Preservation Potentials of Extracts from Lentinula edodes and Pleurotus Sajor Caju Mushrooms and Anas Platyrhyncha Egg Shell Membrane on Bacteria-Infected Fresh Meat

Keeping food longer and safe in its natural state for human consumption is important to avoid disease, waste and scarcity. The preservation potentials of methanolic extracts of the mushrooms Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), Pleurotus sajor-caju and aqueous extract of duck (Anas platyrhyncha) egg shell membranes was examined for meat inoculated with three species of bacteria; Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Salmonella typhi (ATCC 20971), and Salmonella enterica (ATCC 14028). Buffered saline wash from the meat inoculated with the bacteria species and treated with the extracts were evaluated for microbial load (Log) reduction. All three extracts significantly (p< 0.05) reduced the counts of the three-bacteria species used to inoculate the meat. When compared with the mean log count (5.6) obtained for the control, a mean log reduction difference of 2.6, 3.2 and 3.3 for the bacteria Salmonella typhi, was recorded from the wash of all three extracts; Anas platyrhyncha egg shell membrane, Pleurotus sajor-caju and Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) respectively after 24 hours of treatment. A similar trend followed in the results from the meats inoculated with Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli and treated with the three extracts. Our findings show that these organic products, have promising potentials for preserving meat from bacterial contamination. Keywords: Preservation, Meat, Mushroom, Egg shell membrane, Bacteri

COVID-19 pandemic complexities on endemic infectious disease management and diagnosis in poor countries

The persistence and frequency of prevalent infectious diseases continue to be a major problem on the African continent. Malaria, TB, and HIV/AIDS are the most common infectious diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria and tuberculosis have had a considerable negative impact on poor nations’ health, resulting in high mortality and morbidity. Fortunately, the World Health Organization’s introduction of the RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine may soon put an end to the lingering difficulties in malaria eradication, barring new contagious disease outbreaks like COVID-19. The literature reviewed looked at the current condition of endemic infectious illnesses in low-income countries from 2018 to 2022. Improvements in disease management and other mitigating strategies were evaluated alongside the resurgence of malaria, and particularly tuberculosis, the deadliest infectious disease of considerable global health concern in recent decades. The study’s focus was the destructive effects of COVID-19 on the treatment and prevention of infectious illnesses. PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were used as relevant databases. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant global impact on Africa, but not because the continent was directly impacted by the scourge and its fatal effects; rather, it did so by successfully forcing resource reallocation and diverting medical personnel to COVID-19 treatment, which in turn made TB, malaria, and HIV/AIDS-related problems worse. To halt the endemicity of these diseases and their potential intensification if a new pandemic like COVID-19 emerges in the future, enhanced efforts from all stakeholders, particularly in poorer climes, are required to be more inward looking and less reliant on foreign support

In Vivo Antiplasmodial Potential of the Leaf, Mesocarp, and Epicarp of the Raphia hookeri Plant in Mice Infected with Plasmodium berghei NK65

Background of the study. Raphia hookeri G. Mann & H. Wendl (Arecaceae) is an important plant used in folkloric medicine to treat various ailments such as inflammation, tumor, microbial infections, paralysis, hypertension, and rheumatism, primarily in Africa and Asia. Aim and Objectives. The study was designed to investigate the antiplasmodial and antioxidant potencies of Raphia hookeri leaves, mesocarp, and epicarp using Plasmodium infected mice. The bioactive constituents were further explored via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results. The presence of alkaloids, fats and oils, phenolic, and flavonoids was detected via the qualitative test which was confirmed from the result obtained from the GC-MS chromatogram of ethanolic leaves extract. The GC-MS chromatogram of the constituents analogous to the twenty peaks was analyzed as follows: dodecanoic acid (1.94%), 2-undecanone (3.42%), hexadecanoic acid (44.84%), oleic acid (7.45%), octadecanoic acid (8.41%), narcissidine (2.38%), 1-dotriacontanol (2.38%), α-sitosterol (2.02%), and lupeol (1.42%). The total phenolics and flavonoids of 118 and 23.3702 mg/g were analyzed in the leaves extract. The leave extract exhibited inhibitory activity of 73.49% against free radicals which could lead to inflammation. The extracts and chloroquine-treated groups showed significant decrease in percentage parasitaemia with pronounced activity observed in chloroquine groups. Conclusion. The curative and scavenging potencies of studied plant could be attributed to the metabolites analyzed and could guide the formulation of new pharmacophores against malaria infections and inflammations

Charles Nwonuma's Quick Files

The Quick Files feature was discontinued and it’s files were migrated into this Project on March 11, 2022. The file URL’s will still resolve properly, and the Quick Files logs are available in the Project’s Recent Activity

Evaluation of Antimalarial Activity of Ethanolic Extract of .: An and an Approach

