Anti-tuberculosis activities of the crude methanolic extract and purified fractions of the bulb of Crinum jagus

Summary: Tuberculosis (TB) is of great public health burden globally especially in developing countries of Africa and Asia . Current TB regimen involves multiple therapies and of long duration leading to poor patient adherence. There is also the challenge of multidrug resistant TB. Hence, there is a need for discovery of new anti- TB drugs. This study was designed to investigate the in –vitro activity of the crude methanolic extract and chromatographic fractions of the bulb of Crinum jagus against Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. The extracts were screened for anti- TB activity against three different M. tuberculosis isolates and a drug susceptible reference strain H37Rv using Lowenstein Jensen (L-J) medium and Middlebrook 7H10agar. The crude extract was prepared using soxhlet extraction apparatus while the purified fractions were obtained by column chromatography. The two media were inoculated with M. tuberculosis strains, after which the crude and purified extracts were added. After 4-6 weeks incubation, colony forming units were counted and percentage inhibition calculated. The crude extract and the purified fractions showed inhibitory activity on all the isolates tested including the reference strain. Fraction 3 showed the highest inhibitory percentage (86%) among the extracts. At a concentration of 1.0mg/ml, the percentage inhibition of fraction 3, rifampicin and isoniazid against M. tuberculosis strain 3 were 83%, 95% and 86% in L-J medium respectively while 86%, 96% and 89% were obtained respectively in Middle brook medium. Results showed that the crude methanolic extract and the purified fractions of the bulb of Crinum jagus exhibited anti-mycobacterial activity which is an indication of promising potential of this plant for the development of anti-tuberculosis agent.Keywords: Crinum jagus, Chromatographic fractions, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, In-vitr

Oropharyngeal fetus-in fetu in Ilero Nigeria: A case report

Fetus-in-fetu is a rare congenital condition in which a malformed parasitic twin is found within the body of its partner. Although a few had been documented worldwide, none has been reported in Nigeria. In this report, we document the history of a concoction of drugs of an indeterminate nature taken in pregnancy, the wrong diagnosis by the rural based sonographer and the presence of polyhydraminos. Our finding of a previously misdiagnosed oropharyngeal fetus-in fetu with dichorionic and cardiac features calls for a revision of the current definition of fetus-in fetu. It also raises an important hypothesis of the likely associations between drugs, infections, pregnancy induced hypertension and fetus-in-fetu.Key words: Fetal abnormality; oropharyngeal fetus-in fetu; pregnancy

Bacteraemia and acute phase proteins in Nigerian women with spontaneous recurrent abortion

C-reactive protein, alpha–2-macroglobulin, transferrin and bacteraemia were studied in women with recurrent abortion and compared with the pregnant women as well as non-pregnant women with no history of abortion (controls). The results showed a significantly reduced level of transferrin but significantly raised levels of alpha-2-macroglobulin and C-reactive protein in the pregnant women with recurrent abortion (P+R) compared with pregnant women without recurrent abortion (P-R) or the controls. Four genera of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Klebsiella species and Clostridium perfringes) were isolated from the blood of women with recurrent abortion while there were 2 genera of bacteria (S. aureus and Strept. Agalactiae) were isolated from the blood of pregnant women without recurrent abortion. This study had shown that inflammation and bacterial infection contribute to spontaneous recurrent abortion. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 203-20

Bacteremia and immunoglobulin classes in Nigerian women with recurrent abortion

Apart from antiphospholipid- and thyroid- autoantibodies which were reported as underlying causes of recurrent pregnancy loss, specific IgG to patermal MHC and Rh was proposed. This raises the possibility of other classes of immunoglobulin in recurrent abortion. Twenty-four pregnant women with recurrent abortion (P+R), thirty-six pregnant women without recurrent abortion (P-R) and twenty-four non-pregnant women with no history of abortion as controls were recruited from Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Immunoglobulin classes (IgA, IgG and IgM) and prevalence of bacteria type in the blood measured by single radial immunodifussion and standard microbiology method respectively. The mean levels of IgA, IgG and IgM were raised in both P-R and P+R subjects compared with the controls. Four genera ( S. aureus, Strept. agalactice, Kleibsiella species and C. perfringes) of bacteria were detected in P+R subjects while 2 genera (Kleibsiella species and C. perfringes) of bacteria were found in P-R group. Bacteremia and raised immunoglobulin levels are occurrences in subjects with recurrent abortion. Keywords: immunoglobulins, bacteria, pregnancy, recurrent abortion The Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 13(1) 2006: 5-

In vitro Evaluation of antibacterial agents against ocular Bacterial isolates from a Tertiary Hospital, South-West of Nigeria

ABSTRACT Failure to cure eye infections and reduced potency in ocular antibacterial agents had been observed in South Western Nigeria, this study sought to evaluate in vitro, the efficacy of antibacterial agents used in the treatment of eye infections. A total of 135 bacterial isolates were recovered from the diagnostic laboratory of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, from conjunctival swabs of patients having underlying eye diseases (Cataracts and glaucoma), and from patients presenting with other symptoms of eye infections (conjunctivitis, keratitis and dacryocystitis). The pathogens incriminated were Staphylococcus aureus (75.5%), Coagulase negative Staphylococci (11.1%), Klebsiella species (11.1%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.2). Disc diffusion tests (Kirby-Bauer method) were carried out using ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, amoxicillinclavulanate, cefuroxime and levofloxacin. Broth dilution technique was thereafter demonstrated using gentamicin, chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin. The macrolideerythromycin was 54.4% efficacious, amoxicillin-clavulanate and cefuroxime showed 69.9% and 72.8% efficacy. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of commonly used antibiotics however showed different levels of resistance. Resistance to the aminoglycosides was marked, yielding 51.6%, with MIC 50 = 8, MIC 90 > 256, resistance to chloramphenicol was also marked, yielding 76.9%, with MIC 50 = 8, MIC 90 = 64. The fluoroquinolones showed high efficacy; levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin showed 91.1% and 75.5% susceptibility respectively, with MIC 50 < 0.5, though slightly demonstrable resistance was observed (MIC 90 = 8). This study recommends discontinuation of empirical therapy by physicians in order to stem the tide of resistance; it justifies the inclusion of the fluoroquinolones in susceptibility testing of bacterial isolates and its first line of choice if cure is warranted