Growth Performance of Albino Rats Orally Administered with Honey from Apis mellifera adansonii and Refined Sugar at Varying Levels

The purpose of this research was to find out the growth performance of albino rats orally administered with honey from Apis mellifera adansonii and refined granulated sugar at varying quantities. Twenty-five (25) healthy albino rats used in the study were grouped into five treatments based on the dose of natural honey and granulated sugar as follow: T1 (1.02g of honey kg BW), T2 (1.40g of honey kg BW), T3 (1.02g of granulated sugar kg BW), and T4 (1.40g of granulated sugar kg BW). However, rats in T5 were not administered honey and refined granulated sugar hence served as the control. The data on fructose and micronutrients concentrations of natural honey and refined sugar as well as data on the weight gain and feed intake of the albino rats were determined after 28 days. According to the findings of this study, the fructose concentration was higher in natural honey (195.78mg/ml) while refined sugar (30.225mg/ml) recorded the least value. Also, copper (0.15ppm) and manganese (0.05ppm) had the highest mean concentration in natural honey, while iron (0.04ppm) and zinc (0.07ppm) were higher in refined sugar. The study's findings revealed that the highest feed intake by albino rat was recorded in T1 (148.16g) while T5 (140.27g) had the least. There were no significant differences in albino rat feed intake among the five treatments (p>0.05). The highest weight gain was recorded by the albino rat in T1 (69.84g) while T5 (32.28g) had the least. There were no significant differences in the weight gain of the albino rats among the five treatments. This study's findings led to the conclusion that the doses of natural honey used did not significantly increase the weight gain of albino rats.

Assessment of patients knowledge and attitude towards diabetes and its relationship with glycemic control: a cross-sectional study in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

BACKGROUND: It is postulated that increased knowledge of patients about diabetes as well as a positive attitude will lead to improved glycaemic control and better outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of diabetic patients in a tertiary hospital in Enugu and the relationship with their glycaemic control.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done using a structured questionnaire to obtain socio-demographic data and assess knowledge and attitude to diabetes on consecutive patients attending the outpatient clinic in a tertiary hospital. Responses were scored with equal weighting. The fasting blood glucose of the patients was measured and recorded.RESULT: There were 51(60.7%) females and 33 (39.3%) males, with majority (63.1%) in the age range 41 -64 years and 32(38.1%) had only primary education. The mean knowledge score was 6.19 ± 2.08 and 33(39.3%) demonstrated good knowledge. Knowledge did not differ between males and females (p=0.34), but was highest in those with tertiary education (p = 0.02). Positive attitude to the condition was recorded in 63(75%) subjects. There was poor correlation between knowledge and attitude (r = -0.161, p= 0.14). Those with good knowledge scores were 2 times more likely to have good glycaemic control compared with those with poor knowledge; OR = 2.015, p = 0.02. Therewas no significant difference between the glycemic control of those with good attitude and those with poor attitude (p= 0.08).CONCLUSION: Although overall knowledge was poor, patients had a good attitude to their illness. Knowledge, but not attitude was significantly positively associated with glycemic control

Clinical and Laboratory Profile of ARV Naive HIV Infected Children in the Era of Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy in Enugu, South-East Nigeria.

Background: HIV/AIDS is one of the most dynamic epidemic infectious diseases. An estimated 1000 children are newly infected with HIV every day, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. They often present with various clinical and laboratory manifestations that complicates their management. Objectives: To determine the baseline clinical and laboratory features of HIV-infected children presenting at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku/Ozalla. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data were collected from HIV infected children seen at the Pediatric HIV Clinic of UNTH between July 1st 2010 and June 30th 2012. Clinical and immunological staging of the patients were done using the WHO criteria and data analysis was with SPSS version19. Results: Two hundred and ten children were enrolled into the study. The most common route of HIV infection was vertical transmission (95.2%). Common presenting clinical and laboratory data were: anaemia (92.9%), cough (76.2%), fever (63.3%), popular rash (62.9%) and poor weight gain (61.0%). Thirty-four children (16.2%) each had severe and moderate acute malnutrition while 92 children (43.8%) were stunted. Tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C co-infections were seen in 32.4%, 1.9% and 3.3% of the children respectively. Most of the patients had either a WHO clinical stage III (42.4%) or II (39.0%) disease. Severe immunosuppression based on CD4% or count was seen in more than half of the patients (59.1%). Conclusions: Anaemia was the most common clinical/laboratory finding; followed by cough. Although our patients were likely to present with WHO clinical 2 or stage 3 disease, severe immunological suppression was common.

In vitro and in vivo Antitrypanosomal Effects of Methanol and Aqueous Extracts of Picralima nitida.

The methanol and aqueous extracts of the leaves, fruits, seeds, stem bark and roots of Picralima nitida were studied in vitro and in vivo for activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei in Swiss albino mice. Phytochemicals studies were also conducted for all the plant extracts. The methanol extracts showed appreciably high in vitro and in vivo antitrypanosomal activities compared to the aqueous extracts of the plant. The methanol extract of the root exhibited the highest in vitro antitrypanosomal activity followed by the methanol extract of seed of Picralima nitida. Motility of Trypanosoma brucei brucei was stopped by the methanol extract of the root after 10 min, while the methanol extract of the seed of Picralima nitida stopped the motility of Trypanosoma brucei brucei at 15 min. The methanol extract of the root of Picralima nitida showed the highest in vivo antitrypanosomal activity at 100 mg/kg body weight. The extract cleared the parasite completely from the T. brucei brucei infected Swiss albino mice after day 3 of treatment. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) when the level of parasitemia of the animals treated with the methanol extract of the root of Picralima nitida were compared with the other treatment groups and the untreated control. The phytochemicals detected in these extracts are tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, saponins and cyanide glycosides. The in vitro and in vivo antitrypanosomal activity exhibited by these extracts might be attributed to these phytochemicals.

