Cissus rotundifolia soup meal - it’s physiological effect on the postprandial plasma blood glucose and insulin levels of healthy non diabetic subjects

The effect of Cissus soup meal, on postprandial plasma glucose and insulin levels of normal healthy individuals was investigated. The control meal was a traditional Nigerian soup meal containing meat, fish and vegetables as it is prepared in the South Eastern Nigeria. The test meal was the control meal with added Cissus flour. Chemical analysis showed that Cissus flour contains 28.3g/100g of soluble non-starch polysaccharide (Onyechi, 1995). 35g of Cissus flour was added to the control meal, to provide 10g fibre and served with rice to give a total carbohydrate content of 50 g. The meals were fed to healthy subjects after an overnight fast. The plasma glucose and insulin levels were measured at base line and at 30 minutes intervals for 150 minutes. The post-prandial rise in blood glucose levels were expressed as mean incremental blood glucose calculated relative to the fasting values. The difference between the effect of control soup meal and the Cissus soup meal on the postprandial blood glucose and insulin were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance, (ANOVA). The result showed a significant difference (

Examination Malpractice and Control in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State, Nigeria: Implications for the Counsellor

This study set out to investigate examination malpractice and control among secondary school students in Anambra state, Nigeria. One thousand, five hundred (1,500) respondents were drawn from the population of staff and students using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. A 36 item structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Data were analysed using mean and ‘t’ test statistics. The result shows that both teachers and students have knowledge of what examination malpractice is all about and possible ways of curbing it. Counsellors should internalize the results of this study and use them meaningfully for counselling on issues related to examination malpractice Key words: Examination, Malpractice, Control, Secondary Schoo

Nutrient composition of freeze-dried and oven-dried soursop (annona muricata) pulp powders and sensory evaluation of their drinks compared to fresh one

Background: Soursop is underutilized and highly perishable, tropical fruit rich in several nutrients. Objective: This study determined the nutrient composition of freeze-dried and oven-dried soursop (Annona muricata) pulp powders and sensory evaluation of drinks made from them compared with the fresh one. Materials and Methods: Mature soursop fruits were purchased at a local market in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.The fruits were allowed to ripen for 5 days at room temperature (37°C). The ripe fruits were washed, peeled, seeds handpicked and the pulp dried. Freeze-drying was done at -40°C for 72 hours, oven-drying at 70° C for 48 hours. Nutrient content was determined using standard methods. Each of the freeze-dried and oven-dried soursop powders (100g) was liquefied with 500mls of water to formulate unsweetened drinks. A hundred grammes each of the dried powders were liquefied with 500mls of water and flavoured with four tablespoons (60g) of honey to formulate sweetened drinks. Fresh soursop pulp (200g) was liquefied with 400mls of water and flavoured with four tablespoons (60g) of honey to formulate sweetened fresh drink. Sensory evaluation of all the drinks was conducted using a 9-point hedonic scale. Data obtained from the study were analyzed using the Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS) for Windows version 21. Results were presented as means and standard deviations. The researcher used Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's new multiple range tests to separate and compare means at p <0.05. Results: The freeze-dried powder had higher moisture (12.86±0.01%), fat (6.66±0.01%) and carbohydrate (43.70±0.01%) contents while the oven-dried sample had higher protein (20.37±0.01%), ash (12.26±0.01%) and crude fibre (16.36±0.01%) contents. Vitamin C content was 2.76mg/100g (Freeze-dried soursop, FrDS) and 1.69mg/100g (Oven-dried soursop, ODS), vitamin B was 0.05mg/100g (FrDS) and 0.04mg/100g (ODS) and 1vitamin B was 0.09mg/100g (FrDS) and 0.05mg/100g (ODS). Ca was 1.18mg/100g and 1.46mg/100g; Fe was 22 4.26mg/100g and 33.35mg/100g; Mg was 42.26mg/100g and 55.58mg/100g; Na was 20.15mg/100g and 25.58mg/100g; K was 23.35mg/100g and 36.67mg/100g; Zn was 0.87mg/100g and 1.56mg/100g while P was 29.36mg/100g and 66.57mg/100g for the FrDS and ODS soursop powders respectively. The drink from fresh soursop (FSD) had the best score for overall acceptability (7.75±0.85) at p < 0.05 compared to the other drinks. Conclusion: Dried soursop pulp, especially oven-dried, can be a good source of protein, fibre and minerals including K, Fe, P, Mg and Na while the freeze-dried soursop is a better source of carbohydrate, fat and vitamins than the oven-dried. Dried soursop pulp has potential in the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies as well as PEM

