Antioxidant potential of Habiscus cannabinus methanolic leaf extract

The antioxidant properties of Methanolic leaf extract of Hibiscus cannabinus (Malvaceae family), was investigated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) assay method, reducing power and hydrogen peroxide scavenging effect assays. The Methanolic leaf extract, exhibited significant scavenging effect on DPPH free radical and hydrogen peroxide production at a lower concentration of the extract when compared with ascorbic acids and á- tocopherol standard antioxidants. The highest free-radical scavenging and percentage scavenging effect of hydrogen peroxide by the Methanolic leaf extract was observed at concentrations 31.25 and 250ìg/ml respectively; with 76.03% and 62.26% inhibition/scavenging effect respectively. However,  reducing power showed low activity for the leaf extract.Keywords: DPPH, Ascorbic acid, á-tocopherol, Hibiscus cannabinus, flavonoid, hydrogen peroxide, free-radical

Studies on Urinary Schistosomiasis in Selected Villages around Gusau Dam Site, Zamfara State, Nigeria

A study on urinary schistosomiasis was conducted to determine its prevalence and intensity in five villages around Gusau Dam, Gusau Local Government Area, Zamfara state. A total of five hundred (500) urinesamples were examined for the eggs of Schistosoma haematobium using standard filtration technique. The overall prevalence was 47%. However, the highest prevalence (65.47%) of the infection was recorded in Bokawa. The mean egg count for the whole study area was 237.94 eggs/10ml of urine. Koramar Gora had comparatively high mean egg count of 330.46 eggs/10ml, than other villages. Prevalence of the infection based on the sources of drinking water has indicated that, those persons who use river (60.00%), pond (50.37%) and dam (46.15%), respectively as their sources of water had higher prevalence than those who use well (38.05%), borehole (19.35%) and others (18.75%) who use tap and packaged water, at Gusau (capital city) during their business. However, a highly significantassociation (x2 = 36.571; df=5; P<0.01) was found between prevalence of infection and source of drinking water. This study revealed that, the study area is endemic for urinary schistosomiasis and there is therefore, the need for government intervention to effectively control the disease in the area.Keywords: Urinary, S. haematobium, Inhabitants, Gusau, Dam Sit

Nutritional value OF Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) Seeds

Whole seeds, dehulled seeds and seed coats of bottle gourd seed (Lagenaria siceraria) were analysed for their proximate, amino acids and mineral compositions. The results of the analysis showed that, whole seed has highest content of moisture (17.5  0.21%) and ash (5.80  0.83%) while dehulled had highest amount of crude protein (35.0  0.48%) and crude lipid (39.22  1.48%) and seed coat contain highest amount of crude fiber (59.05  0.98%). The study showed a profile of seventeen amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, threonine, valine, alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, proline and serine) with glutamic acid, leucine and aspartic acid being the predominant amino acid. The percentages (%) of essential and non-essential amino acids in dehulled seeds, whole seeds and seed coats were 44 vs 56, 41 vs 59 and 51 vs 49 respectively. The dehulled seeds contained essential amino acids that were found to be higher than WHO/FAO/UNU requirement. In whole seeds, threonine, lysine and lysine were found to be the most limiting amino acids. Seed coats were deficient in all the essential amino acids except for valine. Generally, the mineral composition of the seed was found to be relatively high, indicating the seed to be a good source of dietary elements, except for Ca, Zn, Co and Cr where very low values were obtained. Finally, the results of the study indicate that, bottle gourd seed is a potential source of protein, lipid, micro and macronutrients, and if properly utilised, could contribute in solving the problem of malnutrition and also serve as raw material for agro-based industries Keywords: Bottle gourd seeds, seed coat, proximate analysis, minerals and Amino acid composition.Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Vol. 14 (3) 2008: pp. 301-30

Acute toxicity effects of the aqueous leaf extract of Anogeissus leiocarpus in rats

