Hepatoprotective effect of the ethanolic extract of Jatropha tanjorensis on acetaminophen-induced toxicity in rat model

The hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Jatropha tanjorensis (ELEJT) against acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity using Swiss albino rats was ascertained. The animals were grouped into six with five animals each. Hepatoprotection against acetaminophen-induced toxicity was evaluated using standard methods. Effect on genotoxicity using micronucleus test and spermatogenesis was ascertained. ELEJT significantly (p˂0.05) decreased the levels of serum liver enzymes. At 800 mgkg-1, ELEJT significantly (p˂0.05) reduced triacylglycerol and LDL levels but significantly (p˂0.05) increased the level of HDL compared to the toxin control group. Administration of ELEJT resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the total protein level. Sperm head abnormality was observed more at 800 mgkg-1 while at 400 mgkg-1 binucleated cell and micronuclei cells were detected. ELEJT exhibited hepatoprotective activity against Acetaminophen-induced liver damage using Swiss albino rats. This validates the traditional use of Jatropha tanjorensis in management of liver ailments and improvement of spermatogenesis. However, more work is needed to ascertain its mode of action.Keywords: Spermatogenesis, Hepatoprotective, Genotoxicity, Acetaminophe

Use of Diverse Extraction Protocols to Decide the Integrity of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Samples Extracted from Bovine Bone Samples of Different Ages obtained from an Abattoir in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria

Techniques for the identification human and non-human biological samples are developing at very high rates with the advent of different DNA extraction methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assays. This study aimed at using different extraction protocols to determine the integrity of DNA samples extracted from bovine bone samples of different ages collected from abattoir in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. The DNA was extracted using CTAB, PCI protocols and a DNA kit (Quick DNA MiniPrep Plus Kit). Bovine mtDNA fragment containing the gene encoding ATPase 8 was amplified via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The PCR products were analysed on 1.8% agarose gel. It was observed that the DNA samples extracted using the PCI method at 48 h incubation time had the highest purity (1.68) and concentration (336 ng/µl) compared to other extraction methods employed in the study. However, DNA kit extracted samples had mean ± SE purity (1.52 ± 0-05) and concentration (192.25 ± 31.41 ng/µl) values that were higher than CTAB protocol values but lower than PCI protocol values.  All isolated DNA samples were PCR-worthy and thus yielded PCR products which were within the expected amplicon size of 126-bp. All DNA extraction protocols employed in this study are stable and efficient for use in the identification of aged non- human bones. This study also revealed that these protocols can be used to isolate PCR amplifiable DNA from old bones

The Integrity of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Extracted from Whole Teeth Samples Burnt with Different Accelerants Using Two Extraction Protocols for Forensic Sex Determination

Sex determination is usually the first step in forensic identification of victim(s) in disasters, jungle justice and arsonscenarios for many medical and legal reasons. The use of DNA in forensic analysis offers a good method in sexdetermination and the quality of extracted DNA is very important for downstream PCR. The aim of this study is toinvestigate the viability of DNA obtained from burnt teeth for forensic sex-determination. Two DNA extractionmethods consisting of silica based commercial kit and phenol-chloroform organic method, followed by polymerasechain amplification of amelogenin gene for sex determination were employed. Based on the DNA yield and opticaldensity values, the kit extraction method performed better than the phenol-chloroform method with 100% and85.71% success respectively. A Mann-Whitney U test of 260/280 absorbance showed no statistically significantdifference in the median absorbance for aviation fuel (median = 1.34) and gasoline (median =1.32) burnt samples.Amplification of AMEL genes using the commercial kit and phenol-chloroform method were 52.38% and 22.22%positive respectively compared to pre-extraction sex determination. This study shows that the use of the silica basedcommercial kit technique yielded higher DNA quality and quantity from whole teeth burnt with gasoline andaviation fuel as accelerants for downstream PCR amplification of AMEL genes compared to organic phenolchloroform method

Prevalence of substance abuse among some patients at the University of Lagos Medical Centre, Nigeria

Substance or drug abuse can be described as a hazardous or detrimental use of a drug or psychoactive substance including alcohol, whereby the user consumes the substance in unprescribed amounts or uses them in methods that may be harmful to himself or herself and even to others. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of substance abuse among some in- and/or out-patients at University of Lagos Medical Centre, Lagos Nigeria. Individuals involved or suspected to engage in social, academic or sexual misconducts were screened at the University of Lagos Medical Centre for substance abuse. Their urine samples were collected using sterile urine containers and tested using CLIA Waived One Step Multi-Drug Test Dip Card Package Insert. Questionnaires were also used for data generation. Of the 600 patients who participated in this study, 296 (49.3%) were positive to use of illicit drug. Out of the 296 patients who tested positive 228 (77.03%) were males while 68 (22.97%) were females. Cannabis (59.5%) was the most abused, while the least was cocaine (6.42%). The correlation at 0.001 level between gender and number of oxazepam users was significant. Chi-square analysis revealed a statistical significant difference among males and females who abused oxazepam. Data collected from questionnaires showed that depression was the major cause of substance abuse. The age range that had the highest number of illicit drug users was 21-25 (61.15%) and the least was 30-40 (3.04%). Counseling, proper dissemination of information and health care education are needed to eradicate or significantly curtail substance abuse in Nigeria.Keywords: Substance use, illicit drug, psychoactive substance, One Step Multi-Drug Test dependence syndrom

Attenuated Subcomponent Vaccine Design Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Phosphoprotein RNA Binding Domain: In Silico Analysis

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has previously never been identified with humans, thereby creating devastation in public health. The need for an effective vaccine to curb this pandemic cannot be overemphasized. In view of this, we designed a subcomponent antigenic peptide vaccine targeting the N-terminal (NT) and C-terminal (CT) RNA binding domains of the nucleocapsid protein that aid in viral replication. Promising antigenic B cell and T cell epitopes were predicted using computational pipelines. The peptides “RIRGGDGKMKDL” and “AFGRRGPEQTQGNFG” were the B cell linear epitopes with good antigenic index and nonallergenic property. Two CD8+ and Three CD4+ T cell epitopes were also selected considering their safe immunogenic profiling such as allergenicity, antigen level conservancy, antigenicity, peptide toxicity, and putative restrictions to a number of MHC-I and MHC-II alleles. With these selected epitopes, a nonallergenic chimeric peptide vaccine incapable of inducing a type II hypersensitivity reaction was constructed. The molecular interaction between the Toll-like receptor-5 (TLR5) which was triggered by the vaccine was analyzed by molecular docking and scrutinized using dynamics simulation. Finally, in silico cloning was performed to ensure the expression and translation efficiency of the vaccine, utilizing the pET-28a vector. This research, therefore, provides a guide for experimental investigation and validation