In Nigeria, Annona muricata L. has been used to treat a variety of ailments. The mechanism of the antimalarial activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Annona muricata (EEAML) was investigated using both an in vivo and an in silico approach. The experimental mice were divided into five groups: A-F. The mice in groups B-F were inoculated with Plasmodium berghei NK-65 and treated accordingly. Groups A and B are the negative and positive controls (infected and untreated), respectively. Group C received 10 mg/kg chloroquine (standard drug), whereas groups D-F received 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg body weight of the extract orally respectively. The mice were euthanized eight days after infection, and their liver and blood were collected and used in biochemical tests. Molecular docking was performed using the extract's HPLC compounds and Plasmodium falciparum proteins. In the suppressive, prophylactic, and curative tests, there was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in parasitemia levels in groups treated with the extract compared to the positive control and standard drug. When compared to the positive control, there was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in liver MDA, total cholesterol, and total triglyceride levels. The binding energies of luteolin and apigenin- pf protein complexes were significantly (p < 0.05) higher compared to their respective references. The anti-plasmodial activity of the extract may result from its hypolipidemic effect, which deprives the parasite of essential lipid molecules needed for parasite growth, as well as from the inhibitory effects of apigenin and luteolin on specific proteins required for the Plasmodium metabolic pathway

Evaluation of selected agricultural solid wastes on biochemical profile and liver histology of Albino rats

Wheat bran, groundnut shell, watermelon peel and corn bran were analyzed for chemical composition and amino acid profile. A feeding trial was conducted to assess their effect on biochemical profile and liver histology of rats. Watermelon peel obtained the highest dry matter content (91.93±0.03 g/100g), followed by groundnut shell meal (89.57±0.31 g/100g). Carbohydrate content ranged between 35.28±0.08 g/100g and 65.19±0.13 g/100g. Crude protein content ranged between 6.53±0.06 g/100g (groundnut shell meal) and 10.88±0.02 g/100g (wheat bran). Liver histopathology revealed normal architecture. The nutritional analyses of the wastes revealed rich nutritional content which may be explored for feed ingredient in livestock production. Further processing of these wastes may further enhance their nutritional composition; thereby providing alternative cheap animal feed for improved animal production and consequently improved animal protein consumption in developing countries

Gallic acid modulates oxido-inflammatory response in acrylamide-induced hepato-renal toxicity

Dietary and environmental exposure to acrylamide (ACR) has been linked with liver and kidney illnesses, cardiopulmonary diseases, and neurological problems. Nevertheless, gallic acid (GA) is a potent polyphenolic compound with many therapeutic attributes. This present research explored the protective effect of GA against ACR hepato-renal toxicity. GA treatment was initially for 7 days followed by subsequent co-administration with ACR for a further 21 days. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly distributed into six groups: Group I (control) was orally administered normal saline (2 ml/kg b.wt/day), Groups II and III were orally administered GA only (20 and 40 mg/kg b.wt/day respectively), Group IV received 20 mg/kg b.wt/day ACR only, Groups V, and VI were both given 20 mg/kg b.wt/day ACR co-administered with GA (20 and 40 mg/kg b.wt/day)The level of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were evaluated in kidney and liver tissues while alanine amino transaminase (ALT), aspartate amino transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), TNF-α and IL-6 were assayed in the serum. Treatment of GA remarkably improved ACR-induced perturbation of the biochemical and inflammatory indicators. The levels of MDA, urea, creatinine, TNF-α, and IL-6 as well as the activities of ALT, and AST were significantly increased while GSH levels and GPx activity were significantly decreased in ACR-exposed rats.Taken together, GA treatment exhibited antiinflammatory and antioxidant protective properties in ACR-induced hepato-renal toxicity

Molecular docking and experimental validation of the effect of ergothioneine on heat shock protein-70 following endurance exercise by Arabian stallions

Abstract Background Exercise-induced oxidative stress is a challenge in equine sports. This study aims at determining the effects of ergothioneine on heat shock protein-70 (HSP-70) following the stress of an endurance exercise of 30 km by Arabian stallions. Molecular docking was also done to investigate the interaction between the ligand ergothioneine and heat shock protein-70 using sulfogalactosylceramide and sulfogalactoglycerolipid as standards. The study involved a total of 18 clinically healthy stallions, with an average age of 6.7 ± 2.4 years and an average weight of 411.54 ± 12.46 kg. Only clinically healthy stallions were selected as subjects. The stallions were divided into two groups of nine stallions each. Group I (ERGX) was administered ergothioneine at a dose of 0.02 mg/kg once daily orally for four weeks while group II (ERGN) was not administered ergothioneine. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were determined in the two groups before and post-exercise. The concentrations of malondialdehyde and HSP-70 were also determined. Results The results obtained showed that the activities of the antioxidant enzymes and concentration of HSP-70 were higher (P < 0.05) in the ERGX group compared to the ERGN group. The concentration of malondialdehyde was however lower in the ERGX group. Following molecular docking, ergothioneine and the selected standards have common amino acids at the site of interaction with the target protein (HSP-70) suggesting that ergothioneine may have a modulatory effect on the synthesis of HSP-70. Conclusion The results obtained indicated that ergothioneine modulated the synthesis of HSP-70 and the biomarkers of oxidative stress. It was therefore concluded that ergothioneine may be beneficial to horses subjected to endurance exercise