Development of Quality Standards of Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. Stem Bark

Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. (Mimosoidae) is the only known species of its genus found in Africa. Almost all parts of the tree are used in medicine. Remedies for skin diseases, caries, fevers and eye washes are obtained from the bark. They are used as diuretic and for the treatment of gonorrhoea, tooth and stomach-ache, dysentery and bronchitis. It is therefore considered worthwhile to establish quality standard for the stem bark. Pharmacognostic standardization was carried out on the pulverized stem bark and its anatomical section, to determine the macro and micro morphological characters, quantitative and qualitative profiles. The results of this study produced vital data that could be useful in setting some diagnostic indices for the identification and preparation of a monograph of the plant stem bark. Keywords: Prosopis africana, anatomical indices, physicochemical, morphological characters, microscopical,  macroscopica

A Friedelane Type Triterpene From Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. Stem Bark

Prosopis Africana can be found growing wild in Northern and the Middle Belt of Nigeria and it is the only known species of its genus found in Africa. In folk medicine, the stem bark is used as remedies for skin diseases, caries, fevers gonorrhoea, tooth and stomach-ache, dysentery and bronchitis. Chemical investigation of the stem bark resulted in isolation and characterisation of a friedelane type triterpene, compound J29. J29 was isolated by column chromatography from the chloroform fraction of ethylacetate extract. The J29 1H-NMR 13C-NMR and DEPT135 spectra matched the characteristic data of the proposed triterpene skeleton. The compound was finally identified as friedelin on the basis of spectroscopic evidence, including 2D NMR as well as its IR spectrum. Friedelin is being reported for the first time as a chemical constituent of P. africana. Keywords: Prosopis africana, friedelane type, phytochemical constituents, spectroscopy, chromatograp

Comparative Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Activity of Tapinanthus globiferus (Mistletoe) Growing on Azadirachta indica, Olea europaea and Albezia chevelleri

Tapinanthus globiferus is mistletoe which grows on many plants. Mistletoes have been used in traditional medicine for treatment of diseases. Their extracts have been reported to demonstrated potent biological activities. Tapinanthus globiferus from Azadirachta indica, Olea europaea and Albezia chevelleri were extracted with the aid of a soxhlet extractor using n-hexane and methanol. The extracts were screened for the presence of phytochemicals using standard procedures. The antibacterial activity of the extracts were evaluated against gram positive (S. aureus and B. subtillis) and Gram negative (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) bacterial isolates using agar diffusion method. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides in all the three samples. Anthraquinones were absent in all three samples. Alkaloid was found to be present in Tapinanthus gloiferus growing on Azadirachta indica. The susceptibility test of the methanol extracts showed zone of inhibition with the range of 8-20 mm. The hexane extracts did not show any activity. The result of the MIC (minimum inhibition concentration) of the methanol extract was 7.5 mg/mL and the MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration) was 15 mg/mL. The result of this study indicates a little difference in the chemical composition of various Tapinanthus globiferus growing on each of the plants. This may be attributed to the fact that the chemistry Tapinanthus globiferus depends on the host plant. Since they grow on different host plants, they may contain slightly different chemical constituents. The antibacterial activity demonstrated may be due to the presence of these phyochemicals

Pattern of cardiac diseases among children in a tertiary hospital in North Central, Nigeria: A three and half years retrospective cohort echocardiographic study

Background: Cardiac disease is an important noncommunicable disease encountered among paediatric populations with varying patterns in different regions. This study is aimed at finding the spectrum of cardiac diseases among the paediatric patients seen at Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi Nigeria.Method: A retrospective review of all cardiology patients seen at both in- and out-patient units of the paediatric department of BSUTH between June 2012 to December 2015. Data on age, gender, presenting complaints, final diagnosis, investigations, intervention and treatment outcome were obtained from the case folders. The analysis of the data was done with Excel spreadsheet and the results were presented as frequency and percentages.Results: Of the 8590 patients seen, 39 (0.45%) had cardiac diseases. The mean age of the patients was 60.2±59 months with Male: Female of 1.1:1. Twenty-eight (71.7%) of them had congenital heart disease (CHD) with the most prevalent type been acyanotic CHD among 21(53.8%). Ventricular septal defect (VSD) accounted for 15(71.4%) of the 21 (53.8%) patients. Hypertensive heart disease was found in one (2.6%) patient who was an obese adolescent.Conclusion: Congenital heart disease (CHD) and acquired heart disease (AHD) were all represented in this cohort with CHD being the most prevalent.Keywords: Cardiac disease, Children, Pattern, Tertiary Hospital, Echocardiograph