Ameliorative Effect of Lecaniodiscus cupanioides (Sapindaceae) Aqueous Root Extract in Loperamide- Induced Constipated Rats

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of aqueous root extract of Lecaniodiscus cupanioidies Planch. (Sapindaceae) against loperamide-induced constipation in Wistar rats.Methods: Constipation was induced by oral administration of loperamide (3 mg/kg body weight). The constipated rats were orally treated daily either with 50, 150, 250 mg/kg body weight per day of the extract or 0.21 mg/kg bisacodyl (reference drug) for 7 days while the normal control group received distilled water. The feeding characteristics, body weight, faecal properties and gastrointestinal transit ratio were monitored throughout the study period. The activities of acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutaryltransferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were also determined in the serum of the animals.Results: There was significant decrease (p < 0.05) between normal and constipated rats in the number of faecal pellets (54.06 and 45.43) while body weight increased (124.45 and 135.38 g) respectively. Administration of 250 mg/kg L. cupanioides extract to the constipated rats significantly normalized (p < 0.05) their body weight gain (8.15 g) and gastrointestinal ratio (87.75) compared to the constipated control. Serum levels of ACP and AST were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in the 150 and 250 mg/kg dose groups compared to controls while ALP witnessed reduction. However, there was no alteration in the levels of GGT and LDH across all groups.Conclusion: The aqueous root extract of L. cupanioides possesses laxative activity in loperamideinduced constipated rats.Keywords: Constipation, Lecaniodiscus cupanioides, Gastrointestinal transit ratio, Loperamide, Bisacody

Nutrient content and anti-nutritional factors in shea butter (Butryospermum parkii) leaves

Sample of shea-butter leaves were analyzed for, anti-nutrients and proximate composition. The proximate result showed that the leaf has high content of carbohydrate (13.82%) compared to other types of leaves. The content of anti-nutrients observed is low; phytate (0.19%), tannic acid (1.50%) andoxalate (0.80%) and these can be tolerated by the body system. The low level of these constituent will not pose a serious nutritional problem in consumption of shea-butter leaves. The leaf extract was also observed to be a good source of iron (3.80 mg/kg), magnesium (19.16 mg/kg) and potassium (0.61 mg/kg). Three amino acids; valine, phenylalanine and leucine were as well found in the leaf extract

Phytochemical analysis and in vivo anti-malarial activities of aqueous extracts of Tithonia diversifolia and Parquetina nigrescens leaves in mice

This study was carried out to assess the acclaimed anti-malarial potentials of aqueous extracts of leaf of Tithonia diversifolia (TD) and Parquetina nigrecsens (PN) in mice. The phytochemical constituents and in vivo anti-malarial activities of individual and combined of aqueous leaf extracts of Tithonia diversifolia (TD) and Parquetina nigrecsens (PN) were investigated. Fifteen albino mice were infected by intraperitoneal injection of standard inocula (5 × 106) of chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei (NK 65). The animals were randomly divided into 5 groups of 3 mice. Group I served as the control while group II received 5mg/kg body weight per oral of chloroquine diphosphate. Groups III – V were orally treated with 150mg/kg body weight extracts of TD, TD+PN and PN respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of saponins, alkaloids and tannins in the aqueous extracts of TD and PN. There were 100, 90, 86 and 77 percent parasite inhibition in groups treated with Chloroquine, combination of Tithonia diversifolia and Parquetina nigrescens (TD+PN), Parquetina nigrescens (PN) and Tithonia diversifolia (TN) respectively on day 5. The mean survival time (MST) for the control animals was 7 days and chloroquine 25 days, while the TD+PN, PN and TD aqueous extracts recorded 19, 18 and 11 days respectively. The results indicated that the combined aqueous (TD+PN) extracts of Tithonia diversifolia and Parquetina nigrescens produced the best antimalarial activity, which provides a justification for their use in folklore medicine and may be promising alternative anti-malarial drug.Keywords: Tithonia diversifolia; Parquetina nigrescens, Plasmodium berghei, Anti-malarial, Phytochemica

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چکیده هدف پژوهش حاضر ارزشیابی دور ة آموزشی الکترونیکی رشته کارشناسی ارشد مهندسی فنّاوری اطلاعات دانشگاههای تربیت مدرس ،خواجه نصیر الدین طوسی و امیرکبیر بر اساس الگوی رودریک سیمز است. در این تحقیق از روش توصیفی استفاده شده است. نمون ۀ آماری پژوهش 151 نفر از دانشجویان، استادان و آموزشیاران دور ة آموزش الکترونیکی رشتۀ کارشناسی ارشد مهندسی فنّاوری اطلاعات دانشگاههای تربیت مدرس، خواجه نصیرالدین طوسی و امیرکبیر بودند. در این پژوهش پایایی پرسشنامه 93/0 به دست آمد. نتایج نشان داد که دورههای آموزش الکترونیکی در دانشگاههای خواجه نصیر و تربیت مدرس غالباً در حد نسبتاً مطلوب ارزیاب ی شده و در دانشگاه امیرکبیر وضعیت مؤلفهها در مقایسه با نتایج خواجه نصیر و تربیت مدرس مطلوب تر ارزشیابی شده است

