Phytochemical investigation and anti-inflammatory property of ethanol-water extract of the roots of Anthocleista djalonensis A. Chev. (Gentianiaceae)

Anthocleista djalonensis A.Chev. (Gentianiaceae) a plant of West African origin is used for the treatment of inflammatory disorders traditionally. Phytochemical screening of the plant root material gave positive result for tannins, saponins and carbohydrate; but negative for alkaloids and flavonoids. The ethanol-water (1:1) extract of the root material was subjected to anti-inflammatory activity using experimental animal model. From the results obtained, the crude extract showed significant activity (p < 0.05) comparable to the reference drug used. Chromatographic separation of the crude extract furnished a yellow viscous liquid, identified spectroscopically as sweroside. The pure compound was also subjected to anti-inflammatory activity, this showed significant activity (p < 0.05) at 100 mg/kg. The results of the study showed the justification of the use of the plant in the treatment of inflammatory disorders in ethnomedicine.Key words: Anti-inflammatory activity, Anthocleista djalonensis, ethanol-water extract, swerosid

Emerging Pattern in Utilizing Electronic Information Sources by Pharmacy Lecturers in Five Universities in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis.

This is a detailed comparative analysis of electronic information sources (EIS) utilized by pharmacy lecturers in South-South universities in Nigeria. The purpose of this study is to analyze the extent to which EIS are utilized among pharmacy lecturers in South-South Nigeria. The aim is to explore the emerging pattern of utilizing EIS and to identify critical factors influencing effective usage of EIS in order to assist the universities in planning and managing EIS for the benefit of faculty members. Survey research method was adopted in this study. The questionnaire was the instrument used to collect data by simple random sampling of pharmacists in the various universities. All the different categories of pharmacy lecturers were randomly selected for this study. Emerging pattern of EIS utilization indicates that majority of pharmacy lecturers rate EIS very  important and, their level of usage was high and they use EIS daily. They use diverse EIS especially WWW to perform different tasks of teaching and research. Chi square statistics indicates that there is no significant difference in most of the variables tested. However, academic qualification influenced the task performed by the lecturers and task performed influenced the utilization of EIS

Prescription Patterns and Cost Effectiveness of Antiglaucoma Drugs in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

This study sought to determine the prescribing patterns and designed a treatment guideline for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) that is more cost-effective from a third-party payer’s perspective than the current practice based on real-world evidence. A retrospective descriptive study on eighty patients on POAG therapy for at least 3 months was carried out. A Stochastic Monte Carlo simulation model based on the outcome and cost was constructed with the aid of Vanguard studio 5.0. The input data were the prices of drugs and the proportion of the patient’s intraocular pressure outcome per month. Drug prices were entered as a uniform distribution while the outcome values were fixed. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by varying the input data by ±50%. The frequency of monitoring of patients with intraocular pressure was low (26.76%). The commonly prescribed drugs were the beta-blockers and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. The cost per patient per annum was estimated at ($490.90) whereas the proposed guideline that results in the improved outcome will cost$50.19. Therefore, cost savings will be obtained by the proposed guideline for POAG per patient per annum. Key words: Cost-effectiveness, antiglaucoma, treatment guidelin

Current Trend in Internet Access and Utilization Using Mobile Devices Among Pharmacy Lecturers in South-South Universities in Nigeria

The aim of this study is to assess the current trend in accessing the Internet using mobile devices and the utilization pattern among pharmacy lecturers in South-South universities in Nigeria. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Simple random sampling was adopted to select a sample of 161 lecturers from a total population of 201 and the questionnaire was administered to them. A response rate of 103 (63.3%) was achieved and analyzed using percentage and Chi square (X2) statistics. Findings revealed that 3G modem and laptop were mobile devices mostly used by pharmacy lecturers to access Internet. 3G modem usage didn’t significantly influenced Internet utilization but awareness. The lecturers accessed the Internet mostly at home on a daily basis and there is no significant difference in mobile devices owned by the lecturers. Most lecturers used the Internet to access electronic journals and databases for research related activities using Google. The current trend in accessing Internet among pharmacy lecturers in South-South universities in Nigeria is through the use of 3G modem together with laptop. Keywords: Pharmacy lecturers, Internet access, 3G modem, Mobile devices, Internet utilization, Nigeria

