Oxytocic effects of the water extract of Musanga cecropioides R. Brown (Moraceae) stem bark

Musanga cecropioides (Umbrella tree) is one of the medicinal plants used in tropical parts of Africa for its oxytocic, hypotensive and antidiabetic activities. This work examined the effect of the water extractof the stem bark on rat uterus pre-treated with 1 mg/kg stilboesterol for 24 h. The effects of oxytocin-a uterine contraction agonist, antagonists like atropine (1-2 mg) and salbutamol (2 ìg) on the uterinecontractile effect of the water extract as well as its acute toxic effect were investigated. The water extract of M. cecropioides produced a dose related increase in the force of uterine contraction. An equivalent force of uterine contraction of 1.10 ± 0.15 g produced by 12.5 mg of the extract wasincreased to 2.53 ± 0.6 g when 1600 mg of the extract was administered. Oxytocin at 0.08 i.u. was observed to elicit a similar force of contraction with 400 mg of the water extract. The drug was observed to potentiate the uterine contractile activity of the extract while pre-treating the tissue with either atropine or salbutamol before administering the water extract showed the inhibitory effects of the drugs on the activity of the extract. The inhibition effect showed by atropine suggests the probable stimulation of the muscarinic receptors of the uterus by the extract. Between doses of 1-4 g/kg, the water extract of M. cecropioides was observed to be well tolerated in mice as no obvious signs of toxicity were observed on the animal

Pharmacognostic evaluation of the leaves of Mitracarpus scaber Zucc (Rubiaceae)

Purpose: The methanolic extract and isolated constituents of Mitracarpus scaber Zucc have been reported to exhibit hepatoprotective, antibacterial and antimycotic activities. Establishment of Pharmacognostic profile of the leaves will assist in standardization for quality, purity and sample identification. Method: Evaluation of the fresh, powdered and anatomical sections of the leaves were carried out to determine the macromorphological, micromorphological, chemomicroscopic, numerical and phytochemical profiles. Results: Macro - and microscopical studies indicated presence of simple leaf whorled arrangement, an entire margin with lanceolate shape, acute apex and base, parallel venation, thin and wavy anticlinal walls with numerous calcium oxalate crystals. Stomata arrangement was anomocytic with numerous covering trichomes on both surfaces. Chemomicroscopic characters present include lignin, starch, cellulose, mucilage and calcium oxalate crystals while phytochemical evaluation revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, cardiac glycosides and saponins. The investigations also included numerical and quantitative leaf microscopy. Conclusion: These findings should be suitable for inclusion in the proposed Pharmacopoeia of Nigerian Medicinal plants. Keywords: Mitracarpus scaber, Pharmacognostic evaluation, Pharmacopoeia. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 6 (4) 2007: pp. 849-85

Assessing the Effectiveness of Illustrations in Print Media Advert of Home Appliances

In this study, attempts were made to ascertain the attention getting power of illustrations in print media advert of home appliances, the interrelatedness of the illustrations to the advert messages, clarity and the ability to create buying interest. Survey research design method was adopted for the study and questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. In this study it was discovered that, though, the illustrations attract attention to an advert they are not too related to the message of the advert and very difficult for the audience to decode at the first contact and at the same time does not propel buying interest in the audience. As a result, it was recommended that relevant illustrations should be used or be entirely left out. The illustrations should bring out the benefit of the product as the case may be. Simplicity should also be employed for clarity purposes. Keywords: Illustrations, Advertising, Print Media, Home Appliance

Low-threshold optically pumped lasing in highly strained Ge nanowires

The integration of efficient, miniaturized group IV lasers into CMOS architecture holds the key to the realization of fully functional photonic-integrated circuits. Despite several years of progress, however, all group IV lasers reported to date exhibit impractically high thresholds owing to their unfavorable bandstructures. Highly strained germanium with its fundamentally altered bandstructure has emerged as a potential low-threshold gain medium, but there has yet to be any successful demonstration of lasing from this seemingly promising material system. Here, we demonstrate a low-threshold, compact group IV laser that employs germanium nanowire under a 1.6% uniaxial tensile strain as the gain medium. The amplified material gain in strained germanium can sufficiently surmount optical losses at 83 K, thus allowing the first observation of multimode lasing with an optical pumping threshold density of ~3.0 kW cm^-^2. Our demonstration opens up a new horizon of group IV lasers for photonic-integrated circuits.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figure

