Anatomy and Specific Gravity of Wood Samples from Six Nigerian Tree Species in Relation to their Diagnostic X-ray Shielding Capabilities

The basic principle of protection against nuclear radiation is to keep radiation exposure as  much as possible below the maximum permissible dose equivalent (MPD). In order to redress the dependence on costly shielding materials such as lead, steel, glass and gypsum, cheaper and readily available  materials  such as wood have been brought under focus as potential resources for shielding hazardous radiations. Making use of the relative transmission of 60 kVp X-rays by the wood of six Nigerian tree species as reference data, this study examined the wood anatomy of the tree  species (i.e Syzygium guinense (Willd.) DC., Tectona grandis L., Afzelia pachyloba Harms., A.  africana Pers., Gmelina arborea Roxb. and Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel with a view to providing information on the wood anatomical basis for their X-ray shielding capabilities. T. grandis and G. arborea were  the two most fibrous of  the six species studied, with their fibre-to-non-fibrous tissue ratios (F/NF) being 1.24 and 1.01 respectively. Incidentally, these two species transmitted  the least amounts of radiation at an average wood thickness of 5 cm.   Tyloses were observed in the wood of all but G. arborea and D. oliveri, and the % of vessels with tylose ranged  from 20.64 to 50.36.  At  0.05 level of probability, the reference data on relative X-ray transmission showed significant positive correlation  with % axial parenchyma content (r = 0.754), but significant negative correlations with % fibre content (-0.734), %  of vessels with tylose (-0.864), vessel diameter (-0.757), vessel lumen width (-0.753) and F/NF (-0.742). The diagnostic X-ray attenuation capability of the  wood samples examined can therefore be anatomically explained by these six  parameters, and their evaluation in prospective wood samples for shielding hazardous radiations can be useful. Key words: Gmelina arborea, hardwood, hazardous radiation, Tectona grandis, tylose,  wood anatomy, X-ray

A Quantitative Documentation of the Composition of Two Powdered Herbal Formulations (Antimalarial and Haematinic) Using Ethnomedicinal Information from Ogbomoso, Nigeria

The safety of many African traditional herbal remedies is doubtful due to lack of standardization. This study therefore attempted to standardize two polyherbal formulations from Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria, with respect to the relative proportions (weight-for-weight) of their botanical constituents. Information supplied by 41 local herbal practitioners was statistically screened for consistency and then used to quantify the composition of antimalarial (Maloff-HB) and haematinic (Haematol-B) powdered herbal formulations with nine and ten herbs, respectively. Maloff-HB contained the stem bark of Enantia chlorantha Oliv. (30.0), Alstonia boonei De Wild (20.0), Mangifera indica L. (10.0), Okoubaka aubrevillei Phelleg & Nomand (8.0), Pterocarpus osun Craib (4.0), root bark of Calliandra haematocephala Hassk (10.0), Sarcocephalus latifolius (J. E. Smith) E. A. Bruce (8.0), Parquetina nigrescens (Afz.) Bullock (6.0), and the vines of Cassytha filiformis L. (4.0), while Haematol-B was composed of the leaf sheath of Sorghum bicolor Moench (30.0), fruit calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (20.0), stem bark of Theobroma cacao L. (10.0), Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss (5.5), Mangifera indica (5.5), root of Aristolochia ringens Vahl. (7.0), root bark of Sarcocephalus latifolius (5.5), Uvaria chamae P. Beauv. (5.5), Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Lam.) Zepern & Timler (5.5), and seed of Garcinia kola Heckel (5.5). In pursuance of their general acceptability, the two herbal formulations are recommended for their pharmaceutical, phytochemical, and microbial qualities