Determination of the Contamination of Groundwater Sources in Okrika Mainland with Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).

In this study, we examined the presence and concentrations of six polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in groundwater sources of Okrika mainland impacted by effluent discharges from a petroleum refinery into her surrounding Creeks. Sterile amber coloured bottles were used to collect 10 replicate borehole water samples from the mainland and fixed with concentrated H2SO4. Samples were transferred to the laboratory in iced coolers and analyzed using Gas chromatography coupled with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). The interactions of the PAH components detected was determined using the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (r) while spatial variance equality in means of concentrations was explored with the One-way ANOVA. Structure detection of observed inequalities was made with means plots. Concentrations of the PAHs were high and exceeded the WHO maximum permissible limit of 0.002mg/l in drinking water. Benzo(b)fluoranthene, with the highest mean concentration varied between 0.00037- 0.51266 (0.08117±0.03330159)mg/l, fluoranthene varied between 0.00060-0.32890 (0.0473946±0.01769877)mg/l, while benzo(k)fluoranthene with the least mean concentration varied between 0.00017-0.08478 (0.0237385±0.00610045)mg/l. However, pyrene concentration ranged between 0.00015 and 0.24757 (0.0508440±0.01859716)mg/l, benzo(a)anthracene between 0.00020-0.21972 (0.0512660±0.01688275)mg/l, and chrysene between 0.00013 and 0.16571 (0.0488975±0.01090264)mg/l. Strong associations were observed between all the PAH components measured at P<0.01. Significant heterogeneity in mean variance of the PAHs [F(211.9502)>Fcrit(3.921478)] was recorded across the sampling locations at P<0.05. Structure detection of mean difference revealed that the inequalities were most contributed in BH1, BH 2, BH 5 and BH 10, while equality in mean concentrations were observed between BH 1 and BH 4, and BH 5 and BH 6. BH 8 recorded the highest contamination level of the various PAHs due basically to its proximity to the refinery’s effluent channel. The most probable source of these PAHs is therefore the nearby Port Harcourt Refinery Company’s effluent discharges into the surrounding creeks of the mainland. This contamination is of public health concern as several PAHs are known carcinogens. It is recommended that advanced technological engineering be applied to contain the presence of these pollutants in drinking water sources of residents of the area.

Socioeconomic Status and Barriers to the Use of Free Antiretroviral Treatment for HIV/AIDS in Enugu State; South-Eastern Nigeria

With about 3 million people living with HIV; Nigeria has approximately 8of the global burden of HIV cases. In 2009; only about 34of those in need of antiretroviral treatment (ART) were able to access care; which means that Nigeria was far from achieving the United Nations target of `universal access' by 2010. This study aimed to describe the barriers to accessibility and the coping strategies employed to overcome these barriers among users of free ART services overall and by socioeconomic status (SES). Data were collected from 240 people receiving ART at one urban and one peri-urban health facility in Enugu State; south-eastern Nigeria. Information on SES; demographic characteristics; and barriers and coping mechanisms for accessing ART were elicited from the respondents. The high cost of transportation; HIV stigma; and long waiting hours were found to be key barriers to the use of ART services. On average; ART clients spent just under four hours at the clinic during their monthly appointments. The use of personal savings and financial support from relatives were the main means to access treatment. When the data were analysed according to clients' SES; transportation costs were a chief concern among the poorest while those who were better off were more likely to be concerned about stigma and discrimination. These findings should be borne in mind when designing and locating services to maximise ongoing accessibility to ART

Analgesic activity of leaf extracts of Culcasia scandens P. Beauv.

Analgesic activity of methanol leaf extract of C. scandens obtained by column chromatography and its graded solvent fractions, was evaluated in mice using acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing and formalin-induced paw licking. The extract and fractions significantly inhibited abdominal writhing and two phases of formalin-induced paw licking in mice, indicating that antinociceptive activity may involve inhibition of pain by peripheral and central mechanisms.

Anti-inflammatory activity of extracts of root bark of securidaca longipedunculata Fres (Polygalaceae)

The effect of extract and fractions of the root bark of Securidaca longipedunculata Fres (Polygalaceae) on acute inflammation was evaluated. Solvent extraction yielded the crude methanol extract (ME) while solvent-guided extraction yielded a petroleum ether fraction (PF) and methanol fraction (MF). The extract and fractions inhibited topical edema induced by xylene in the mouse ear. In the systemic edema of the rat paw; the methanol extract (ME) and methanol fraction (MF) significantly (P0.05) suppressed the development of paw edema induced by egg albumin in rats while the petroleum ether fraction (PF) was devoid of such activity. Ulcerogenic assay in rats indicated that the extract and fractions exhibited varying degrees of gastric irritation in rats in the order of magnitude: MF PF ME. Phytochemical tests showed that ME and MF tested positive for carbohydrates; reducing sugars; glycosides; flavonoids; terpenoids; sterols and saponins while PF gave positive reaction for resins only. Acute toxicity test for ME in mice established an i.p and p.o LD50 of 11 and 282 mg/kg respectively