Serum Vitamin A and Zinc Levels of Some Preschool Children in Sokoto Metropolis of Nigeria

Serum levels of vitamin A (VA) and zinc of sixty-one randomly selected preschool children aged 4 to 60 months from Sokoto in the Northwestern Nigeria were investigated. The serum VA was assayed spectrophotometrically by ultraviolet irradiation method while Zn level was determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained were analysed by correlation and regression method. The mean serum VA and Zn were 38.01 ± 18.70 and 73.24 ± 45.62 µg/dl respectively. 13% of the children had marginal VA deficiency. 26% and 9.8% of the children had moderate and severe VA deficiency (VAD) respectively. Of the 61 children studied, 37.7% had severe Zn deficiency (<50µg/dI) while 9.8% had serum Zn level of between 50 and 69 µg/dI. Analysis of the results indicated a significant (p<0.05) positive correlation(r=0.68) between serum VA and Zn levels of children with VAD. The result indicated that 66.7% of the children with VAD showed severe Zn deficiency. Only about 10% of the children with VAD were Zn adequate. The deficiencies of these micronutrients are common in both sexes and all age groups of preschool children of the study area. The results obtained indicated that the deficiencies of these micronutrients are public health problems in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria.Key words: Serum, Vitamin A, Zinc, preschool children, Sokoto-Nigeri

Phytochemical Screening, Polyphenolic Content and Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitory Potential of Leptadenia hastata (Pers.) Decne

Leptadenia hastata (Pers.) Decne. (Asclepiadaceae) is widely used as vegetable and traditionally in the management of diabetes mellitus and in the treatment of wounds and stomach ache. In this study, phytochemical screening, total phenolic contents and alpha-glucosidase activity of L. hastata leaf extracts were evaluated with the view to validating its antidiabetic potentials. Acetone, methanol and water extracts were screened for the polyphenolic contents while methanol and water extract were used for the evaluation of alpha-glucosidase activity. Phytochemical screening of L. hastata leaf indicated the presence of phenolic glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, alkaloids and saponins. The total phenolics, total flavonoids and proanthocyanidins contents were in the ranges of 17-38, 10-16 and 4-10 mg/g respectively depending on the extraction solvent. The methanol and water extracts had 69.81 and 37.02 % inhibitory effect on alpha-glucosidase activity respectively. The results indicated that L. hastata leaf is rich in polyphenols and possess significant alpha-glucosidase inhibition potential and may therefore be a source of lead compounds in the management of diabetes mellitus and/or other diseases that may be caused by oxidative stress.Keywords: Leptadenia hastata, phytochemicals, polyphenols, alpha-glucosidase, effect, inhibitionNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19 (2): 181-18

Antioxidant Vitamins and Trace Elements Status of Diabetics in Sokoto, Nigeria

Diabetes mellitus is associated with elevated oxidative stress via increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and decline in antioxidant defences. Increased oxidative stress is thought to play a role in the development of diabetic complications. In the current study, vitamins A, C, and E, chromium, manganese and zinc levels were estimated in 54 diabetics attending the outpatient clinic of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria and the results compared with those of apparently healthy non-diabetic volunteers of comparable age and social status. Serum levels of vitamin A,C, and E were 23.0 ± 6.5 ìg/dl, 15.1 ± 8.3 ìmol/l, 7.3 ± 4.0 ìmol/l and 51.7 ± 14.1 ìg/dl, 42.1 ± 20.3 ìmol/l and 30.5 ± 8.4 ìmol/l in diabetics and non - diabetic subjects respectively. There was significantly (P< 0.05) decreased levels of antioxidant vitamins in diabetics. The serum levels of Cr (2.6 ± 1.2mg/l), Mn (8.2 ± 2.8mg/l) and Zn(9.4 ± 6.9mg/l) were significantly (P< 0.05) low in diabetics. Most (82%) of the diabetics have deficient serum levels of the vitamins and minerals. The results suggest that diabetics in the study area have low serum levels of antioxidant vitamins and trace elements, an indication that the diabetics are predisposed to increased oxidative onslaught

Effect of Guanidium Hydrochloride on the Stability of Horse Skeletal Muscle Myoglobin

The stability of the three dimensional structure of horse skeletal muscle myoglobin was investigated using visible spectroscopy. Guanidium hydrochloride (GuHCl) of concentrations 0.4 – 0.8M have no observable effect on the three dimensional structure as indicated by monitoring the absorbance at 420nm. However, higher concentrations (1.0-3.0M) resulted in unfolding of the protein as indicated by the dip in absorption from 0.535 to 0.350.The requirement for high denaturant concentration to perturb the structure of myoglobin indicates the high stability of the protein. We conclude that high concentrations of the denaturant GuHCl, disrupts the 3-dimensional structure of myoglobin causing its unfolding, in a two- state process, due to weak binding to the protein, which can be studied spectrophotometricall

Screening for Total Carotenoids and &#946-Carotene in Some Widely Consumed Vegetables in Nigeria

Ten different locally grown and widely consumed vegetables were selected for the screening of total carotenoids and â-carotene contents. The pigments were extracted by solvent extraction and the concentrations determined using UV-visible spectrophotometer. Carrot (Daucus carota) has the highest values of both the total carotenoids (397.8 ± 2.0 ìg/g) and â-carotene (203.0 ìg/g). Squash (C. moschata) has the lowest concentrations of total carotenoids (20.3 ± 2.0 ìg/g) while cabbage has the lowest â-carotene (24.41 ± 9.8 ìg/g). These vegetables, if properly processed, may serve as good sources of provitamin A in addition to other nutritional roles. The potentials of these vegetables as candidates for biofortification with â -carotene for the eradication of vitamin A deficiency were discussed.Keywords: Vegetables, Carotenoids, â-carotene, Vitamin A deficienc