A study was conducted to investigate the acute toxicity effects of the aqueous leaf extract of Anogeissus leiocarpus using conventional methods. The result of the oral acute toxicity study revealed nodeath with doses up to 3200 mg/kg body weight. However, the rats showed signs of depression and inappetence. Using the intraperitoneal route, the rats showed dose-dependent signs of toxicity ranging from inappetence, depression, unsteady gait, tremors, and respiratory distress to death. The I/P LD50 was 1400 mg/kg body weight. No gross changes were observed in the organs of rats that died following extract administration. Histopathological lesions were also not observed in all the organs except the lungs, which showed congestion, oedema and bronchitis. These results suggest that the aqueous leaf extract of A. leiocarpus could be used with some degree of safety especially by oral route

Effect of Supplementation with a Locally Prepared Nutriceutical on Renal Function Profile in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by increased levels of marker of oxidative stress which play a role in the development of diabetes complications. Antioxidants are thought to be beneficial in curtailing the lipid peroxidation. In the current work, antioxidant- rich nutriceutic was formulated from onions, garlic, lemon, palm oil and crayfish (in ratio 6:6:2:1:5 respectively), which are known sources of vitamins A, C and E and Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn. The nutriceutic was administered to alloxan-induced diabetic rats for 3 weeks and the effect of the supplementation on renal function profile was studied. The results shows that supplementation significantly (P<0.05) reduced blood glucose, urea, creatinine and potassium. It also not significantly (P>0.05) reduced serum sodium and bicarbonate. The findings suggest that supplementation with naturally occurring antioxidant nutriceutic may reduce the risk of oxidative stress and complications associated with diabetes mellitus and might be beneficial in the routine treatment of diabetes mellitus patients.Keywords: Diabetes, nutriceutic, glucose, and renal function profileNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19 (2): 197- 20

Antipsychotic effect of aqueous stem bark extract of Amblygonocarpus andongensis in Wistar albino rats

The study of antipsychotic efect of the aqueous stem bark extract of Amblygonocarpus andongensis was carried out on amphetamine induced psychosis in 42 Wister albino rats weighingbetween 105 and 3052g using two indices feeding and locomotor activity. Twelve out of the 42 rats were divided into two groups; six per group. Group 1 and 2 received 15mg/kg body weight ooral amphetamine. Oral chlorpromazine (0.5mg/kg) was administered to group 2 rats in additon The remaining 30 rats were divided ino 5 groups: A, B, C, D and E, each group comprised 6 rats. All the groups received 15 mg/kg body weight of amphetamine but E received 05mg/kg oral chlorpromazine in addton. However, B, C and D received 450, 900 and 1350mg/kg bodyweght of Amblygonocarpus andongensis aqueous stem bark extract. Feeding and locomotor activities were measured in groups 1 and 2 and A, B, C, D and E rats respectively. The result showed that there were significant diferences in feeding and locomotor parameters between groups 1 and 2 and among groups A, B, C and E (

Biochemical response of normal albino rats to the addition of aqueous leaves extract of Hibiscus cannabinus and Murraya koenigii in rats drinking water

Experiments were conducted to determine the biochemical effect of Hibiscus cannabinus and Murraya koenigii extracts on normal albino rats  using standard methods. Analyses carried out indicated that the aqueousleaf extract of H. cannabinus and M. koenigii exhibited significant  hypolipideamic activity in normal rats. Results of phytochemical studies showed that flavonoids and glycosides are the major chemical constituent of the leaf extract. Overall results indicate a significant (P<0.05) reduction of serum cholesterol, triglycerol at both concentration of 5 and 10 mg/Kg b.wt. No significant effect is seen in the hematological indices, serum glucose,  Aspartate transaminase (AST) and Alanine transaminase (ALT). The  significance of this study is thus discussed.Key words: Hibiscus cannabinus, Murraya koenigii, flavonoid, Hypolipidemi

