Some liver function indices and blood parameters in T. brucei-infected rats treated with honey

Honey has been reported to clear infection through a number of properties including boosting the immune system, its anti-inflammatory action, antioxidant activity and stimulation of cell growth.Anaemia and serum biochemical changes are common features of African trypanosomosis. We investigated whether honey has protective effect on some liver functions and blood parameters affected by trypanosome infection. The serum albumin concentration in infected untreated rats increased significantly (

Some biochemical and haematological effects of black seed (Nigella sativa) oil on Trypanosoma brucei-infected rats

The effect of black seed oil (Nigella sativa oil) on parasitaemia, some serum and liver enzymes as well as some haematological parameters in Trypanosoma brucei-infected rats were investigated. The resultsshow there was low parasitaemia and extension of life span of rats from 12 days of the infected untreated (control) rats to 22 days for the infected black seed oil-treated rats. Results also show significant increases in activities of serum alkaline phosphatase as well as glutamate oxaloacetate and glutamate pyruvate transaminases with decreases in the liver enzyme activities. Protein concentrationsshow significant decreases in the serum and increases in the liver. There were also significant increases in the haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC), whiteblood cell (WBC) and platelet counts of infected oil-treated rats when compared with the infected untreated. We suggest that black seed oil has trypanocidal properties and probably stimulate the hostimmune system to control parasite proliferation thereby making it a possible agent for managing African sleeping sickness despite possible gradual damage to host organs as shown by increases in some serum enzymes

Effects of honey-supplemented diet on the parasitemia and some enzymes of Trypanosoma brucei-infected rats

Trypanosoma brucei-infected rats were treated with natural honey and honey-supplemented diet at three days before infection (prophylaxis), early and late stages of infection. Proximate percentage composition of the honey was 71.19±0.90% carbohydrate, 3.28±0.05% protein and 10.68±0.27% lipid among others. Prophylactic treatment with natural honey extended the lifespan of infected rats by 13 extra days from a control of 12 days post infection while early and late stage treatments extended the lifespan by 10 and 5 days, respectively. Prophylactic feeding with honey-supplemented diet extended the lifespan by 6 extra days while early and late stage feeding extended it for 5 and 3 days, respectively. A specific pattern could not be established for alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) enzyme activities in the liver and serum. We conclude that honey even as part of a regular diet could be a useful, cheap and readily presentable agent in the management of African sleeping sickness for residents of disease endemicarea

Maternal death and obstetric care audits in Nigeria: A systematic review of barriers and enabling factors in the provision of emergency care.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Yutaka Osakabe for co-ordinating the retrieval of full text articles. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supported this study, grant number 12-100074-000-INPPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Mapping the Capacity Building Process of a Corporate Social Responsibility Driven Agricultural Intervention in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria.

This study mapped the outcomes of the agricultural intervention based on resultant effectiveness and functionality of capacity building process in SPDC’s agricultural intervention programme in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select forty-eight (48) respondents for the study. Semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics and composite index analysis. The result reveals that 64.6% of the respondents received training on various aspects of management of agricultural project such as, feed production, machine operation and maintenance, farm maintenance and general project management. Result from field observation shows that 31.25% of the intervention was functional. The result of data analysis shows that, 75% of the respondents indicated they needed practical capacity building for effective project management and sustainability. The findings support a dire need for participatory evaluation on strategies towards the improvement of capacity building process service delivery.Key Words: Human capital, capacity building, agricultural intervention, SPDC