Radiological Health Hazard Indices and Excess Life Timer Cancer Risk of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria.

The γ radiation exposure due to radioactivity concentration of 40K, 238U and 232Th in soil samples from 250 different locations from 40 communities in the oil – producing region of Nigeria was carried out. The radioactivity concentrations of these radionuclides were used to determine the absorbed dose, annual effective dose equivalent, the health hazard indices and cancer risk using standard analytical methods. The range of values for the absorbed dose are 6.97 nGyh-1 to 33.29 nGyh-1, annual effective dose equivalent (outdoor) are 8.55 μSvy-1 to 40.83 μSvy-1 and (indoor) are 34.19 μSvy-1 to 163.36 μSvy-1. The external hazard index ranges from 0.038 to 0.174 while the internal health hazard index is from 0.045 to 0.191. The cancer risk obtained for the communities ranges from 0.030 x 10-3 to 0.143 x 10-3. All these values are below the standard limits when compared to the world permissible United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) values for such environment. This shows that the exploration and exportation of crude oil in Nigeria did not pose a radioactive health hazard to the oil producing communities.

Uterine Relaxation Potential of Ethanol Leaf Extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. VIA the Muscarinic Receptor Pathway.

Aim: The effect of Ethanol Leaf Extract of Moringa oleifera (ELMO) on uterine smooth muscles of non- pregnant female rats was studied in vitro with a view to finding out the mechanism(s) for observed effects. Experiential Design: In vitro studies using isolated rat’s uteri. Methods: Female albino rats (140-180g) pretreated 24 hours before experiments with diethylstilbestrol were sacrificed and the uterine horns carefully harvested into a beaker of De Jalon solution bubbled with 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide. Each horn was mounted in an organ bath and allowed to equilibrate for 30 minutes, then the effects of graded doses of Acetylcholine, oxytocin and ELMO were established, using a physiograph and its accessories. The drugs were re-administered in the presence of their respective antagonists (Atropine for Acetylcholine and Atosiban for Oxytocin) and also in the presence of ELMO. Results: Results obtained showed that while Acetylcholine and oxytocin induced uterine contractions, ELMO caused relaxation. ELMO significantly (P<0.05) blocked the uterine contractile effect of Acetylcholine but had no effect on Oxytocin induced uterine contractions. The experiments therefore indicate that ELMO contain active ingredients capable of inducing uterine relaxation via the muscarinic receptor pathway. Conclusion: The extract therefore, may not be a valuable tocolytic agent in cases of Oxytocin induced uterine contractions, particularly in pregnancy but its observed strong anticholinergic activity may be exploited in the treatment of diseases associated with hyper activity of the parasympathetic arm of the autonomic nervous system.