Antimicrobial Activities of Daucus Carota Seeds on Selected Pathogenic Micro-organisms

Background: The antibacterial/antifungal toxicity of Daucus carota (carrot) seeds was evaluated using selected multi-drug resistant bacteria and yeast of clinical origin. Methods: The active constituents of the Daucus carota seeds were extracted using conventional Plant Tissue Homogenization method using cold distilled water, Ethanol and Methanol as solvents. Varying concentrations (5-250 mg/ml) of the three extracts were assayed for antimicrobial activity against the selected isolates- Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebseilla pneumoniae and Candida albicans; the agar well diffusion method was used. The antibiogram profile of the organisms was also obtained through disc diffusion method. Results: Similar activity was observed in the methanolic and ethanolic extracts while cold distilled water showed no activity on any of the isolates. The antibiotic susceptibility results showed that the isolates used are highly multi-drug resistant. Ofloxacin exhibited the most pronounced activity against all the isolates. Gentamicin and erythromycin both showed activity on Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi. Lower concentrations of both extracts presented no inhibitory effects on the test organisms, thus resulting in high MIC values recorded for both extracts. Also, the extracts showed no bactericidal action against the isolates.  Conclusions: Observations from this research therefore affirm that Daucus carota seeds possess antimicrobial properties that may be explored as a source of future antimicrobial compounds.

Determination of Antibodies to Hepatitis B Virus in Pregnant Women in Akure; Ondo State; Nigeria

The seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBsAg) antibodies in pregnant women were determined using the rapid kit with double sandwich antibody procedure. Eight hundred and sixty pregnant women were recruited for this study. Out of this number forty (4.7) were positive while eight hundred and twenty (95.3) were negative; indicating an overall prevalence of 4.7. It therefore implies that the area under study showed low endemicity for the infection. It was also observed that health status of the women and their history of travels outside Akure; Ondo State was not associated with HBsAg seropositivity. The significance of these findings is discussed