In vivo and in vitro antioxidant fffects of Icacina trichantha tuber extract

The phytochemical and antioxidant properties of the methanol extract of Icacina trichantha tuber were evaluated using standard assays. The antioxidant potential was studied with both in vitro and in vivo models. The in vitro procedures involved the use of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) spectrophotometrically. The in vivo models quantified the gradation in the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) activities in rats that were fed on graded doses of the extract incorporated in feed for 12 weeks. DPPH assay revealed that the crude extract possessed a high antioxidant capacity of 67.3% compared to 80.3% with ascorbic acid at 400 μg/ml. The findings from the FRAP test buttressed the fact that the extract displayed a remarkably high and dose-dependent antioxidant effect with a maximal value of 6.7 μM at 800 μg/ml. The extract also exhibited potent in vivo antioxidant effects when the plasma MDA levels became depressed while the serum SOD, CAT and GSH values of test rats that received the medium and high dose (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg feed) of the extract were significantly (p<0.05) elevated from days 60-90 compared to values in the control and low dose (0.25 g/kg feed) of the extract. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, carbohydrates, reducing sugars, sterols and terpenes in the crude methanol extract of I. trichantha tuber. The results of the study demonstrated that I. trichantha tuber extract possessed high in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities. The extract could be a potential source for the isolation of novel plant-derived antioxidant agents.Key words: Antioxidant, Icacina trichantha, Free radicals, Bioassay

Disposition kinetics of ceftriaxone and determination of its therapeutic dose in dogs

Purpose: To evaluate the disposition kinetics of ceftriaxone (CFZ) in dogs with a view to determining its therapeutic dose and dosing frequency.Methods: Twelve (12) Basenji dogs (n = 4), divided into 3 groups (A, B and C), were used for the study. Ceftriaxone was administered intramuscularly at doses of 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg once to groups A, B and C respectively. Plasma CFZ concentration was determined by agar well diffusion assay at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 24 h post-treatment, and the pharmacokinetic parameters were determined.Results: Intramuscular injection of CFZ to dogs resulted in rapid absorption, distribution and elimination (p < 0.05). The elimination half-life was short and did not change significantly with increase in dose. Serum concentration of CFZ changed significantly (p < 0.05) with increase in dose of CFZ. The maximum serum concentration (Cmax, 15.00 ± 1.18, 141.37 ± 15.87 and 259 ± 5.21 μg/mL) for groups A, B and C respectively were significantly (p < 0.05) different. The steady state CFZ concentrations; 0.94, 8.81 and 16.19 μg/mL for groups A, B and C, respectively, were significantly (p < 0.05) different. However, there was no significant difference in the time to reach steady state concentrations (Tmax, 00±0.021, 4.00±0.10 and 4.30±0.12 for groups A, B and C respectively). The therapeutic dose of CFZ was therefore determined to be 25 – 50 mg/kg every 4 h.Conclusion: Ceftriaxone undergoes rapid elimination in dogs with a short elimination half-life, thus making it an inconvenient prescription for out-patients in veterinary clinics. Keywords: Ceftriaxone, Pharmacokinetic profile, Dogs, Therapeutic dose, Veterinary clini

Clinico-toxicological effects of ceftriaxone after intramuscular administration of graded doses in Basenji dogs

Purpose: The recent ceftriaxone-induced anaemia and mortalities at the dose of 50 mg/kg in Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Nigeria prompted this study which sought to assess the clinicotoxicological effects of ceftriaxone (CFZ) after intramuscular administration of graded doses in Basenji dogs.Methods: The effects of CFZ on the haematological indices, physiological parameters, liver and kidney functions were assessed in 4 group of dogs (n = 4) designated A – D. They were given CFZ intramuscularly for 21 days at doses of 12, 25 and 50 mg/kg for groups A, B, C, respectively, while thecontrol (group D) received the diluent (lignocaine 0.2 mL)Results: The mean pulse and heart rate of dogs in group C were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of group A, B and D. Significant (p < 0.05) decrease in red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and packed cell volume (PCV) was observed in group C on days 7 and 14, while on day 21, these parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in group D than in the treated groups. On day 14 of CFZ administration, the alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities of dogs in group C was significantly (p < 0.05) elevated than the control group.Conclusion: These findings suggest that CFZ, at the doses of 12.5 - 25 mg/kg, appears safe in dogs as most of the adverse effects observed are reversed following the withdrawal of the drug on day 28. However, CFZ at 50 mg/kg causes anaemia, tachycardia and bilateral paralysis of the hind limbs which did not revert to normal after one week; hence, it is not recommended for use in dogs at this dose

A Rapid Assessment of the Availability and Use of Obstetric Care in Nigerian Healthcare Facilities