Biochemical and Haematological Indices of Weanly Albino Rats Fed Millet and Maize Based Complementary Weaning Food

Malnutrition is a public health problem in Nigeria accounting for more than 50% of all childhood death. The current work evaluated some nutritional, biochemical and haematological indices of weanly albino rats fed millet and maize based complimentary weaning foods for 3 weeks. Two diets, MLMX and MZMX were compared on one hand and on the other with millet alone (MLA). Maize alone (MZA) diets was used as negative control and Frisocream (PC) as positive control.. The mineral profiles of the two groups of rats were significantly (

Effect of Supplementation with a Locally Prepared Nutriceutical on Renal Function Profile in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by increased levels of marker of oxidative stress which play a role in the development of diabetes complications. Antioxidants are thought to be beneficial in curtailing the lipid peroxidation. In the current work, antioxidant- rich nutriceutic was formulated from onions, garlic, lemon, palm oil and crayfish (in ratio 6:6:2:1:5 respectively), which are known sources of vitamins A, C and E and Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn. The nutriceutic was administered to alloxan-induced diabetic rats for 3 weeks and the effect of the supplementation on renal function profile was studied. The results shows that supplementation significantly (P&lt;0.05) reduced blood glucose, urea, creatinine and potassium. It also not significantly (P&gt;0.05) reduced serum sodium and bicarbonate. The findings suggest that supplementation with naturally occurring antioxidant nutriceutic may reduce the risk of oxidative stress and complications associated with diabetes mellitus and might be beneficial in the routine treatment of diabetes mellitus patients.Keywords: Diabetes, nutriceutic, glucose, and renal function profileNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19 (2): 197- 20

Phytoremediation of cadmium-polluted soils with Ipomoea asarifolia (Desr.) Roem. & Schult

Phytoremediation is an alternative method for restoring soils polluted with heavy metals which is cost-effective and environment-friendly. The present study evaluated the potential of Ipomoea asarifolia to remediate  soils experimentally-amended with Cadmium. The plant was grown on soils amended with 0, 1500, 2000, and 2500 mg CdCl2 salt. The salt was mixed with small portions of the soils and made upto 3kg salt/soil mixtures each. These were applied into 4 separate polythene-pots labelled; A, B, C and D respectively. Sample A containing 3kg non-amended soil (without Cd) served as the control. The concentrations of Cd applied to the soils were therefore; 0, 306.61, 408.82 and 511.02 mg//kg soils in the samples A-D respectively. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) was used to analyse the bioaccumulation of Cd in the plant’s parts, over three harvesting phases of the study period. The results revealed that I. asarifolia is a good phytoaccumulator as it accumulated a total biomass of 0.23 ± 0.63, 272.85 ± 1.99, 377.40 ± 0.63 and 459.48 ± 0.60 mg/kg Cd from the amended soils A-D respectively. The Transportation Indices; RTI and STI for translocation of Cd to the plant’s stems and leaves were both greater than 1 (TI &gt;1), indicating that the plant has a phytoextraction potential for Cadmium. These results therefore, suggest that I. asarifolia could be effective in phytoremediation of Cadmium-polluted environments.Keywords: Heavy metals, cadmium, pollution, phytoremediation, Ipomoea asarifoli

Effect of antioxidants supplementations in salt-induced dyslipidaemia in albino rats

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is associated with many risk factors including oxidative stress and dyslipidaemia. The current work evaluated the effects of antioxidants supplementation on salt-induced dyslipidaemia in albino rats. Rats were divided into 10 groups of 7 rats each. Groups 2-10 were fed 8% salt diets for 5 weeks while group 1 served as control and were fed normal rat feed. Water was provided to all the groups ad libitum. The animals in groups 3-10 were then supplemented with vitamin A; vitamin C; vitamin E; Cu; Mn; Zn; vitamins A, C and E combined and Cu, Mn and Zn combined respectively for additional 4 weeks simultaneously with salt loading. Group 2 was not supplemented and served as the negative control. Serum levels of total cholesterol, triacylglyceride, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and glucose were estimated. The results indicated that the vitamins reduced significantly serum lipid profiles and the atherogenic index by up to 80%. The serum glucose levels of the rats supplemented with antioxidant vitamins and minerals were also significantly (P&lt;0.05) lowered compared with the negative control group. These results suggest that the reduction of serum lipid profile and glucose level may be due to regulation of cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism and increased insulin sensitivity as a result of the supplementations. It may thus suggest that the antioxidants may provide protection against CVDs and metabolic syndrome in salt-induced dyslipidaemia in rats

Toxicity Studies of the Crude Aqueous Root Extract of Albizzia chevalieri Harms in Albino Rats

Aqueous root extract of Albizzia chevalieri has been reported to possess hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects. The current work investigated the LD50 of the crude aqueous root extract of Albizzia chevalieri and the effect of sub-chronic doses of the extract on liver and kidney function parameters of albino rats. The results indicated LD50 greater than 3000mg/kg body weight in albino rats observed for 72 hours. The result of the sub-chronic toxicity on liver function parameters showed significant (