A New Polysaccharide, Detarium microcarpium From Traditional Nigerian Plant Food: Its Physiological Effects On Rats

Detarium microcarpium is a legumnous plant food used traditionally among the Ibos in the SouthEastern part of Nigeria as a thickening agent in vegetable soups. Detarium is largey uncharacterised and under exploited. There is a dearth of information in the lterature on this plant ood. The aim of the study is to process, analyze and characterise detarum flour; screen detariumusing rats to investigate it\'s physiological effect on the general metaboism of rats, compare detarium to guar gum (GG) as a positive control, to determine the effects o the two foods on the plasma cholesterol level o rats. The result of the analysis showed that powdered detarium has a mean particle size of 464&#956;m. The SNSP content per 100 g food sample was 59.8 g The viscosity o1% aqueous dispersion of the powdered detarium food sample obtained using the U tube capillaryviscometer was 4000 – 24000 cp. The main SNSP fracton of detarium was dentedto be a high molecular weight xyloglucan. In the rat study, the experimental diet contained detarium or guar gum, as positive control, at a level providing 80g soluble NSP/kg det. Food intake, faecal output, weight gain, digestibility, food efficiency ratio and plasma cholesterol (after overnight fasting) were measured. The resut showed tha the cholesterol levels of rats fed detarium and guar gum diets were significantly lower than the control (P < 0.05) using the analysis of variance. Detarium and guar gum covariates such as weight gain, food intake and faecal output. The results obtained indicate that detarium may possess properties as guar gum which maybe useful in the management of diabetes and disorders of lipid metabolism in humans. Keywords: Detarium, Guar Gum, Soluble Non starch polysaccharides, General rat metabolismAnimal Research International Vol. 4 (1) 2007 pp. 601-60

Afzelia africana, A Novel Non Starch Polysaccharide, Raised Fasting Plasma Cholesterol And Triglyceride Levels Of Rat

The effects o vegetable flour prepared from indigenous plant Afzelia africana, a legume, on the fasting plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels of rats were investigated. Chemical analysis indicated that Afzelia flour contained significant amount of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP). The flour of Afzelia was incorporated into semi-synthetic diet to provide 10g of dietary fibre which is 300g/kg Afzela four. This repacedsome of the casein, oi andstarch in the control det .The test and control diets were ed to young Sprague-Dawley rats for 14 days ad libitum. Food intake, weight gain, crude digestibility, faeca fat excretion, fasting plasma cholesterol and triglyceride were evaluated. The result showed a statistcally significant diference (p > 005) between the control diet and the test diet in food intake, weight gain and energy digestibility. Afzelia fed rats had a significant higher fasting plasma choesterol and triglyceride levels than rats fed the control diet. Keywords: Afzelia africana, Plasma cholesterol, Triglyceride levels, ratAnimal Research International Vol. 4 (1) 2007 pp. 621-62

Effects of Rational-Emotive Hospice Care Therapy on Problematic Assumptions, Death Anxiety, and Psychological Distress in a Sample of Cancer Patients and Their Family Caregivers in Nigeria

This study was a preliminary investigation that aimed to examine the effects of rational emotive hospice care therapy (REHCT) on problematic assumptions, death anxiety, and psychological distress in a sample of cancer patients and their family caregivers in Nigeria. The study adopted a pre-posttest randomized control group design. Participants were community-dwelling cancer patients (n = 32) and their family caregivers (n = 52). The treatment process consisted of 10 weeks of full intervention and 4 weeks of follow-up meetings that marked the end of intervention. The study used repeated-measures analysis of variance for data analysis. The findings revealed significant effects of a REHCT intervention program on problematic assumptions, death anxiety, and psychological distress reduction among the cancer patients and their family caregivers at the end of the intervention. The improvements were also maintained at follow-up meetings in the treatment group compared with the control group who received the usual care and conventional counseling. The researchers have been able to show that REHCT intervention is more effective than a control therapy for cancer patients’ care, education, and counseling in the Nigerian context