Moringa oleifera ameliorates cuprizone-induced cerebellar damage in adult female rats

Objectives: Cuprizone is a neurotoxicant used in modeling demyelinating disorders. This study explored the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) on oxidative, histomorphological and behavioural changes in cuprizone-damaged cerebellum.Methods: Twenty adult female Wistar rats were grouped into 4, each group having five animals. Group A received 1 ml of normal saline (Control); group B received 0.4% cuprizone; group C received 15.6 mg/kgBW Moringa oleifera leaf extract; group D received 0.4% cuprizone and 15.6 mg/kgBW Moringa oleifera, orally for 5 weeks. The animals were assessed for exploratory and locomotor activities, while the cerebellum was processed for histology and assayed for nitric oxide (NO), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities.Results: Cuprizone treatment caused weight reduction, disruption of Purkinje cell layer, cellular degeneration, reduction in NO, CAT and SOD activities. However, these changes were ameliorated when co-administered with MO.Conclusion: The anti-oxidative property of Moringa oleifera is responsible for its ameliorative effect in cuprizone neurotoxicity.Keywords: demyelination, cuprizone, cerebellar damage, Moringa oleifera, oxidative enzyme

Moringa oleifera attenuates biochemical and histological changes associated with the pancreas in nicotine-treated rats

Objective: The study was undertaken in order to evaluate the beneficial potential of Moringa oleifera, in nicotine-induced pancreatic injury.Method: Forty-five adult female albino rats were divided into 5 groups A-E, each group having nine rats. Group A received normal saline; group B received 6.88 mg/kg of nicotine intraperitoneally (i.p); group C received 6.88 mg/kg of nicotine i.p. and 200 mg/kg of Moringa oleifera leaf powder dissolved in 2 ml of normal saline (orally); group D received 13.76 mg/kg of nicotine i.p., while group E received 13.76 mg/kg of nicotine i.p. and 200 mg/kg of Moringa oleifera leaf powder dissolved in 2 ml of normal saline (orally). Treatment was for 8 days and the rats were sacrificed after 24 hours of termination of study. Intracardial blood specimens were obtained to analyse blood glucose, while the pancreas was excised and either fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for histology or sucrose solution and homogenised for biochemical analysis of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) enzymes.Results: In comparison with the Control, animals treated with low dose of nicotine with or without Moringa oleifera and those treated with high dose of nicotine plus Moringa oleifera had reduction in body weights (p>0.05), while marked reduction in pancreatic weights was noted in low dose nicotine (p<0.05) and both nicotine groups co-treated with Moringa oleifera (p<0.05). There were no significant changes in the levels of blood glucose and pancreatic G-6-PDH levels, while significant reduction occurred in pancreatic LDH levels in nicotine-treated rats (p<0.05). However, LDH improved following coadministration with Moringa oleifera. Observation of the histology of the pancreas revealed atrophy of intercalated ducts, poorly delineated and disintegrating islet of Langerhans in animals treated with the higher dose of nicotine, while changes in pancreatic tissue in animals co-treated with Moringa oleifera were not as severe as the nicotine-treated animals.Conclusion: Moringa oleifera leaf decoction minimally ameliorates morphological and biochemical changes associated with nicotine-induced pancreatic damage.Keywords: Nicotine, Pancreatic damage, Moringa oleifer

Perception of HIV screening among students of a Nigerian university

HIV/AIDS continues to be an urgent public health challenge all over the world, particularly developing countries. This study was carried out know the perception of students on HIV screening, and their attitude towards undergoing the test. In this cross-sectional survey involving undergraduates in a Nigerian University, 300 self- administered questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Despite the high level of awareness HIV/AIDS (n=284; 94.7%), only 16% (n=48) actually knew their HIV status. Seventy percent (70%; n=210) were willing to undergo the test if offered free-of- charge. A large number (n=284; 94.7%) believed that the higher institutions of learning are high risk communities, and that students by extension are at risk (n=254; 84.7%); and hence 77.3% (n=232) believed students should be screened for HIV. A review government policy on payment for HIV screening among high risk population is still very essential, and an enabling environment created to encourage maximum participation. The study and similar studies may be useful to institutions when considering HIV screening for students or workers, after a careful consideration of the adverse economic and social impact of its implementation and the circumstance which the test results may be used.Keywords: HIV; Perception; Screening; Students

Moringa oleifera ameliorates histomorphological changes associated with cuprizone neurotoxicity in the hippocampal Cornu ammonis (CA) 3 region

Summary: Cuprizone-induced neurotoxicity has severally been used to study demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), adversely affecting both the white and grey matters of the brain. Lesions have been observed in different regions of the brain including, corpus callosum, neocortex and the hippocampal formation. The current study explored the role of Moringa oleifera leaf extract in restoring the resultant histomorphological changes in cuprizone-induced hippocampal damage in Wistar rats. Twenty adult female Wistar rats with average weight of 163.74 ± 3.59 g were grouped into A: Control, administered with 1 ml of normal saline, B: received 0.4% cuprizone diet, C: received 1.875 mg/ml/day of Moringa extract, and D: received a combination of cuprizone and Moringa in similar doses. Administration was oral for 5 weeks. The weights of animals were assessed during treatment, and at the termination of experiment, the rats were euthanized and the brains were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. The tissue was processed for histological and histochemical examinations using the Haematoxylin and Eosin stain and cresyl fast violet stain to assess the general microarchitecture and neuronal cells respectively of hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA) 3 region. The body weight of cuprizone-treated rats was reduced and this was ameliorated significantly in animals that were co-administered with Moringa. Similarly, there were histological alterations in the CA3 region of the hippocampus with the presence of pyknotic pyramidal cells organized in clusters and CA3 cells with degenerative changes, but administration of Moringa led to a better organised and fairly intact histological appearance. Pharmaceutical development of Moringa oleifera into appropriate therapeutic formulations could offer some relief to patients of demyelinating conditions that have clinical features of neurological deficits.Keywords: cuprizone, neurotoxicity, hippocampus, Moring