Erythrocyte lipid and antioxidant changes in plasmodium falciparum-infected children attending mother and child hospital in Akure, Nigeria

Background and Objective: Understanding the molecular and cellular pathways activated in response to Plasmodium falciparum infection is crucial for the development of pharmacological intervention to malaria. The present study was designed to evaluate the lipid components and the oxidative status of erythrocyte obtained from children under 5 years infected with Plasmodium falciparum. Materials and Methods: Parasitemia was assessed prior and after treatment with antimalarial, erythrocyte lipid profile, levels of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status (reduced glutathione, GSH; superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase and glutathione peroxidase, GPx) were measured. Results: Results obtained showed that in Plasmodium infected erythrocyte, the total phospholipids, cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were significantly elevated beyond the normal level. In addition, an upsurge in erythrocyte oxidant (lipid peroxide) status with a concomitant downregulation of the antioxidant status (GSH concentration and SOD, catalase and GPx activities) was observed in P. falciparum-infected children. However, following a three-day treatment with artemisinin combination drugs, there was a significant reduction in erythrocyte phospholipids, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentration as well as lipid peroxide levels. Significant augmentation in erythrocyte antioxidant status (GSH, SOD, catalase and GPx) were also observed after treatment with antimalarials. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that erythrocyte lipids and oxidative status are usually altered in Plasmodium falciparum-infected children. Thus, monitoring erythrocyte lipid profile and oxidative status could offer a viable diagnostic strategy in early detection of malaria in children. Key words: Infected erythrocyte, membrane lipid, oxidative stress, Plasmodium falciparum, malaria Citation: Olarewaju Michael Oluba, 2019. Erythrocyte lipid and antioxidant changes in Plasmodium falciparum-infected children attending mother and child hospital in Akure, Nigeria. Pak. J. Biol. Sci., 22: 257-264. Corresponding Author: Olarewaju Michael Oluba, Department of Biochemistry, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria Tel: +2347030496638 Copyright: © 2019 Olarewaju Michael Oluba. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing Interest: The author has declared that no competing interest exists. Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its supporting information files

Effect of soy protein on serum lipid profile and some lipid-metabolizing enzymes in cholesterol fed rats

The effect of soy protein on serum lipid profile and some lipid metabolizing enzymes in rats fed with cholesterol diets was examined in this study. Rats were subjected to feeding trial over a period of sixweeks on formulated diets containing: 20% soy protein with 0% cholesterol (group A), 20% soy protein with 5% cholesterol (group B), 20% soy protein with 10% cholesterol (group C), 0% soy protein with 20% cholesterol (group D), and 5% soy protein with 20% cholesterol (group E). Serum total, VLDL, LDL, and HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were found to be reduced significantly in Groups B and C when compared with Groups D and E (p 0.05). Groups D and E showed significant increased levels (p < 0.01) when compared to other groups. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT), and triglyceride lipase (TGL) activities were found to be significantly reduced (p< 0.05) in groups B and C when compared with groups D and E. Though groups B, C, D, and E rats all showed significant elevation (p < 0.05) in the enzyme activities when compared to the control

Effects of cooking on antinutrients and antioxidant properties of different accessions of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)

Asides from its robust nutritional profile, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus also possesses other health-promoting attributes. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the antinutrient content and antioxidant property of five different varieties of raw and cooked P. tetragonolobus. The varieties studied included, the indigenous variety (designated local) and four improved varieties (designated: T11, T31, T125, T154). Antinutrients like phenolic, tannin, glycoside and phytate concentrations were determined using standard methods while 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was carried out to ascertain the antioxidant activity. Phytate, cyanogenic glycosides and tannin levels were significantly (p<0.05) reduced due to cooking in T11 variety. In T125 variety, tannin was significantly lower in the cooked sample compared to the raw sample. However, the phenolic content in the T125 variety increased significantly (p<0.05) due to cooking. There was no significant difference in antioxidant activity between the raw and cooked samples across the five varieties. However, the improved varieties showed higher antioxidant activity compared to the local. Based on these results, the cooking process reduced the phytate, cyanogenic glycosides and tannin levels in the T11 variety while only the tannin level in T125 variety was significantly reduced. However, the antioxidant activity of P. tetragonolobus was not significantly impacted by cooking

Valorized chicken feather as corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in drilling mud

