Intrasound therapy: an effective alternative to sodium diclofenac phonophoresis in the management of mechanical chronic cervical spine pain

The efficacy of Sodium Diclofenac Phonophoresis (SDP) as an effective adjunct in the management of inflammation and pain has been established though its application entails complicated choices of treatment parameters. Intrasound Therapy (IST), acclaimed for its simplicity of operation has been reported to promote healing though no studies have been done on its effect in Chronic cervical spine pain (CCSP). The aim of this study was to determine if IST could be an effective therapeutic option to SDP as an adjunct in the management of CCSP. Forty seven (47) participants with CCSP that had definite diagnoses were randomly assigned into 3 groups. All participants had exercises and massage while in addition, group 1 had SDP and group 2 IST for 10 minutes each. Participants were treated for 40 minutes twice a week for 4 weeks and were evaluated for pain, Quality of life (QoL), disability and range of motion (ROM) of the cervical spine. Paired sample t-test was used to compare the outcome parameters in each group and data presented as Mean ± SEM with significance at p<0.05. IST and SDP significantly (p˂0.05) improved the clinical parametres compared with the control group and there were no significant (p ˃0.05) differences in clinical outcome between the IST and SDP groups. IST was as effective as SDP and considering its relative simplicity of operation could be an alternative therapeutic adjunct in the management of chronic cervical pain.Keywords: Sodium Diclofenac Phonophoresis, Intrasound therapy, Chronic Neck pain, Neck Disabilit

Characterization and probiotic potentials of lactic acid bacteria isolated from ingesta of selected ruminants

Studies were carried out to isolate and screen lactic acid bacteria with probiotic potentials and amylolytic activities from the ruminal ingesta of cow and goat. Ninety isolates obtained from the three abattoirs were divided into the following species: Lactobacillus plantarum, L. fermentum, L. pentosus, L. brevis, L. buchneri, L. collinoides, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The isolates were screened for probiotic potentials and amylolytic activities. Four isolates possessed probiotic potentials: L. plantarum CA3b, L. fermentum GA2d, L. plantarum GA1d, and L. plantarum GA3e. Lactobacillus plantarum CA3b, L. fermentum GA2d, and L. plantarum GA3e survived pH 2.5 and 3.5 after 180 min. Lactobacillus plantarum GA1d had the highest tolerance of 82.44% and 71.03% to 0.3% and 1% bile salts concentrations, respectively. Lactobacillus plantarum CA3b hydrolysed 3% starch with an average zone of clearance of 10.0 mm, while L. plantarum GA1d hydrolysed 2% with a zone of 9.5 mm. These two strains also possessed bacteriocin activities against E. coli, and were characterised based on their reactions to pH, temperature, and enzymes treatments. Ruminal ingesta of cow and goat harbour lactic acid bacteria possessing amylolytic and probiotic potentials, which can be exploited in the fermentation of feedstock, conferring health benefits and improved performance to these ruminants

Knowledge of blood donation among adults in north-central Nigeria

Background: About half of the population in Nigeria is medically fit for blood donation but only four in one thousand are voluntary donors. The low level of blood donation has been attributed to poor knowledge, misconceptions, myths, bias, poverty, fear, malnutrition among the population. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge of blood donation among adults in two selected North Central States of Nigeria.Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 3104 respondents comprising of adults between 18 and 60 years were involved in the study. A multistage sampling technique was used and the research tool was interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data generated were entered into the computer and subjected to appropriate statistical analysis using EPI INFO computer software package (version 3.5.3). Pearson Chi Square (χ2) was used to test statistical significance and p-value was set at < 0.05.Results: Majority of the respondents 2565 (82.5%) knew that blood donation save lives. More than three-quarters, 2468 (79.5%), knew where to go for voluntary blood donation. About one-third, (37.1%), demonstrated good knowledge of voluntary blood donation. Older respondents (>60 years) had poor knowledge of blood transfusion compared with younger age groups (p<0.001). Respondents’ occupation and educational status were significantly associated with knowledge of blood transfusion (p<0.001)Conclusion: Periodic awareness programme on voluntary blood donation in rural and urban areas across Nigeria is needed. In addition, sensitization of the informal sector on the significance of non-remunerated voluntary blood donation should be given priority.Keywords: Knowledge, Blood, Donation, North-Central, Nigeri

Microbiological, physicochemical and nutritional changes of millet for Koko production under different nixtamalisation conditions

