellosis. The average age of brucellosis patient was 43.9 years. Sixty three (70.8%) of the brucellosis patients were males, and 26 (29.2%) were females. Fifty four (60.7%) of them had significant titres to Brucella melitensis while 23(25.8%) patients had significant titres to Brucella abortus. Twelve (13.5 %) patients had significant titres to both Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus. The average diagnostic delay of brucellosis in this study was 88.6 days.Conclusion: Brucellosis was found to be misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid fever. Animal contact was found to be a significant risk factor.Keywords: Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, agglutination

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Crude Saponin Extracts from Five Nigerian Medicinal Plants

Crude saponin extracts of five medicinal plants used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, gout and haemorrhoids were screened for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema test. These plants were the whole plant of Schwenkia americana Linn (WSA), the rhizomes of Asparagus africanus Lam (RAA), the leaves of Dichrostachys cinerea Linn (LDC), the stem bark of Ficus iteophylla Miq (BFI) and the leaves of Indigofera pulchra Willd (LIP). A modify traditional method of crude saponins extraction was used to give the following percentage yields: WSA-2.74%, RAA-3.59%, LDC-1.62%, BFI-0.81% and LIP-1.57% respectively. Thin-layer chromatography was used to identify the type of saponins present in the extracts. The acute toxicity study of the crude saponin extracts in mice gave the following intraperitoneal LD50: WSA-471.2mg/kg, RAA- 1264.9mg/kg, LDC-1264.9mg/kg, BFI-118.3mg/kg and LIP-1264.9mg/kg respectively.  The antiinflammatory study of the extracts showed statistically significant (P<0.05) decreases in the rat paw-oedema as compared to the control. The percentage inhibitions of the extracts after four hours were as follow: WSA-61%, RAA-55%, LDC-72%, BFI-66% and LIP-40% respectively. These values were found to be comparable to that of ketoprofen-63%. The study showed that the antiinflammatory properties attributable to these plants may be due to their saponins contents.Keywords: - Asparagus africanus, Dichrostachys cinerea, Ficus iteophylla, Indigofera pulchra, Schwenkia americana, Saponin,Anti-inflammatory activity, Carrageenan, TLC

Triterpenoids From the Leaves of Olax mannii Oliv.

The study of the acetone extract of the leaves of Olax mannii Oliv. led to the isolation of two triterpenoids; glutinol and rhoiptelenol. These compounds are reported for the first time in Olax mannii. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, IR and GC-MS.Keywords: Glutinol, Rhoiptelenol, Olax manniiNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19(2):193- 19

Preliminary phytochemical and antimicrobial screening of they stem bark extracts of Bauhinia rufescence Lam using some selected pathogens

Bauhinia rufescens Lam (Leguminosea-Caesalpinoideae) stem bark was extracted using methanol and fractionated using ethylacetate, butanol and water. The extract and fractions were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening using standard procedures followed by antimicrobial screening using disc diffusion and broth dilution techniques. The extract and fractions showed the presence of carbohydrate, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, terpenes and steroids. The antimicrobial screening of the extract and fractions against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans, using disc diffusion method at disc potency of 100μg/disc showed inhibitory activity on the test isolates with zone of inhibition ranging from 16-37mm. The methanolic and ethylacetate extracts showed the least MIC of 1.25mg/mL. The result of the study confirms the traditional use of the stem bark of B. rufescens in the treatment of infections caused by susceptible microorganisms. Keywords: Bauhinia rufescens, Stem bark, Phytochemical screening, Antimicrobial activit

Separation and recovery of organic acids from fermented kitchen waste by an integrated process

Organic acids produced from anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste were recovered using a new integrated method which consisted of freezing and thawing, centrifugation, filtration and evaporation. The main organic acid produced was lactic acid (98%). After the freezing and thawing process, 73% of the total suspended solids were removed and the organic acids were elevated from 59.0 to 70 g/L. The evaporation technique was used to further concentrate the organic acids up to 224 g/L. Using the integrated recovery method, the reduction of the total suspended solids in the solution achieved was about 93%. The material balance for the recovery process was also presented

Binding to CSA receptor is associated with asymptomatic and mild malaria: a preliminary study using P.falciparum field isolates from Sudan

Malaria imposes great socio-economic burden on humanity, and afflicts approximately 90 countries and territories in the tropical and subtropical regions, almost one half of them are in Africa, South of Sahara. Sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes within the small vessels of vital organs is a key event in the pathogenesis of malaria and responsible of virulence of Plasmodium falciparum parasite. To find out whether the ability of infected red blood cells (IRBCs) to adhere to a specific receptor is a risk factor for developing severe clinical manifestation of the disease, in-vitro cytoadhesion and inhibition experiments were performed on field isolates obtained from five symptomatic and five asymptomatic patients inhabiting Gazira State, Central Sudan. The results showed significant lower levels (

Frequencies of HBV, HCV, HIV, and Syphilis Markers Among Blood Donors: A Hospital-Based Study in Hodeidah, Yemen

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the frequency rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis among blood donors.Methods: Physically fit persons aged 18 – 48 years who came for blood donation at the blood bank unit of the military hospital in Hodeidah, Yemen (MHH) from November 2008 to October 2010 were screened using standard diagnostic (SD) reagents. Based on the results, donors with clinical anemia and with history of jaundice were excluded.Results: A total of 1,483 male donors (96 % semi-voluntary and 4 % replacement donors) with a mean age of 24.3 years were enrolled in this study. The frequencies of HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis in the samples were 2.35, 0.79, 0.14, and 0.34 %, respectively. Compared with the first year, the decrease in HBV and HCV positive cases and the increase in HIV and syphilis positive cases in the second year were not statistically significant (p = 0.91, p = 0.74, p = 0.72, and p = 0.92, respectively).Conclusion: While the frequency rate of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) is low, it remains a major problem in blood transfusion. Proper protocol should be applied in selecting and screening donors to safeguard the health of people receiving blood transfusions.Keywords: Transfusion-transmitted infections, Blood donors, Human immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphili

Stroke genetics: prospects for personalized medicine.

Epidemiologic evidence supports a genetic predisposition to stroke. Recent advances, primarily using the genome-wide association study approach, are transforming what we know about the genetics of multifactorial stroke, and are identifying novel stroke genes. The current findings are consistent with different stroke subtypes having different genetic architecture. These discoveries may identify novel pathways involved in stroke pathogenesis, and suggest new treatment approaches. However, the already identified genetic variants explain only a small proportion of overall stroke risk, and therefore are not currently useful in predicting risk for the individual patient. Such risk prediction may become a reality as identification of a greater number of stroke risk variants that explain the majority of genetic risk proceeds, and perhaps when information on rare variants, identified by whole-genome sequencing, is also incorporated into risk algorithms. Pharmacogenomics may offer the potential for earlier implementation of 'personalized genetic' medicine. Genetic variants affecting clopidogrel and warfarin metabolism may identify non-responders and reduce side-effects, but these approaches have not yet been widely adopted in clinical practice