Background: As part of efforts to reduce maternal deaths in Nigeria, pregnant women are being encouraged to give birth in healthcare facilities. However, little is known about whether or not available healthcare facilities can cope with an increasing demand for obstetric care. We thus carried out this survey as a rapid and tactical assessment of facility quality. We visited 121 healthcare facilities, and used the opportunity to interview over 700 women seeking care at these facilities. Findings Most of the primary healthcare facilities we visited were unable to provide all basic Emergency Obstetric Care (bEmOC) services. In general, they lack clinical staff needed to dispense maternal and neonatal care services, ambulances and uninterrupted electricity supply whenever there were obstetric emergencies. Secondary healthcare facilities fared better, but, like their primary counterparts, lack neonatal care infrastructure. Among patients, most lived within 30 minutes of the visited facilities and still reported some difficulty getting there. Of those who had had two or more childbirths, the conditional probability of a delivery occurring in a healthcare facility was 0.91 if the previous delivery occurred in a healthcare facility, and 0.24 if it occurred at home. The crude risk of an adverse neonatal outcome did not significantly vary by delivery site or birth attendant, and the occurrence of such an outcome during an in-facility delivery may influence the mother to have her next delivery outside. Such an outcome during a home delivery may not prompt a subsequent in-facility delivery. Conclusions: In conclusion, reducing maternal deaths in Nigeria will require attention to both increasing the number of facilities with high-quality EmOC capability and also assuring Nigerian women have access to these facilities regardless of where they live

Verbal autopsy completion rate and factors associated with undetermined cause of death in a rural resource-poor setting of Tanzania

UNLABELLED\ud \ud ABSTRACT:\ud \ud BACKGROUND\ud \ud Verbal autopsy (VA) is a widely used tool to assign probable cause of death in areas with inadequate vital registration systems. Its uses in priority setting and health planning are well documented in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Asia. However, there is a lack of data related to VA processing and completion rates in assigning causes of death in a community. There is also a lack of data on factors associated with undetermined causes of death documented in SSA. There is a need for such information for understanding the gaps in VA processing and better estimating disease burden.\ud \ud OBJECTIVE\ud \ud The study's intent was to determine the completion rate of VA and factors associated with assigning undetermined causes of death in rural Tanzania.\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud A database of deaths reported from the Ifakara Health and Demographic Surveillance System from 2002 to 2007 was used. Completion rates were determined at the following stages of processing: 1) death identified; 2) VA interviews conducted; 3) VA forms submitted to physicians; 4) coding and assigning of cause of death. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with deaths coded as "undetermined."\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud The completion rate of VA after identification of death and the VA interview ranged from 83% in 2002 and 89% in 2007. Ninety-four percent of deaths submitted to physicians were assigned a specific cause, with 31% of the causes coded as undetermined. Neonates and child deaths that occurred outside health facilities were associated with a high rate of undetermined classification (33%, odds ratio [OR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] (1.05, 1.67), p = 0.016). Respondents reporting high education levels were less likely to be associated with deaths that were classified as undetermined (24%, OR = 0.76, 95% CI (0.60, -0.96), p = 0.023). Being a child of the deceased compared to a partner (husband or wife) was more likely to be associated with undetermined cause of death classification (OR = 1.35, 95% CI (1.04, 1.75), p = 0.023).\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud Every year, there is a high completion rate of VA in the initial stages of processing; however, a number of VAs are lost during the processing. Most of the losses occur at the final step, physicians' determination of cause of death. The type of respondent and place of death had a significant effect on final determination of the plausible cause of death. The finding provides some insight into the factors affecting full coverage of verbal autopsy diagnosis and the limitations of causes of death based on VA in SSA. Although physician review is the most commonly used method in ascertaining probable cause of death, we suggest further work needs to be done to address the challenges faced by physicians in interpreting VA forms. There is need for an alternative to or improvement of the methods of physician review

The use of plants in the traditional management of diabetes in Nigeria: Pharmacological and toxicological considerations

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The prevalence of diabetes is on a steady increase worldwide and it is now identified as one of the main threats to human health in the 21st century. In Nigeria, the use of herbal medicine alone or alongside prescription drugs for its management is quite common. We hereby carry out a review of medicinal plants traditionally used for diabetes management in Nigeria. Based on the available evidence on the species׳ pharmacology and safety, we highlight ways in which their therapeutic potential can be properly harnessed for possible integration into the country׳s healthcare system. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical information was obtained from a literature search of electronic databases such as Google Scholar, Pubmed and Scopus up to 2013 for publications on medicinal plants used in diabetes management, in which the place of use and/or sample collection was identified as Nigeria. ‘Diabetes’ and ‘Nigeria’ were used as keywords for the primary searches; and then ‘Plant name – accepted or synonyms’, ‘Constituents’, ‘Drug interaction’ and/or ‘Toxicity’ for the secondary searches. Results: The hypoglycemic effect of over a hundred out of the 115 plants reviewed in this paper is backed by preclinical experimental evidence, either in vivo or in vitro. One-third of the plants have been studied for their mechanism of action, while isolation of the bioactive constituent(s) has been accomplished for twenty three plants. Some plants showed specific organ toxicity, mostly nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic, with direct effects on the levels of some liver function enzymes. Twenty eight plants have been identified as in vitro modulators of P-glycoprotein and/or one or more of the cytochrome P450 enzymes, while eleven plants altered the levels of phase 2 metabolic enzymes, chiefly glutathione, with the potential to alter the pharmacokinetics of co-administered drugs. Conclusion: This review, therefore, provides a useful resource to enable a thorough assessment of the profile of plants used in diabetes management so as to ensure a more rational use. By anticipating potential toxicities or possible herb–drug interactions, significant risks which would otherwise represent a burden on the country׳s healthcare system can be avoided