Koko is a traditional fermented cereal gruel made from millet. Nixtamalisation is a traditional process by which cereals are cooked and steeped in lime. The microbiological and physicochemical changes of the millet used for koko production under different nixtamalisation conditions were investigated. The lactic acid bacteria isolated from the fermenting samples comprised Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus brevis, Pediococcus acidilactici and two genera of yeasts, namely Candida and Saccharomyces. There was a reduction in pH in all the samples; the spontaneous sample had the least of pH 3.9 at 72 h while the highest of pH 11.5 was observed in the 1.5% nixtamalised sample at 0h. The titratable acidity increased from 0.000mg/ml at 0h to 0.008mg/ml after 72 h at 0.75% nixtamalisation concentration. Selection was based on the proximate analyses of the fermenting samples. Nixtamalised samples at 1% and 1.5% had the highest crude fibre content (0.13% and 0.11%) and ash content (0.28% and 0.26%) respectively. Lactobacillus fermentum K048 (L.f) and Pediococcus acidilactici K1.548 (P.a) were selected as starter cultures. The controlled fermentation with starter cultures L.f + P.a had the highest crude protein content of 1.70% while the least of 0.39% was observed in 1.5% nixtamalised sample without starter culture. Sensory evaluation shows that controlled fermentation of 1.5% nixtamalised sample using L. fermentum K048 had the best general acceptability. Nixtamalisation made milling easier during processing by softening and swelling of the grains while inoculation with starter cultures enhanced the nutritional qualities of the grains for koko production.Keywords: Millet, nixtamalisation, koko, physicochemical, proximate analysi

Production, characterization and In vitroantioxidant activities of exopolysaccharide from Weissella cibaria GA44

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strain GA44 isolated fromgari(a Nigeriantraditional fermented cassava mash) was identified with 16S rRNA gene sequencing asWeissella cibaria.The EPS produced mainly composed of glucose and rhamnose sugar units and its molecular mass wasabout 2.8�105Da. The fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum analysis showed characteristicsabsorption peaks indicating the presence ofeOH, C¼O and C-H groups. Central composite design (CCD)and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to study the interactive effect of the significantfactors on EPS yield. Under optimum conditions, the predicted maximum EPS produced 4.88 g/L whilethe actual experimental value was 4.80 g/L. Thein-vitroantioxidant activities of the EPS showed goodscavenging effects on superoxide anion radical and hydroxyl radical. The characteristics of this EPSisolated from food source will be useful in food industries and could also serve as a potential antioxidan

Probiotic and technological properties of exopolysaccharide producing lactic acid bacteria isolated from cereal-based nigerian fermented food products

The present study aims to evaluate the probiotic potential and technological properties of exopoly-saccharide (EPS) producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Nigerian fermented cereal-basedfoods. Sixty-three autochthonous LAB isolated from cereal-based fermented foods were screened forEPS production,five isolates produced an appreciable amount of EPS on sucrose modified media andwere identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene asL.plantarumYO175,L.plantarumOF101,P. pentosaceusOF31,W. confusaOF126 andW. confusaWS90. Thesefive isolates were assessed for their probiotic andtechnological properties viz., tolerance to low pH, bile salt resistance, bile salt hydrolysis, tolerance tosimulated gastric transit, cell surface hydrophobicity, antimicrobial, amylolytic and acidifying activity.The LAB isolates showed good survival at pH 2.0 and 2.5 and were resistant to 0.3% bile salt after 4 h. Allthe isolates tolerate gastric juice condition, with no reduction in viability exceptW. confusaWS90 thatlost viability over 180 min incubation time.L. plantarumOF101 showed the highest hydrophobicityvalues for n-hexadecane and xylene (43.6%, 46.2%). They all showed different antimicrobial activitiesagainstfive food-borne pathogens.P. pentosaceusOF31 possessed the highest ability to inhibit pathogensand also demonstrated better and rapid acid production capability. Albeit the properties tested arestrain-dependent,L. plantarumandP. pentosaceusstrains were found to possess interesting functionaland probiotic characteristics to a greater extent compared toW. cibariastrains. The safety investigationsindicate their suitability as good candidates for cereal-based probiotic products/starter culture for theimprovement of traditional cereal fermentation process and also the development of functional cerealfood

Rapid differentiation among Lactobacillus,Pediococcus and Weissella species from some Nigerian indigenous fermented foods

