Résumé
Coconut water, a natural nutritious beverage that contains several biologically active chemical substances, is used in the management/treatment of several disorders in Eastern Nigeria. This study was set up to evaluate the antioxidant potential of coconut water and its effect on the cardiovascular system in albino rats. Twenty five adult male albino rats, used in this work, were placed into five groups (A, B, C, D and E), of five rats per group. Groups A, B, C and D were administered orally with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 ml/kg body weight respectively of the coconut water for fourteen consecutive days. Group E was the control. Glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were used to investigate antioxidant activity of the coconut water, while lipid profile was determined as an index of its cardiovascular effect. GPX and SOD activity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the test groups than in untreated group, while MDA levels decreased significantly (P< 0.05) in the treated groups relative to the control. There was a significant reduction (P< 0.05) in total cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein, while high density lipoproteins increased significantly (P< 0.05) in the test animals relative to the control. These observations were found to be linearly dose-dependent. These results may be due to the chemical constituents of the coconut water, and could be partly responsible for its application in the management of some disorders.
Résumé
A study on the prophylactic efficacy of a crude aqueous extract of the leaves of Morinda lucida on plasmodium falciparum was carried out using sixteen albino rats grouped into curative, suppressive, prophylactic and control ;A,B,C and D respectively. The rats were inoculated with the parasites and allowed for 21days before 2mls of the extract was administered to each of the rats in group A twice daily for 3days, and for group B, 2mls was administered just once, 3hours before scarifying them, while for group C, 2mls was given twice daily for 3days before inoculation with the parasites, but group D were not given the extract. The results showed that the extract cleared the parasites in group A rats and did not allow its growth in group C rats, but did not suppress it in group B rats, while the control showed the ability of the parasites surviving in the rats. There was a significant at (P< 0.05) weight loss by the rats in all the groups, following the inoculation of the parasite. It can be inferred therefore, that a crude aqueous extract of Morinda lucida has a prophylactic efficacy in addition to its curative activity against plasmodium parasites and could be used to mitigate the impact of plasmodium parasites.