Phytochemical and antimalarial studies on the methanol root bark extract of Annona senegalensis pers. (annonaceae

Phytochemical screening of the methanol root bark extract of Annona senegalensis, a plant known for its numerous ethnomedicinal uses such antimalarial, anticonvulsant, anticancer, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties showed the presence of tannins, saponins, alkaloids, triterpenes, steroids, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides. The column chromatographic analysis of the chloroform fraction of the crude methanol extract led to the isolation of stigmasterol which was elucidated using IR, 1D and 2D NMR analysis. The median oral lethal dose (LD50) was estimated to be 2154 mg/kg, suggesting the extract is relatively toxic at the tested doses. The crude extract produced a significant (p ≤ 0.05) dose - dependent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei in early infection (suppressive test) at doses of 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg suppressing the parasitemia level by 20.08%, 41.66% and 53.46% respectively, while chloroquine produced the highest parasite suppression of 85.73% at 5 mg/kg when compared to negative group. The extract also showed a dose - dependent significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in parasitemia level at 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg in established infection (curative test) producing a chemo-suppression at 46.20%, 36.62% and 8.25% respectively with chloroquine producing the highest chemo-suppression of 73.24% at 5 mg/kg when compared to the negative control. The findings of this study suggest that the root bark extract of the plant is active against the malaria parasite used and this is consistent with the ethnomedicinal use of Annona senegalensis in the treatment of malaria. Keywords: Malaria, Parasite, Root Bark, Extract, Annona senegalensis, Phytochemistr

Isolation and characterization of lupeol and stigmasterol from methanol root extract of Combretum hypopolinum (diels.) Okafor(Combretaceae)

Lupeol (a pentacyclic triterpenoid) and stigmasterol were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the methanol root extract of Combretum hypopilinum, a plant known to have a wide range of medicinal uses in traditional medicine such as pain, infertility and tuberculosis treatment. The chromatographic analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction of the crude methanol extract led to the isolation of lupeol and stigmasterol which were elucidated and characterized using their IR,1HNMR,and 13C NMR spectral data in comparison with literature

Vitamin K protects against 7,12-dimethylbenz(A)anthracene induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar rats

Humans are daily exposed to 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), a well known polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). This study investigated the role of dietary intake of Vitamin K (VK), a polyphenolic compound, with potential antioxidative properties, against DMBA-induced hepatotoxicity. Sixty experimental animals (120-150 g) were divided into six groups (A-F): Control, DMBA (80 mg/kg bw) only, VK (0.00 g/10 kg) diet only, VK (7.5 g/10 kg) diet only, DMBA + VK (0.0 g/10 kg) diet and DMBA + VK (7.5 g/10 kg) diet. Single oral administration of DMBA (80 mg/kg body weight) to Wistar rats resulted in hepatic damage after 16 weeks. DMBA significantly (P <.05) decreased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and Vitamin C were significantly decreased with increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in serum and liver. Aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were significantly (P <.05) elevated in the serum but reduced in the liver of DMBA-administered group. Ingestion of 7.5 g/10 kg VK diet prevented the up regulations in inflammatory biomarkers (granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin 17A (IL-17A)) which elicited liver damaged in the DMBA-treated group. DMBA induced hepatic alterations in DMBA-treated group but was restored to near normal in VK (7.5 g/10 kg) diet group. These findings suggest the protective potential of increased dietary intake of vitamin K against DMBA-induced hepatic dysfunction. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC

Effects of vitamin K dietary supplementation in pulmonary dysfunction induced by 7,12-dimethylbenzaanthracene in rat

One of the well-known toxicants of the mammary tissue is 7,12-dimethylbenzaanthracene (DMBA). This study was carried out to investigate the possible prophylactic's role of increased dietary intake of vitamin K on the induction of toxicity in the lung tissue. Twenty-eight Wistar albino rats (120-150 g) were randomly divided into different groups. Group 1 served as the control and were fed with a normal diet (containing the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K (0.0075%)). Groups 2 and 3 received a single dose of DMBA (80 mg/kg body weight) intragastically. In addition, group 3 rats were maintained on surplus vitamin K diet (0.075% diet) as against the group 2 animals that were on a normal diet. Group 4 rats were on surplus vitamin K diet (0.075% diet) throughout the experimental period of 16 weeks. Our results revealed that supplementation of diet with surplus vitamin K significantly increased the activities of catalase. Superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase, and glutathione peroxidase were significantly increased in the serum and lungs when compared with the DMBA-treated group, which was maintained on a normal diet. Significant alterations in malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and interleukin 17F were observed in rats challenged with DMBA-fed normal diets but were normalized in rats with surplus vitamin K. These alterations and reversal were confirmed by histopathology studies. This suggests the prophylactic benefit of increased dietary intake of vitamin K without any observed deleterious effect on DMBA-induced pulmonary toxicity. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LL

Alignment of the CMS tracker with LHC and cosmic ray data

The central component of the CMS detector is the largest silicon tracker ever built. The precise alignment of this complex device is a formidable challenge, and only achievable with a significant extension of the technologies routinely used for tracking detectors in the past. This article describes the full-scale alignment procedure as it is used during LHC operations. Among the specific features of the method are the simultaneous determination of up to 200 000 alignment parameters with tracks, the measurement of individual sensor curvature parameters, the control of systematic misalignment effects, and the implementation of the whole procedure in a multi-processor environment for high execution speed. Overall, the achieved statistical accuracy on the module alignment is found to be significantly better than 10μm.© CERN 2014 for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.