The effect of crude ethanolic leaf extract of Guiera senegalensis J. F. gmel (combretaceae) on the haematological parameters of albino rats experimentally infected with Trypanasoma brucei brucei

The effect of Guiera senegalensis leaf extract was investigated on the blood parameters of albino rats infected with Trypanasoma brucei brucei. Thirty (30) albino rats were randomly divided into six groups (A-F), of five rats each. Rats in groups (A-E) were individually infected with 4×106 of Trypanasoma brucei brucei, while those in group F remained uninfected control. The infected rats were later treated for four consecutive days starting on day 4 post infection. Groups A, B and C were treated orally with 100, 300 and 600 mg/kg of the extract of Guiera senegalensis respectively, while group D was treated with Diminazine aceturate at 3.5 mg/kg once. Rats in groups E and F were not treated during the experiment. Rats treated with the extract at 600 mg/kg survived up to day 12 post infection. Haematological parameters (Packed cell volume (PCV), Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), Red blood cell count (RBC) and White blood cell count (WBC) decreased significantly (p˂0.05) across the days in the extract treated groups compared with the Diminazine aceturate treated (group D) and the uninfected control (group F). Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) varied significantly (p˂0.05) in an irregular pattern in the treated groups. Neutrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte decreased significantly (p˂0.05) in the extract treated groups. However, eosinophil count increased significantly (p˂0.05) in the Diminazine aceturate treated group and the uninfected groups. The extract at the highest dosage tested (600 mg/kg) prolonged the survival of the rats, but did not significantly (p˂0.05) improve the haematological parameters investigated. Higher dosages are recommended for further studies.Keywords: Haematology parameters, Guiera senegalensis, Extract, Trypanosoma brucei bruce

Health Effects of Radiation Exposure to Human Sensitive Organs Across Some Selected

The interaction of ionizing radiation with human body, either from external sources (i.e. outside the body) or from internal contamination of the body by radioactive substances, leads to biological effects which may later show up as clinical symptoms. The nature and severity of these symptoms and the time at which they appear depend on the amount of radiation absorbed and the rate at which it is received. This study aimed at assessing the Health Effects of Radiation Exposure to Human Sensitive Organs across Some Selected Mining Sites of Plateau State Nigeria. Finding of this study have revealed that the mean Dorgan values for the lungs, ovaries, bone marrow, testes, kidney, liver and whole body for different mining points of Plateau State are 0.29, 0.26, 0.31, 0.36, 0.28, 0.21 and 0.30 mSv/y respectively. From the findings presented, it can be concluded that the background radiation in Plateau State is not an issue of health concern in regards to sensitive organs and may not course immediate health effect except when accumulated over long period of time which may cause cancer to the indoor members on approximately seventy years of exposure

Transfer Factor of Heavy Metals due to Mining Activities in Plateau State, Nigeria (Health Implications on the Inhabitants)

Accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils is instigated by industrial and other human activities such as mining, smelting, cement-pollution, energy and fuel production, power transmission, traffic activities, intensive agriculture, sludge dumping and melting operations. Plants received heavy metals from soils through ionic exchange, redox reactions, precipitation-dissolution, and so on. Which implies that the solubility of trace elements based on factors like minerals in the soil (carbonates, oxide, hydroxide etc.), soil organic matter (humic acids, fulvic acids, polysaccharides and organic acids), soil pH, redox potential, content, nutrient balance, other trace elements concentration in soil, physical and mechanical characteristics of soil, soil temperature and humidity, and so on. In this study, the soil-edible plant and soil-water Transfer Factor (TF) for various metals showed that the TF values differed slightly between the locations. On soil-edible plant transfer, the mean TF for different heavy metals in soil-edible plants decreased in the following order: As (0.6) mg/kg > Cd (0.1) mg/kg > Cr (0.06) mg/kg > Pb (0.003) mg/kg > Ni (0.001) mg/kg. The total TF for different location decreases in the following order: Barkin Ladi (1.0) mg/kg > Jos South and Jos East (0.7) mg/kg > Bassa and Mangu (0.6) mg/kg. On soil-water transfer, the mean TF for different heavy metals in soil-edible plants decreased in the following order: Cd (0.001) mg/l > As (0.0007) mg/l > Cr (0.0005) mg/l > Pb (0.0001) mg/l and Ni (0.0001) mg/l. The total TF for different location decreases in the following order: Jos South (0.003) mg/kg > Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Jos East and Mangu (0.002) mg/kg. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the water and edible plants in the study area are good for public consumption, even though, regular checking of heavy metals in the study area is recommended