ABSTRACT
Herbal medicines are presently widely used in developed and developing countries for health care due to their affordability, accessibility and availability. Objective: The microbial quality of selected herbal remedies sold in open markets in Owerri, South Eastern, Nigeria was studied. Methods: The samples were bulked according to type and then serially diluted. The spread plate technique was used in inoculating the samples on the appropriate culture medium and then incubated. Standard laboratory protocols for microbiological studies and biochemical tests were employed for the identification of the microorganisms present in the samples. Results: The presence of bacterial species namely Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Enterococcus and Staphylococcus spp was recorded. They were all gram positive and bacterial counts ranged from 1.0 x 106 to 7.8 x 107cfu/ml. Fungal isolates included Mucor, Saccharomyces and Penicillium spp. and fungal counts ranged from 3.0x103 to 1.3x108 cfu/ml respectively. Conclusion: The presence of these microorganisms in herbal remedies do not only make them hazardous, but might also change the physical, chemical and natural properties of the herbal remedies by altering the contents of active ingredients or converting them to toxic products. The production and consumption of herbal remedies should be properly supervised and monitored to ensure that only good quality products get to the consumers.
ABSTRACT
Objective: The study was aimed at investigating the hypoglycemic, antioxidant and Hepatoprotective effects of Chrysophyllum albidum in diabetes induced male Wistar rats. Methods: Ethanol root bark extract was administered to thirty rats of six groups A, B, C, D, E and F of five rats each, weighing between 150-170g. Diabetes was induced in Groups B, C, D, E and F using a single intraperitoneal injection of 140mg/kg of Alloxan after an overnight fast. Group A served as the normal control while Group B served as the diabetic control. Group C had metformin of 500mg while Groups D, E and F received 50, 100 and 200mg/kg / bw/ day of the plant extract respectively through orogastric intubation. All the animals were given normal rat chow and water freely. Blood glucose level was determined and the experiment lasted for 3 weeks. On day 21 after an overnight fast, animal were anaesthetized and blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture under inhaled chloroform for the determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) assays. The liver function test, ALT, AST and ALP was determined. Result: This showed that C. albidum and metformin significantly (p < 0.05) lowered the Fasting blood glucose (FBS), the activities of SOD and CAT was dosedependently increase when compared to the diabetic control and there was also a reduction of MDA in the treated groups. There was decrease in the activity of ALT, AST and ALP, which was also dosedependent. Conclusion: The results showed that the plant has significant antidiabetic activity and could therefore be employed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in which free radicals are implicated.