Modified chicken feather reduced the corrosion rate of mild steel in drilling mud as deduced from electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization technique, albeit, with observed infestation of the test environment by microbes over protracted exposure period of 92 days. The corrosion rates with and without the addition of 0.3g of hydrolyzed feather per 100 ml of drilling mud were 1.70 and 1.95 mm/yr, respectively; which corresponded to inhibition efficiency of 13% over the immersion period. The corresponding charge transfer resistances, a measure of corrosion rates were 1480.4 and 1780.0 Ω, respectively; in the uninhibited and hydrolyzed-feather inhibited environments. The voltage over the double layer capacitor as obtained from the polarization studies numerically increased from �0.907 to �0.948 V which indicated adsorption of moieties in the inhibitor and probably some corrosion products on the surface of the mild steel specime

Prof. Oluba Olarewaju Michael CV

Programa de investigación: Comunicación, Prácticas Socioculturales y Subjetividad Información extraída de: http://perio.unlp.edu.ar/tesis/?q=node/23Facultad de Periodismo y Comunicación Socia

Potential of Leaf Decoctions in Germinability Improvement and Protection Against Fungal Pathogens on Abelmoschus esculentus

Background and Objective: Accomplishing fast and uniform seedling development is strategic for crop vigour because delayed germination regularly open seedlings to unfavorable ecological conditions and soil-borne diseases. This study was aimed at assessing the germinability enhancement and protective potentials of leaf decoctions of four selected plants (Chromolaena odorata, CO; Nauclea latifolia, NL, Ipomoea asavifolia, IP and Moringa oleifera, MO) in comparison to hydrogen peroxide (HP), normal saline suspended cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and water (control) against selected fungal pathogens (Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium and Aspergillus niger) on Abelmoschus esculentus (okra). Materials and Methods: Surface sterilized seeds of Abelmoschus esculentus were soaked in the fungal pathogens for 1 h before being steeped in a given concentration of the respective decoctions for another 1 h and then planted on wet blotter for 7 days while monitoring the germination parameters. Results: The highest germination rates of 64.23 and 64.29% were observed when the seeds were primed with 5-fold dilution of CO and IP, respectively. However, germination was highest (64.28%) at 2-fold and 5-fold dilutions when primed with MO while HP-primed seed gave the germination rate was 92.86%. For seeds primed with the PA, germination rate of 71.42% was observed in the undiluted and 5-fold dilutions. The optimum soaking time was observed to be between 3 and 6 h, when the seeds were primed with the different decoctions. Following pre-treatment of the seeds with the fungal pathogens prior to priming with the different osmotica, germination rate reduced to 50%. This is significant compared to no growth observed in infected seeds without priming. Conclusion: Priming with decoctions of CO, IP and MO as well as HP and PA significantly improve germinability and confer protection against fungal infection. Thus, scale-up to field trials using CO, IP and MO decoctions, as well as HP and PA as bio-fungicide prior to planting for protection of okra seeds, seems justified as a sustainable alternative to the use of chemical fungicides. Key words: Leaf decoctions, seed priming, fungal pathogens, germination index Citation: Oghenerobor B. Akpor and Olarewaju M. Oluba, 2018. Potential of leaf decoctions in germinability improvement and protection against fungal pathogens on Abelmoschus esculentus. Plant Pathol. J., 17: 95-101. Corresponding Author: Oghenerobor B. Akpor, Department of Microbiology, Landmark University, P.M.B. 1001, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria Copyright: © 2018 Oghenerobor B. Akpor et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing Interest: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists. Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its supporting information files

EFFECT OF CHICKEN FEATHER AND BACTERIAL TREATMENTS ON NITRITE LEVEL IN WASTEWATER

The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal conditions for nitrite in removal wastewater by two bacterial species (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis) and chicken feather (raw and carbonated) fibre, under batch experimental conditions. Prior inoculating of the medium with the respective test bacterial species or addition of the feather fibres and every 24 h for 144 h duration, aliquot wastewater samples were withdrawn for the estimation of nitrite concentration using standard methods. The findings from this study revealed that nitrite removal from waste water is dependent on the pH, the initial concentration of nitrite in the media and the quantity of feather used or inoculum size of the test bacterial used for inoculation. In presence of the raw feather, optimum pH range for nitrite removal was observed to be between 6 and 12. No remarkable nitrite removal was observed in presence of the carbonated feather. Highest nitrite removal was observed with high inoculum concentration of the test bacterial species. At high initial nitrite levels in the medium, removal of nitrite was not observed in presence of the test bacterial species. The observation from this study could be employed in scale-up studies. In general, the study was able to provide valuable information on the role of chicken feather fibre and the test bacterial species in the removal of nitrite from wastewater under the experimental conditions investigated