Hypoglycemic effects of the aqueous extract of African Mistletoe, Tapinanthus sesselifolius (P. Beauv) van Tiegh (Loranthaceae)

The hypoglycemic effect of the aqueous extract of African mistletoe, Tapinanthus sesselifolius, was investigated in-vivo and in-vitro. Studies were carried out on normoglycemic and alloxan-induced hyperglycemic rabbits, and glucose uptake studies were done using the isolated intestine of normal rabbits. The safety studies (acute toxicity test) were carried out in mice. The results revealed that the aqueous extract of Tapinanthus sesselifolius exhibited transient reduction of blood glucose in normoglycemic rabbits and significantly lowered blood glucose level in hyperglycemic rabbits. The extract significantly decreased the level of glucose in serosal fluid dose dependently. The intraperitoneal (i.p.) LD50 of Tapinanthus sesselifolius was found to be 2000 – 2650 mg/kg within 95% confidence limits. The preliminary phytochemical screening showed positive test for biologically active substances such as saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids and glycosides. The data showed that Tapinanthus sesselifolius contain biologically active substances that may be useful in treatment of diabetes and thus gave a scientific basis for its use in herbal traditional medicine as an antidiabetic agent.Keywords: Phytomedicine, alloxan-induced hyperglycemia, glucose uptak

Evaluation of efficacious activities of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri against acetaminophen-induced hepatitis in rats

The efficacy of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri against acetaminophen-induced hepatitis in rats was evaluated. The hepatic injury was induced with 200 mg/kg, p.o. of acetaminophen, which led to rise in serum levels of the biochemical parameters observed. These are the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) which were elevated by 22% compared to respective negative control. Treatment with the plant extract (500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg, p.o.) lowered the biochemical parameters of the respective serum AST 31 to 38%, ALT 20 to 31%, Bilirubin -2 to 4%, protein 5 to 15%, cholesterol 0.2 to 0.5%, and albumin 5 to 12%. The histopathological results indicated that, the effect of the extracts on the condition of the liver as compared to the normal control ranges from mild to moderate. The biochemical variations were as a result of the different treatment involved in the study. The result therefore, shows lowering of the elevated parameters in the serum and possible reversal of hepatic cell damage with aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri. The trend of the study shows that, the longer the period of treatment at lower doses, the better the efficacy of the plant extract.Keywords: Phyllanthus niruri, hepatitis, acetaminophen, biochemical, histopathology, rat

An assessment of the quality of various brands of paracetamol tablets sold in the Nigerian capital city

To assess the seriousness of the global counterfeiting problem, we quantified the amount of active ingredient present in paracetamol tablets by various official and non-official methods. Eight brands of Paracetamol 500mg tablets were assessed using the quality control parameters of weight uniformity, active ingredient content, thin layer chromatography profile, disintegration tests and visual inspection. The results were subjected to statistical analysis using GraphPad PRISM. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine differences between the different brands of paracetamol with Dunnett Multiple Comparisons post test analysis. In all cases, P value o