Reaction of phthalimido alkyl acids with isopropylamine: synthesis, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties

Phthalimido alkyl acids 3-phthalimidopropionic acid (2a) and 4-phthalimidobutyric acid (2b) were treated with isopropylamine at room temperature using different solvents (dimethylformamide, dichloromethane and methanol) as the reaction medium and afforded 3-benzamido-propionic acid –2-(2- methylethyl)-carboxamide (3), 2-benzamido-2-methylethane-2-(2-methylethyl)-carboxamide (4), and 4- benzamido-butyric acid –2-(2-methylethyl)- carboxamide (5). Compound 4 was a dimmer that was least expected. Compounds 3, 4 and 5 were evaluated for antinociceptive property using acetic acid-induced writhing test. 4 exhibited the highest analgesic effect at 80 mg/kg it caused 88 % inhibition and was more pronounced than the reference drugs (indomethacin, acetylsalicylic acid and paracetamol), 3 and 5. The anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds was also screened using carrageenan- induced rat paw oedema assay and 4 showed higher activity than others except the reference drug. The effects were dose-dependent.Key words: Phthalimido alkyl acids, mice, antinociception, mouse writhing test, isopropylamine, antiinflammatory activity

Synthesis, Anti-inflammatory and Anti-nociceptive Evaluation of Palmitoyl Benzamides

Purpose: To synthesize and characterize palmitoyl amino benzamides, and to evaluate them for possible anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities.Methods: Palmitoyl amino benzamides were synthesized by the opening of isatoic anhydride ring with respective amino acids (glycine, β-alanine and γ-aminobutyric acid) and the condensation of the product with palmitoyl chloride. The final products were purified on column chromatography, eluting with dichloromethane/ethyl acetate. All the compounds were unequivocally characterized using the combination of infra red (IR), 1H and 13C (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) and elemental analysis. In vivo anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of the synthesized compounds at 20, 50 and 100mg/kg doses were carried out using carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rat and acetic acid-induced writhing in mice, respectively. Aspirin was used at a dose of 100mg/kg as the reference drug.Results: The compounds were obtained in high yield (70 – 90 %) and purity. The anti-inflammatory results showed a poor activity for the compounds except o-palmitoylamino N-carboxyethyl benzamide which produced significant inhibition (p < 0.05) at a dose of 50 mg/kg (43.8 % oedema inhibition) while the reference drug, aspirin, showed 51.3 % inhibition. The anti-nociceptive study, however, showed good inhibition (p < 0.05) of acetic acid-induced writhing, with o-palmitoylamino Ncarboxymethylbenzamide producing 86.2 % inhibition at 100 mg/kg dose compared with the reference drug (aspirin) which gave 74.3 % inhibition at 100 mg/kg.Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the synthesized compounds, though displaying poor anti-inflammatory activity, do possess promising anti-nociceptive activity.Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Benzamide, Palmitoyl, Glycine, β-Alanine, γ-Aminobutyric acid, Aspiri

In vitro antibacterial activity of the ethanolic extract of Chrysophyllum albidum cotyledon and its formulation into a topical cream for the treatment of dermatological infections

Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and antibacterial activities of the ethanolic extract of Chrysophyllum albidum cotyledon and its cream on dermatological infection causing agents was investigated using agar diffusion method with gentamicin as the positive control. Zones of inhibition diameters were: 11.8 ± 0.2 mm (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), 11.3 ± 0.5 mm (Staphylococcus aureus) and 11.3±0.5mm (Escherichia coli). The cream formulation of the extract displayed related MIC ≥ 11.7 ± 0.3 mm at higher concentrations. Gentamicin (80μg/ml) displayed 11.5 ± 0.5 mm for P. aeruginosa and at 40 μg/ml a higher value 16.3 ± 0.5 mm for S. aureus and E. coli 26.3 ± 3.3 mm. Formulated cream of extract had antibacterial activity in the at 150 - 250 mg/ml range with zone of inhibition diameter values for E. coli (11.7 ± 0.9 mm), S. aureus (11.8 ± 0.3 mm) and P. aeruginosa (17.5 ± 0.5 mm). Gentamicin cream manifested antibacterial activity at concentrations ≥ 100μg/ml. The extract possessed bactericidal effects comparable with gentamicin. Formulation of extract into cream decreased antibacterial activity, suggestive of the need to increase its concentration in the cream for treatment and management of dermatological conditions.Keywords: Chrysophyllum abidum, anti-bacterial activities, gentamicin, topical cream, minimum inhibitory concentration, zone of inhibitio

Smooth muscle relaxant activity of 3- carbomethoxylpyridine from Pyrenacantha staudtii leaf on isolated rat uterus

Pyrenacantha staudtii leaf (Icacinaceae) is a medicinal herb used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of threatened abortion and gastrointestinal disorders. Previous chemical work in our laboratory reported the isolation and characterization of 3- carbomethoxylpyridine from the methanolic extract of this plant. The inhibitory effect of the crude extract on isolated rat uterus was also established. The objective of this study was to investigate the inhibitory activity of the isolated compound, 3- carbomethoxylpyridine,on rat isolated uterine preparation. This was achieved by subjecting the compound to uterine preparation in an organ bath containing a physiological salt solution of De Jalon. The contractions were recorded with an FT03 transducer attached to an Ugo Basil recorder. The study has shown for the first time that 3-carbomethoxylpyridine has a relaxant effect on the smooth muscle of the uterus promotingrelaxation of the spontaneous and oxytocin-induced contractions

The effects of potassium permanganate on the geotechnical properties of soils

In Nigeria, potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is used as a chemical oxidant in the removal of hydrocarbons from polluted soils and groundwater, but there is no information on the effects of KMnO4 on the geotechnical properties of the soil. In this study, KMnO4 was added separately to lateritic soil and kaolin at concentrations of 0 %, 2 %, 5% and 10 % by weight of dry soil. Each of the mixes was then subjected to grain size analysis, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, compaction, and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests. The results showed that an increase in KMnO4 from 0 % to 10 % generally decreased the values of maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC) and both unsoaked and soaked CBR for both soils. In conclusion, the study shows that although KMnO4 is excellent for the remediation of contaminated sites, it reduces the geotechnical properties of soil and therefore should not be used alone (without the use of other additives) for soil stabilisation

Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and practice of voluntary non-remunerated blood donation among residents of Ekpoma, a peri-urban community in Edo State

Background: The importance of use of blood and blood products in medical practice cannot be over emphasized. Voluntary non remunerated blood donation forms the basis for ensuring regular availability of safe blood during blood donationand transfusion. However, volunteer blood donors account for less than one-half of blood supply in developing countries.Methodology: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of voluntary blood donation by residents of a peri-urban community. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out using a pre-tested semi-structured self-administered questionnaire among 422 respondents using the multistage sampling technique. The target population were residents of Ekpoma comprising the general public – workers, students of senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Variables were entered and analyzed using SPSS software package. The association between participants level of education and other socio-demographic factors was tested using chi square were appropriate.Results: The study involved 422 participants, majority of which were males (58.1%). A large proportion of them were between ages 16 and 26. The overall knowledge on blood donation was good, attitude towards voluntary donation was fair conversely practice was poor as 91.5% of respondents had never donated blood. A significant association was observed between sex and blood donation as only 2% of females have been donors. The commonest reason for not donating blood was fear to damage of health as reported in 40.7% of the participants.Conclusion: This study elicits the importance of adopting effective measures in our communities to motivate voluntary blood donation as majority of the participant express willingness in donating blood in the future. Health awareness campaign and motivational programmes should be organized regularly to arouse the interest of the general public in voluntary blood donation exercises.Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, practice, non-remunerated blood donation, Ekpom