The Effect of Active Fractions of the Roots of Nauclea Latifolia Smith (Rubiaceae) on Blood Pressure of Normotensive Rabbits

Abstract: Nauclea latifolia has been found to lower blood pressure of both normotensive and hypertensive rats. The chloroform fractrion of this plant was subjected to column chromatography and five fractions were obtained, CF1-CF5. All the fractions were active in lowering blood pressure of normotensive rabbits. Fraction CF1, CF3 ,CF4 and CF5 were active at a dose range of 2.5 -10 mg/kg. At 10 mg/kg, CF1 reduced the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) from 97.6 ± 5.6 to 61.6 ± 8.6 mmHg , CF3 reduced the MAP from 95.3 ±5.1 to 68.3 ±3. mmHg, CF4 reduced the MAP from 84.8 ± 4.7 to 58.6 ± 5.0 mmHg while CF5 reduced the MAP from 78.6 ± 7.5 to 53.0 ± 4.6 mmHg. CF2 was effective at the dose range of 0.2 -0.6 mg/kg. At 0.6 mg/kg CF2 reduced the MAP from 79.0 ± 3.1 to 48.4 ± 3.7. It was thus concluded that Nauclea latifolia can be partitioned into 5 major fractions all of which are active in lowering blood pressure, but CF2 was most poten

Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer activities of Sida acuta in mice and rat

The analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer properties was also studied in mice and rats using the tail immersion, mouse ear oedema and acetylsalicylic acid induced ulceration models. The crude extracts exhibited significant (p< 0.001) analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in mice as well as a marked protection against acetylsalicylic acid-induced gastric mucosal ulceration in rats (p< 0.001). This justified the use of Sida acuta against pain, inflammation and ulcer in herbal medical practice. Keywords: Sida acuta, malvaceae, analgesia, anti-inflammation, anti-ulceration Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine Vol. 9 2005: 19-2

Pharmacognostic and Toxicity Evaluation of the Stem Bark of Tabernaemontana Pachysiphon Stapf. (Apocynaceae)

Various claims have been made on the ethno-medicinal uses of the stem bark of Tabernaemontana pachysiphon. It is therefore necessary to establish its pharmacognostic characteristics that will help in its identification and standardization. In this study, the pharmacognostic characteristics (phytochemistry, macroscopy, microscopy, chemo-microscopy, quantitative evaluation, proximate and preliminary Thin Layer Chromatography analyses) and toxicity potential of the stem bark were evaluated using standard methods of analysis. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of carbohydrates, reducing sugars, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and cardiac glycosides. The stem bark has a bitter taste, flat in shape when fresh and curved when dry, greyish brown in colour on the outer surface and brown on the inner surface. It is longitudinally fissured and lenticels are present. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of cork cells, fibres, sclereids and calcium oxalate crystals. Chemo-microscopic tests showed the presence of lignin, calcium oxalate crystals, mucilage, cellulose and oil. Quantitative parameters (% w/w &plusmn; S.E.M) were as follows: moisture content 4.68 &plusmn; 0.01; total ash value 8.98 &plusmn; 0.12; acid insoluble ash value 0.54 &plusmn; 0.01; water soluble ash value 2.05 &plusmn; 0.01; alcohol soluble extractive value 3.10 &plusmn; 0.01 and water soluble extractive value 0.42 &plusmn; 0.01. Proximate analysis of the powdered drug gave 16.59 % protein, 1.90 % fibre, 0.10 % fat, 67.75 % carbohydrate and 4.68 % moisture. Total gross energy was estimated to be 338.26kcal while preliminary thin layer chromatography (TLC) showed three spots. The aqueous extract of the stem bark, at a dose of 5 g/kg, caused neither death nor any observable symptoms of toxicity, after 24 hours. These validated pharmacognostic standards will be useful towards proper identification of a closely related sample of the plant material and in the production of the Nigerian Pharmacopoeia of Nigeria medicinal plants.Keywords: Tabernaemontana pachysiphon, Stem bark, Pharmacognostic standards, Acute toxicity testNigerian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 9 No 1 pp. 63 - 71 (February 2011

ANTI-ULCER ACTIVITY OF STEM BARK OF DANIELLIA OLIVERI

The MeOH extract of Daniellia oliveri showed a dose related activity on the induced ulcers. The 500mg/kg extract had an activity (