Morphoanatomy of striated myofibers in streptozotocin-induced diabetic wistar rats: assuaging effect of combined doses of Vernonia amygdalina and Azadirachta indica

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Azadirachta indica and Vernonia amygdalina extracts on the morphoanatomy of striated  myofibrils in diabetic rat models. Methodology: Thirty Wistar rats randomly assigned into 5 groups of 6 rats/group were used. Group A received distilled water only, B (herbal) received A. indica (500 mg/kg/day) and V. amygdalina (400 mg/kg/day) simultaneously, C were diabetic rats, D were diabetic rats treated with  herbal extracts combined and E, diabetic rats treated with metformin. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (70 mg/kg). Muscles glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and blood glucose levels were determined. The rats were sacrificed at the end of 60days treatment. The quadriceps femoris  muscle harvested for histology. Results: Diabetic herbal treated rats became euglycemic by the end of 8 weeks. GPx activity was significantly (p<0.05) elevated compared to control.  The histology of skeletal muscle fibers of the diabetic rats treated with herbal formulation and metformin showed minimal level of damage.Conclusions: The findings in this study showed that the herbal formulation could be used in treatment of diabetes and in ameliorating the  associated muscular cytoarchitectural alterations. Keywords: diabetic, extract, glutathione, peroxidas

Ameliorative effects of Cnidoscolus aconitlfolius on alloxan toxicity in Wistar rats

Background: Diabetes has been associated with several complications occasioned by oxidative stress. Thus, in treatment of the condition, these complications must also be taken into consideration. This study evaluates the effect of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius complications of diabetes induced by alloxan, on haematology and sperm morphometty using the Wistar rats. Methods: Diabetes was induced in 25 rats using alloxan. The diabetic rats were then divided into five groups B-F consisting of five rats per group. Groups C-E were administered with 100mg/kg, 500mg/kg and 1000mg/kg of ethanolic leaves extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, respectively, for four weeks post treatment with alloxan, while group F received Chlorpropamide (Diabenes®, Pfizer). The diabetic rats in group B were not treated while group A served as the non diabetic control. Result: Following treatment with alloxan, there was anaemia, thrombocytopenia and leucopenia, while the sperm count, motility and live/dead ratio were significantly reduced. Sperm morphological abnormalities and erythrocyte osmotic fragility also increased significantly. Following treatment of alloxan treated-rats with the extract, there were significant increases in the PCV, RBC, Hb, WBC, MCV and the platelet values. Erythrocyte osmotic fragility, sperm count, motility and live/dead ratio also improved significantly. Conclusion: Cnidoscolus aconitifolius extract was found to ameliorate the effects of alloxan induced diabetes on the haematology but not on the abnormal sperm morphometty in rats

Growth performance and blood profile of West African dwarf goats fed urea treated wild cocoyam (Colocasia esculentum) meal

Wild cocoyam is a non edible plant found growing around riversides and can serve as source of energy to ruminants. Hence, a twelve weeks study was conducted to investigate the effect of wild cocoyam – urea meal on the growth performance and blood profile of West African dwarf (WAD) goats. Twelve WAD goats with an average weight of 7.25 ± 0.04kg were randomly allotted into four dietary treatments: T1 (raw wild cocoyam), T2 (urea treated wild cocoyam), T3 (urea treated cooked wild cocoyam) and T4 (urea treated fermented wild cocoyam), replicated thrice in a completely randomized design. Results obtained showed that the experimental diets significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the growth performance. Goats fed urea treated cooked wild cocoyam had the best feed conversion ratio (10.35), the highest values of dry matter intake (405.35 g/day) and daily weight gain (39.17 g/day) when compared to other dietary treatments. The dietary treatments did not significantly (p < 0.05) influence the haematological parameters except the red blood cells (9.62 - 11.67×106 mm3), white blood cells (4.07-9.05×106 mm3) and monocytes (1.00-2.50%). No significant (p >0.05) differences among the dietary treatments were observed in all the serum biochemical indices evaluated except for urea which ranged from 15.50 – 28.70mg/dl. It can therefore be concluded that addition of urea with processing, further improved the utilization of the experimental diets thus improving performance of the animals

Haematological and biochemical responses of starter broiler chickens fed copper and probiotic supplemented diets

