ABSTRACT The use of medicinal plants has been found to be effective in the treatment of diseases such as cancer. Aframomum longiscapum seed has been used in the treatment of cancer in ethno medicine but has not been subjected to appropriate scientific evaluation. This study was therefore designed to evaluate the protective effect of Aqueous Extract of Aframomum longiscapum (AEAL) seed against sodium arseniteand ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity and clastogenicity in male Wistar rats. Phytochemic...
ABSTRACT Mitochondria are organelles present in the eukaryotic cell that produce about 90% of the energy required by the cell through oxidative phosphorylation. They also play vital roles in other metabolic processes in the cell. They have unique features that make them sensitive to a number of xenobiotics. Thus, they serve as primary or secondary targets for these xenobiotics. Medicinal plants contain a range of phytochemicals which also have the potential to interfere with mitochondrial fun...
ABSTRACT Background: Dengue and malaria are two important mosquito-borne diseases. Together, both diseases are indistinguishable due to similarities in clinical and laboratory characteristics. These similarities have contributed immensely to the over-diagnosis of malaria and the under-recognition of dengue in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. No baseline study has yet been conducted in Ghana to estimate the burden of dengue. This study therefore set out to estimate the prevalence of dengu...
ABSTRACT Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Thyroid Dysfunction (TD) are the two most common endocrinopathies seen in general population. Type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) is commonly associated with altered thyroid function. The aim of the research is to evaluate TD in patients with T2DM attending Endocrinology Clinic of UsmanuDanfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. Blood samples were collected from 80 Type 2 diabetic patients and 80 non-diabetics (control) and analyze for fasting blood s...
ABSTRACT Clinical manifestations of Plasmodium falciparum infections are caused by invasion of erythrocytes by malaria parasites, a process mediated by multiple receptor-ligand interactions. Antibodies against some parasite ligands significantly inhibit parasite growth in vitro, demonstrating that these interactions may be good targets for the development of an effective blood stage vaccine. This study was aimed at investigating the erythrocyte receptors used by P. falciparum isolates in Ghan...
Abstract Background As malaria transmission continues to decline, a better understanding of how transmission intensity and patterns influence clinical presentation of disease and the acquisition of immunity to malaria is important for our understanding of the pathophysiology of malaria and the changes in immune responses. Erythrocyte invasion is a crucial step in the life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum. However, the targets of naturally acquired invasion inhibitory antibodies remain unclear. ...
ABSTRACT Kombucha tea is a slightly sweet, slightly acidic refreshing beverage consumed worldwide. Kombucha is a symbiosis of the Genera Acetobacter and Gluconobacter, with Acetobacter xylinum as a characteristic species, and various yeasts such as genera of Brettanomyces, Zygosaccharomyces, Saccharomyces and Pichia depending on the source. The tea fungus broth is composed of two portions, a floating cellulosic pellicle layer and a sour liquid broth. Black and green tea are known to be t...
ABSTRACT Lamivudine (L(-)2 1 ,31 –dideoxy–3-thiacytidine) is an antiretroviral drug which exhibits tissue toxicity leading to peripheral neuropathy and parkinsonism. The exact mechanism of cytotoxicity and effects on target tissues are not well understood. This study was designed to elucidate the effects of lamivudine on biochemical indices in the liver, kidney and brain of rats. Female Wistar rats (180-200g) were randomly assigned into 5 groups of 6 rats each treated orally for 45 days ...
ABSTRACT The nutritional and chemical constituents of different extracts of Neem leaf (Azdirachta indica) and their effect on the haematology and histopathology of Wistar Albino Rats were investigated. The samples analyzed includes processed and unprocessed leaves extract of Neem plant using cold water, hot water, 40% ethanol, 30% methanol,...
Alpha-amylases are starch degrading enzymes and their activities have been found to be the major change that occurs in the ripening of bananas and plantains. This study was designed to basically develop a simple spectrophotometric method to monitor some of the biochemical processes involved in the ripening of Giant horned plantain (Apantu), French horned plantain (Apem) and local banana (Abibifo mpua).The pericarp from five ripening stages was collected and alpha amylases were extracted with ...