Distortions of Subjective Time Perception Within and Across Senses

Background: The ability to estimate the passage of time is of fundamental importance for perceptual and cognitive processes. One experience of time is the perception of duration, which is not isomorphic to physical duration and can be distorted by a number of factors. Yet, the critical features generating these perceptual shifts in subjective duration are not understood. Methodology/Findings: We used prospective duration judgments within and across sensory modalities to examine the effect of stimulus predictability and feature change on the perception of duration. First, we found robust distortions of perceived duration in auditory, visual and auditory-visual presentations despite the predictability of the feature changes in the stimuli. For example, a looming disc embedded in a series of steady discs led to time dilation, whereas a steady disc embedded in a series of looming discs led to time compression. Second, we addressed whether visual (auditory) inputs could alter the perception of duration of auditory (visual) inputs. When participants were presented with incongruent audio-visual stimuli, the perceived duration of auditory events could be shortened or lengthened by the presence of conflicting visual information; however, the perceived duration of visual events was seldom distorted by the presence of auditory information and was never perceived shorter than their actual durations. Conclusions/Significance: These results support the existence of multisensory interactions in the perception of duration and, importantly, suggest that vision can modify auditory temporal perception in a pure timing task. Insofar as distortions in subjective duration can neither be accounted for by the unpredictability of an auditory, visual or auditory-visual event, we propose that it is the intrinsic features of the stimulus that critically affect subjective time distortions

Association of TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion with clinical characteristics and outcomes: results from a population-based study of prostate cancer

Background: The presence of the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene in prostate tumors has recently been associated with an aggressive phenotype, as well as recurrence and death from prostate cancer. These associations suggest the hypothesis that the gene fusion may be used as a prognostic indicator for prostate cancer. Methods: In this study, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) assays were used to assess TMPRSS2-ERG fusion status in a group of 214 prostate cancer cases from two population-based studies. The FISH assays were designed to detect both fusion type (deletion vs. translocation) and the number of fusion copies (single vs. multiple). Genotyping of four ERG and one TMPRSS2 SNPs using germline DNA was also performed in a sample of the cases (n = 127). Results: Of the 214 tumors scored for the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion, 64.5% were negative and 35.5% were positive for the fusion. Cases with the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion did not exhibit reduced prostate cancer survival (HR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.22-3.93), nor was there a significant difference in causespecific survival when stratifying by translocation or deletion (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.23-3.12) or by the number of retained fusion copies (HR = 1.22, 95% CI = .45-3.34). However, evidence for reduced prostate cancer-specific survival was apparent in those cases whose tumor had multiple copies of the fusion. The variant T allele of the TMPRSS2 SNP, rs12329760, was positively associated with TMPRSS2-ERG fusion by translocation (p = 0.05) and with multiple copies of the gene fusion (p = 0.03). Conclusion: If replicated, the results presented here may provide insight into the mechanism by which the TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion arises and also contribute to diagnostic evaluations for determining the subset of men who will go on to develop metastatic prostate cancer.This work was supported by NIH grants RO1 CA56678, RO1 CA114524, and P50 CA97186; additional support was provided by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Intramural Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute

Gender and Age-Specific Prevalence of Urinary Schistosomiasis in selected Villages near a Dam Site in Gusau Local Government Area, Zamfara State, Nigeria

Urinary schistosomiasis study was conducted to determine its prevalence and intensity in five villages around Gusau Dam, in Gusau Local Government Area, Zamfara State. A total of five hundred (500) urine samples were examined for the eggs of Schistosoma haematobium, using standard filtration technique. People within the age group of 10-19 years had the highest prevalence of infection 63.51% and the prevalence decreasing steadily thereafter. Males with a prevalence of 56.41% were significantly more infected than females with a prevalence of 31.38%. Mean egg count for the whole study area was 237.94 eggs/10ml of urine. Koramar Gora had comparatively high egg mean count, 330.46 eggs/10ml, than other villages. The age-specific prevalence showed that age group 10-19 years had the highest egg mean count of 367.06 eggs/10ml. Gender-specific prevalence indicated higher egg mean count 247.57 eggs/10ml in males than in females with 209.22 eggs/10ml. This study revealed that, the study area was endemic for urinary schistosomiasis, higher among males than females and higher among ages of 10-19 years. Therefore, the need for Government intervention to effectively control the disease in the area.Keywords: Age-specific, Urinary Schistosomiasis, filtration technique, Mean egg count, interventionNigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [1] March 2011, pp. 55-5