INFLUENCE OF EXTRACTION METHODS ON THE HEPATOTOXICITY OF AZADIRACHTA INDICA BARK EXTRACT ON ALBINO RATS

The influence of extraction methods: Cold aqueous (CA) hot aqueous (HA) and alcoholic extraction (AE) methods on the hepatotoxic effect of Azadirachta indica bark extract (ABC) was investigated using albino rats. A total of forty eight rats were divided into three groups of sixteen rats equally for the extraction methods. Each group was subdivided into four rats to represent control, low, medium and high doses of the extract. The control group received no extract while the other groups were administered the various concentrations (doses) intraperitoneally twice daily for seven (7) days before they were all sacrificed under light chloroform and used for the analysis. Parameters determined include glucose, cholesterol and triglycerol. Also alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Aspartate amino transferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALP) activities were determined. The result shows that glucose levels decreased from 85.75+2.85 to 65.00+12.05 in high concentration of C.A. Similar decreases were obtained from HA and AE extraction methods. Cholesterol levels also decreased from 111,63+1.02 to 53.75+0.90 in the high concentration CA, and similarly decreased in HA and AE extraction methods. Also triglycerol levels decreased from 66.49+0.95 to 21.02+0.30 in the high concentration of CA, and also decreased respectively in both HA and AE extraction methods. Similarly, the activities of the enzymes decreased in all the extraction methods, and for the different concentrations over the control except for the activities of ALP which increased generally in CA method. This implies that ABE using HA and AE methods in non hepatotoxic while there is possibility of hepatotoxicity of the obstructive type if CA extraction method is used

Impact of Selected Rural Development Programmes on Poverty Alleviation in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State, Nigeria

Rural development is a veritable tool for fighting poverty and achieving economic prosperity at the grassroots level. The concept of rural development embraced by most countries connotes a process through which rural poverty is alleviated by sustained increases in the productivity and incomes of low – income workers and households. The major thrust of this study was to examine the impact of selected rural development programmes in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. The area under study was purposively selected because of its agricultural potential, high proportion of farmers as well as concentration of agricultural institutions. The selection of programmes for the study was impinged on their long years of existence. The study sought to determine the number of available rural development programmes with poverty alleviation objectives in the area; assess the extent of awareness and participation of rural people in the programmes; and examine the impact of the programmes on farmers’ income, farm size, production and productivity. Multi – stage random sampling method was employed in the selection of communities and respondents. A well-structured questionnaire was used to elicit responses on socio – economic characteristics and other relevant variables from a random sample of 160 respondents comprising beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries from Ikwuano local government of Abia state, Nigeria. The results showed that the rural development programmes which had poverty alleviation objectives impacted significantly on productivity and farm income at 5 percent level of probability. Awareness was perceptibly high while participation was more in Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), with an overwhelmingly percentage representation of about 79, than in others. Programme planners and implementers are therefore urged to intensify awareness creation among rural dwellers and adopt the use of community driven development approach (CDD) in the execution of rural development projects with poverty alleviation thrust. Government, at all levels, was advised to adopt price support policy that raises income of producers.Rural Development Programme, Poverty Alleviation

Microfinance Institutions in Nigeria

The advocation of micro – financing was triggered by the poor performance of the conventional finance sector. The essence was to reach the overwhelming population of the poor to assist in the drive to alleviate poverty. Barely a million had been provided with some credit in Nigeria while a yawning 40 million poor people are yet to be attended to. In terms of supply, commercial and development finance institutions are in the fore front of the outfits that provide credits to the microfinance institutions. Despite their efforts, rates of interest, inequitable distribution of wealth and income and outreaching the poor constitute challenges to the operations. The establishment of microfinance institutions in Nigeria was based on weak institutional capacity, weak capital base, existence of a huge unserved market, utilization of SMEEIS fund among other thingsmicrofinance, financial institutions, agricultural credit and finance

Allocative Efficiency among Fadama Fluted Pumkin Farmers in Imo State, Nigeria

The study investigated the allocative efficiency among Fadama Fluted pumpkin farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. It specifically sought to analyze the Farmers’ socio-economic profile; estimate their allocative efficiency as well as its determinants. A multistage random sample of 120 Fadama Fluted Pumpkin farmers drawn from the three agricultural zones of the state was employed. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-economic characteristics and other relevant variables. Allocative efficiency was deduced from the quotient between economic efficiency and technical efficiency scores and regressed against farm specific factors. The t-test statistic was employed in testing determinants of allocative efficiency. The descriptive statistical results showed that majority of the farmers are active small holders and literate with many years of farming experience. The enterprise was female dominated while household was large. The maximum likelihood estimation of the translog model revealed that allocative efficiency was influenced by education, farming experience, extension contact, credit access and household size. Given the mean allocative efficiency of 0.62, about 51.67% of the respondents are frontier farmers. Also, the average Fadama Fluted pumpkin farmer would require a cost savings of 37.37% in order to attain the status of the most allocative efficient producer. As more opportunities exist for improvement of allocative efficiency by the Fadama Farmers, the need to intensify the current family planning programme in Nigeria as well as eliminate extended bureaucratic processes associated with credit access cannot be over emphasized.Fadama, Fluted Pumpkin, Allocative Efficiency