Cytomegalovirus antibodies among healthy blood donors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Objectives. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is found worldwide in all geographical locations and socio-economic groups and is the virus most frequently transmitted to a developing child before birth. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for CMV antibodies among healthy blood donors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out among consecutively recruited replacement blood donors attending the blood donor clinic at LUTH. A 5 ml blood sample was collected from each consenting participant and serum-assayed for CMV IgG/IgM using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based kit.Results. A total of 122 healthy donors were recruited; 96% of the donors were IgG anti-CMV positive while 19.5% were IgM anti-CMV positive. Previous history of blood transfusion was not significantly related to CMV positivity.Conclusion. The seroprevalence of CMV appears to be very high in this environment among healthy blood donors. Based on previous studies that showed a decrease in the incidence of CMV disease when blood is screened for CMV (IgM), the incidence of the disease can be decreased in Lagos if blood is screened for CMV

Assessment of the efficacies, potencies and bacteriological qualities of some of the antibiotics sold in Calabar, Nigeria

In this study, an assessment of the efficacies, potencies and qualities of 11 brands of 5 different antibiotics including 3 brands of ampiclox and 2 brands each of ciprofolxacin, gentamicin, rifampicin and tetracylcine sold in Calabar, South-South region of Nigeria was carried out using the agar diffusion technique (sensitivity testing). The efficacies, potencies and qualities of these antibiotics were tested against some clinical isolates which include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella  pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes in vitro. The overall mean zones of inhibition for the test organisms ranged from 33.0 – 34.7 mm, with 33 mm for E. coli, 20.9 mm for K. pneumoniae, 34.7 mm for P. aeruginosa, 31.4 mm for S. aureus and 17.6 mm for S. pyogenes. The result showed that 3 (60%) of the antibiotics (alaclox, ciprofloxacin and rifampicin) tested showed lower potency against the test organisms  compared with the standard controls. Alaclox produced  significantly (P < 0.05) lower zones of inhibition compared to the other brands of ampiclox (superclox and vitaclox) on S. aureus and S. pyogenes. However, significant differences (P = 0.007, P = 0.026, P = 0.050, P = 0.012) were observed between the zones of  inhibition of the test antibiotics and standard controls for the 3 brands of ampiclox tested on all the test organisms except for K. pneumoniae. There were also  significant differences (P = 0.038, P = 0.038, P = 0.049, P = 0.025, P = 0.032) between the zones of inhibition observed for ciprofloxacin and their standard  controls. Both brands of rifampicin (vitals and medifampi) produced significantly (P = 0.020, P = 0.038) lower zones of inhibition on E. coli and S.pyogenes   compared to their standard controls. Our result also showed there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the observed zones of inhibition and standard controls of the brands of gentamicin (richem) and tetracycline. These overall and mean potencies of the test antibiotics showed differences in their efficacies, potencies and qualities. This confirmed that some brands of ampiclox, ciprofloxacin and rifampicin antibiotics sold in Nigeria do not contain the acclaimed quantity of  active ingredients to exert bacteriocidal or bacteriostatic effect on common pathogens.Key words: Antibiotics, assessment, bacteriological quality, efficacy, potency, zones of inhibition

Socio-Economic Importance of Tree Nursery Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria

There is a growing interest to understand the role of tree nursery enterprises in Nigeria and the horn of Africa. Tree nursery enterprises, which are vital economic activities in major cities of Nigeria and particularly in the city of Lagos are not adequately studied and well documented. Therefore, this study seeks to fill a gap in understanding the socioeconomic importance and profitability potential of tree nursery enterprises. Multistage sampling technique with a 3-stage design was adopted in this study using aquantitative data collection techniques through the use of structured questionnaire administered to 120 nursery entrepreneurs. Data were analyzed using descriptive, inferential, and budgetary analysis. The result revealed that tree nursery entrepreneurs are literate, mostly male in their youthful age. Furthermore, the total annual revenue earned by the respondents was \u20a61,712,222.22 with a mean annual net income of \u20a61,458,038.72 while the return per naira invested was \u20a65.71. This shows that tree nursery enterprise is profitable in the study area. However, most entrepreneurs were faced with shortage of land for establishments of tree nursery in the study area. Therefore, appropriate actions in reducing cost of land lease/purchase are recommended to encourage new entrepreneurs and strengthen the sector\u2019s development