The taxonomic differentiation among lactic acid bacteria (LAB) using only phenotypic methods isinadequate. In the past, several phenotypic techniques have been applied in identification of differentspecies of LAB from Nigerian indigenous fermented foods. In this study, two less-expensive and rapidmolecular techniques were employed in the identification and differentiation of LAB species isolatedfrom some Nigerian fermented foods:gari(cassava mash),fufu(cassava dough) andogi(maize gruel) toavoid the common errors that are synonymous with the use of conventional methods. The size of theamplified products for the LAB species using universal primers fD1 and rD1 was about 1500 bp. Thedifferentiation of the three predominant LAB,Lactobacillus plantarum,Pediococcus pentosaceusandWeissella confusato species level was performed by intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS-PCR) and amplifiedribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) using three restriction endonucleases:HinfI,HaeIII andRsaI.In summary, the study demonstrated that the ARDRA and ITS-PCR analysis are simple, fast and efficientmethods that can be used for the routine identification and rapid differentiation of LAB species which areoften regularly used as probiotics, starter culture and biopreservative in fermented foods consumed sincethey are generally regarded as safe (GRAS

In-vivo Effect of Oral Administration of Bifidobacterium adolescentis CH2 of Avian Origin on Male Albino Rats

Before administering to humans and agricultural animals, probiotics must satisfy  requirements for safety. Bifidobacterium adolescentis CH2 isolated from chicken was orally administered to male albino rats at a daily dose of about 3.6 x 106 cfu for 4 weeks to investigate the safety of its oral dose effects. Oral ingestion impact was assessed by body weight, blood biochemical components analysis, liver and kidney histopatological evaluations. Results from parameters investigated indicate no  adverse effect of ingestion of B. adolescentis CH2 strain when the dosed group is compared with the control group. No mortality, abnormal weight, organ injury or damage was observed in the control and B. adolescentis CH2 administered group. There was no abnormal decrease or increase in creatinine, aspartate transaminase, urea and blood glucose in any group. Histopatological examination of liver and kidney showed no abnormality or damage to organ in all groups. B. adolescentis CH2 strain isolated from chicken had no adverse effect on albino rats with respect to parameters here studied.Keywords: Bifidobacterium adolescentis, probiotic, in-vivo safety, yoghurt

Genetic diversity of Lactobacillus plantarum strains from some indigenous fermented foods in Nigeria

Lactobacillus plantarumhas been found to be commonly associated with Nigerian indigenous fermentedfoods. The intraspecies differentiation ofL. plantarumusing different molecular techniques is essential forthe selection of functional strains. In the present study, 48L. plantarumisolates from some Nigerianindigenous fermented foods; (gari, fufuandogi) were phenotypically characterized. The intraspeciesdiversity of 17 selectedL. plantarumstrains with good acidification rates, hydrogen peroxide productionand variation in carbohydrate fermentation patterns were carried out using molecular techniques,16S-23rDNA intergenic transcribed spacer and restriction fragment length polymorphism (ITS-PCR and ITS-RFLP), randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). TheITS-RFLP-HaeIII, RAPD-OPA5, OPA20 and PFGE-Sfi1 analysis showed genetic diversity among the strainsofL. plantarumisolated from the different fermented foods, and it can be established that these mo-lecular tools are useful for differentiation ofL. plantarumstrains. The molecular techniques used in thisstudy may be considered useful tools for characterization of isolates and for in-depth examination of thestrain diversity as the various strains isolated in this study can be used as adjunct and/or starter culturesin food fermentation processes

Extracellular polysaccharide from Weissella confusa OF126: Production, optimization, and characterization

The production, optimization, and characterization of exopolysaccharide (EPS) from Weissella confusa OF126 and the in-vitro probiotic potentials of this strainwas investigated. The EPS produced on sucrose modified-MRS broth was characterized. The purified EPS had an average molecularweight of 1.1 × 106 Da. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of glucose monomers, indicating its homopolysaccharide nature. The structural characteristics of the EPS were investigated by FTIR, and NMR spectroscopy. FTIR spectroscopy revealed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl, N-acetyl and amine groups. NMR analysis confirmed that the EPS contained α-(1 → 6) linkage and α-(1→3) branched linkage. The EPS showed strong in-vitro antioxidant activity. Four significant factorswere optimized using Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The predicted optimum conditions for EPS production were cultivation time (48.50 h), sucrose concentration (24.00 g/L), pH (7.00) and yeast extract (2.50%).The EPS produced was predicted to be 3.10 g/L, while the experimental yield was 3.00 g/L. This strain was found to possess desirable probiotic attributes by its ability to survive at pH 2.0 and in the presence of bile salts (0.50% (w/v)) for 4 h. The results obtained from this study demonstrate W. confusa OF126 as a promising probiotic and the EPS produced can find useful applications in industries