Studies on the Predisposing Factors of Protein Energy Malnutrition Among Pregnant Women in a Nigerian Community

Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) continues to be a major public health problem in developing countries and affects mostly infants, young children, pregnant and lactating mothers. This study was carried on some of the factors that predispose pregnant women to PEM and hence identify groups at greater risk. A total of 1387 pregnant women (910 in the urban area and 477 in the rural areas) were recruited for the study. Anthropometric indices of weight, height and Body Mass Index (BMI) of the pregnant women were measured and semi structured questionnaires were used to elicit information on possible predisposing factors such as age, level of education, parity, child spacing etc. Results obtained showed that the mean weight and height of the rural pregnant women, were significantly (p<0.0001) lower than those of the urban pregnant women. The mean BMI of the rural subjects, was also significantly (p< 0.0027) lower than that of the urban subjects. Analysis of the effect of age showed that the younger age category (24 years and below) had significantly (p<0.0001) lower mean BMI and higher prevalence of PEM while the effect of level of education showed significantly (p<0006) lower mean BMI and higher PEM prevalence among the less educated (no formal and primary education). Those with parity of two, one and primipara showed significantly (p<0.0175) lower mean BMI while child spacing did not have any significant effect on both mean BMI and prevalence of PEM. The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations made on how to tackle the problem

Productivity Growth in Food Crop Production in Imo State, Nigeria

The study examined the productivity growth in food crop production in Imo State with emphasis on the decomposition of total factor productivity into technical progress, changes in technical and allocative efficiency and scale effects. A panel data set comprising 210 observations drawn over 2001 – 2007 periods was used in the study. Using the translog stochastic frontier production function, the decomposition components were computed applying the appropriate formulae. The results showed that total factor productivity decreased through time while technical change was negative, implying downward shift of the production frontier. As a major component, technical change was the main constraint to the achievement of high levels of TFP during the study period. The scale effect, which is generally bigger than technical change component shows that the sampled farms on the average have not taken advantage of scale economies. The result further revealed that the allocative efficiency had an average magnitude closer to the scale effect and points towards decreases in the efficiency with which production factors are allocated. This is an indication of a decline in technical efficiency. On the basis of the results, the study suggested reforms of the ADPs with a bid to enhancing their capacity in extending novel technologies and innovations to farmers.Productivity decomposition; scale effect; allocative; efficiency

Comparative in vitro quality assessment of five brands of furosemide tablets marketed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Medication failure, high morbidity and mortality resulting from the circulation and consumption of fake, adulterated and substandard medicines have been a worrisome issue to health practitioners, patients and drug regulatory agencies of Nigeria.Objective: This study aims at evaluating some brands of furosemide tablets that are marketed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria to know if they meet with their label claims and British Pharmacopoeia (BP) or the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) set limits for such products.Materials and Methods: Five brands of furosemide tablets marketed in Nigeria were randomly collected from different retail pharmacy outlets and investigated for uniformity of tablet weight, disintegration, friability, hardness, and drug release profile using standard methods. Two assay methods based on titrimetry and spectrophotometry were employed for the determination of the content of furosemide in the tablet formulations or its bulk drug.Results: Results obtained showed tablet weight in the range of 174 mg ± 0.05% to 274 mg ± 0.01 %, hardness ranging from 3.20 ± 0.01 to 10.70 ± 1.70 kg/F, friability of &lt; 1 %, disintegration time of 5.20 ± 0.88 to 9.30 ± 0.50 min, drug release of &gt; 80 % within 30 min and assay of 86.45 to 100.80 % .Conclusion: Most of the tablet batches tested met with label claim in terms of the content of furosemide and also complied with acceptance limits of the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) or the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and were adjudged to be of good quality.Keywords: Furosemide, active pharmaceutical ingredient, British Pharmacopoeia, United States Pharmacopoeia

Production and management of goat rearing in rural areas of Ezinihitte Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria

This study assessed production and management practices of indigenous goat rearing in the rural communities of Ezinihitte Mbaise, Imo State. Data were collected from 150 goat farmers in Ezinihitte Mbaise with the use of structured questionnaire in 2014 for data collection. The&nbsp; questionnaire was on the socio-economic characteristics of goat farmers, factors influencing and constraints on production and management of goat rearing. The mean age of goat farmers was 51 years and 86 percent were males. The farmers’ level of education was primary education (60%), secondary education (22%), and tertiary education (18%). Majority (52%) of the household size were 4-7 persons with mean household size of 4 persons. Farming experience was mostly short (62%) having only 1-5 years. The result showed that coefficient of age, farm size, educational level, household size and years of experiences were the factors that influenced goat production and management in the study area. Farm size, family labour and capital were shown to be crucially important for goat production and management. The farmers had an over-utilized resource in goat production and a decrease in resources increased proportional output. Most of the farmers practisedextensivesystem of production as the most commonly used system by goat farmers. Poor veterinary services, inadequate skilled labour, poor housing facilities, poor road network, market&nbsp; problems, high disease and pest incidence, high cost of animal drugs, and feeds are the constraints faced by goat farmers. The study recommends strong efforts to educate and retain the experienced goat farmers to ensure increase output and productivity. Key words: goat rearing, production, management, constraint

Effect Of Drying Conditions On The Micronutrient Content Of Five Leafy Vegetables Of Eastern Nigeria

The effect of sun and oven drying at 100°C on the micronutrient composition of five selected 'lesser known' leafy vegetables of Eastern Nigeria was investigated. The vegetables are Ipomea batatas (potato leaf), Pterocarpus santolinoides (uturukpa leaf), Zanthoxylium zanthoxyloides (nka leaf), Pterocarpus mildbreadii (oha leaf), and Ceibapentandra (akpuota leaf). They were divided into three groups, representing fresh (wet), sun dried, and oven dried at 100°C until constant weight was obtained before grinding into flour like sample and used for analysis. The minerals analyzed include sodium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, calcium and phosphorus, while the vitaminsinclude A, C, E, B1, B2, and folic acid. The result of fresh analysis shows that P. mildbreadii has the highest value; 9.00 ± 0.2mg/100g of potassium; Z .zanthoxzyloides, 1.72 ± 0.18mg/100g of magnesium, P. mildbreadii, 6.87 ± 0.18mg/100g of iron; Z. zanthoxyloides, 6.47 ± 0.10mg/100g of phosphorus; I.batatas,14.27 ± 0.41mg/100g ofcalcium, and 83.79t1.41mg/100g of sodium respectively. Zinc and manganese occurred in trace amounts. The levels of these elements were generally increased both by sun, and oven drying at 100°C with a greater increase when oven dried. Also the result of fresh analysis shows that the highest values of vitamins A, 15.20.01 ± 2.0i.u occurred in I.batatas, vit. B1, 4.57 ± 0.86mg/100g; folic acid, 3.24±0.00mg/100g occurred in P. santolinoides respectively, vitamin C, 9.04 ± 0.72mg/100g occurred in Z. zanthoxyloides. Vitamins B2 and E levels were relatively low. Both sun and oven drying at 100°C decreased the levels of all the vitamins, with sun drying exerting a greater reduction effects. Ovendrying therefore appears to be a better drying condition

IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL ANTIOXIDANT AND HEPATOPROTECTIVE CONSTITUENTS OF VITEX DONIANA BY UHPLC/+ESI-QQTOF-MS/MS ANALYSIS

Objective: This study evaluated the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of the dichloromethane (DCM-F) and n-butanol (BUT) fractions of Vitex doniana and identified the bioactive constituents using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Methods: The methanol extract of the leaves was subjected to liquid-liquid fractionation and the BUT soluble separated by vacuum LC (VLC) using binary mixtures of DCM in methanol (1 L) sequentially in the ratios of 9:1 BF1–1:9 BF5. The antioxidant activity was investigated in vitro using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging, phosphomolybdenum total antioxidant capacity, and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power assay methods. The in vivo antioxidant potential was performed by measuring the concentrations of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic parameters in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic injury. Results: The extract, DCM-F, and the VLC sub-fractions showed good antioxidant activity which is comparable with ascorbic acid (53.6%). DCM-F showed the highest antioxidant activity (71.6%), while the least activity was shown by BF5 (15.0%). Peak dereplication of LC-MS chromatograms identified several putative compounds in the BUT soluble. DCM-F caused a significant increase (p&lt;0.05) in superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and Vitamins C and E in CCl4-induced rats compared to standard. The levels of serum alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde that were elevated in CCl4-induced rats were also significantly reduced (p&lt;0.05) by the DCM-F compared to standard. Conclusion: The ability of V. doniana leaves to mop up free radicals and reverse the CCl4-induced hepatic injury in rats suggests antioxidant potentials. The bioactive compounds identified in BUT fraction could support its ethnomedicinal uses in the treatment of illnesses associated with radical scavenging activity