A study was conducted to investigate the haematological and biochemical responses of starter broiler chickens fed copper and probiotics supplemented diets. A total of 180-day old Marshal broiler chicks were randomly allotted to six treatment groups of 30 birds each. The treatments were divided into three replicates of ten birds each; starter diet was formulated and fed for a period of twenty-eight days. The dietary treatments were subjected to complete randomized design arranged in a 2×3 factorial arrangement was made up of probiotics (0 and 500ppm) and copper (0, 125 and 250mg). Data were collected on haematological and serum biochemical indices. Data obtained were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and, Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was used to separate significant means. Dietary supplementation of copper and probiotics showed significant influence (P < 0.05) on haematological and biochemical indices. Biochemical analyses revealed higher significant (P < 0.05) copper × probiotics interaction values of 42.81 g/l, 19.50 g/l and 23.31 g/l for total protein, albumin and globulin respectively in the birds fed 250 mg/kg copper × 500 ppm probiotics /kg. Birds fed control diet recorded lower significant (P < 0.05) values of 33.85 g/l and 15.40 g/l for total protein and albumin. In contrast, birds fed diet supplemented with 250 mg/kg copper × 500 ppm probiotics /kg recorded least significant (P < 0.05) copper x probiotics interaction values of 149.20 mg/dl, 49.00 mg/dl, 46.48 mg/dl and 81.56 mg/dl for cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein respectively. Birds on control diet recorded highest values for cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein (respectively). Dietary copper and probiotics supplementation influenced haematological parameters. Copper x probiotics interaction significantly (P < 0.05) influenced white blood cell, glucose, lymphocyte and eosinophil. Broilers fed diet containing 250 mg/kg copper x 500 ppm probiotics /kg had significantly higher white blood cell (30.65x109/L) than the birds on control diet (26.15 ×109/L). No significant (P > 0.05) copper × probiotic interaction influence on packed cell volume, haemoglobin, red blood cell, neutrophil and monocyte. It can be concluded that dietary copper and probiotics supplementation had significant interaction influence on birds at 250 mg/kg copper × 500 ppm probiotics /kg supplemental level. It could be inferred that the supplementation of both copper and probiotics to starter broiler diet significantly improved the immune-competence of the broiler starters.Key words: haematological; biochemical; copper; probiotics; broiler chicken

Relationship between Fasting Plasma Glucose and Glycated Haemoglobin In Adult Diabetic Nigerians

The relationship between packed cell volume (PCV), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbAI) was investigated in 40 diabetic patients (22 males and 18 females) and 20 apparently healthy controls (12 males and 18 females). Among the control subjects the FPG and HbA1 were significantly higher in the female than male subjects (P < 0.001). This gender differences was not found in diabetic patients (P < 0.05). While all the control subjects have FPG and HbA1 level within normal range (75- 115mg/dl and 5 – 8 %, respectively), 15 (38%) of the diabetic patients had FPG level within normal and only 5 (13%) had HbA1 level within the normal range. The FPG and HbA1 values were however, significantly higher in diabetic patients (139.34 ± 7.06 and 12.09 ± 2.80) than control subjects (76.40 ± 1.24 and 6.24 ± 0.51), respectively (P < 0.001). The PCV in controls correlated significantly with FPG and HbA1 (P < 0.001) while the FPG correlated significantly with HbA1 (P < 0.001). There was however only a significant correlation between FPG and HbA1 in the diabetic subjects. Bland Ahman graph shows a good agreement between FPG and HbA1, in both test and control subjects. These results show that PCV and gender factors have significant influence on FPG and HbA1 level in control subjects and were insignificant in diabetic patients. FPG and / or HbA1 are important and agreeable indices for assessment of glucose metabolism. Furthermore, there was an evidence of poor glycemic control in diabetic patients investigated in this study, probably due to poor compliance culture of the patients or inability to procure recommended drugs

Effects of water acidification on growth response and serum biochemical indices of broiler chicken

An experiment was conducted with 180 unsexed day-old Arbor acre breed of broilers to evaluate the effects of water acidification on the growth response and serum biochemical indices of broiler chicken in a 49 days feeding trial. The birds were randomly distributed into 5 dietary treatments of 36 birds per treatment which were further distributed into 3 replicates in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The birds in control (T1) were served with ordinary water (i.e water without any organic acid), while other groups were served with acidified water containing 4% Acetic acid (T2), 4% Citric acid (T3), 4% Formic acid (T4) and 4% Lactic acid (T5) respectively. All birds were vaccinated while only the control group (T1) was medicated with antibiotics. Data were collected on weight gain, feed intake, and water intake, while blood sample were collected for serum biochemical assay. The results of growth response revealed significant differences (P&lt;0.05) in the values obtained for final weight, weight gain, feed intake and average daily water consumption, while all other parameters were not significant (P&gt;0.05). Final weight ranged (1.90 – 1.56kg/bird), weight gain (1.79 – 1.42kg/bird), Feed intake (4.16-4.70kg), daily water intake (87.10- 129.22ml/bird/day). Among the serum biochemical indices evaluated only Alanine amino transferase (ALT), glucose, cholesterol and uric acid were significantly influenced by the dietary treatment. It can therefore be concluded that serving broiler chicken with water containing 4% citric acid compared favourably with the control in terms of growth response. Also serving broilers with acidified water does not have any detrimental effects on their serum biochemical indices.Key words: Growth response, Serum, water acidification, organic acid.