Local Condiment, Iru, Obtained from the Fermentation of Parkia biglobosa Seed Substantially Reduced the Serum Cholesterol Level of Wister Rats.

Hypercholesterolaemia is one of the risk factors in coronary heart disease. Hence, this research was designed to investigate the effect of iru on cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolaemic rats. The fermented condiment iru was produced naturally and with starter cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, and Leuconostoc sp.. The hypercholesterolaemic rats were fed a diet supplemented with iru for 28 days, and total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high density lipoproteins (HDL), and low density lipoproteins (LDL) were determined before and after feeding. Cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolaemic rats (100.80 mg/dL) were reduced to 56.99∼80.21 mg/dL after feeding with iru supplementation while rats not placed on the iru diet had cholesterol levels of 119 mg/dL. There were also significant reductions (P<0.05) in serum TG (78.77∼32.57 mg/dL) and LDL (28.43∼6.63 mg/dL) levels in rats fed the iru diet compared with the control (63.36 mg/dL). Higher and significantly different (P<0.05) HDL was found in rats fed with iru fermented with L. plantarum (44.01 mg/dL) while the least was found in the untreated group (28.93 mg/dL). The results from this study suggest that supplementing the diet with iru obtained by the fermentation of Parkia biglobosa seeds may significantly reduce cholesterol level in the blood stream.

Antimicrobial potential of toothpaste formulated from extracts of Syzygium aromaticum, Dennettia tripetala and Jatropha curcas latex against some oral pathogenic microorganisms.

The need for a broad spectrum antimicrobial mouthwash is highly desirable to reduce, control and prevent various types of dental diseases. Hence, research into the production of herbal toothpaste to suppress the incidence of dental diseases is pertinent. The present study formulated herbal toothpastes from edible and medicinal plants namely; Syzygium aromaticum, Dennettia tripetala, and Jatropha curcas latex. The antimicrobial activity of the toothpastes was assessed against some oral pathogenic microorganisms using agar well diffusion. Phytochemical analysis of S. aromaticum and D. tripetala revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, alkaloid, and saponins. The major constituent of the plants from gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GC/MS) analysis are eugenol (83.58%), caryophyllene (4.35%) and phenol, 2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl)-, acetate (12.07%) from S. aromaticum, while D. tripetala had glutaric acid (57.57%), eugenol (2.9%), caryophyllene (1.12%), and 1,6,10-dodecatrien-3-ol, 3,7,11-trimethyl-,(E)- (3.36%). The pH and specific gravity of the formulated toothpastes respectively ranged from 8.57 to 9.67 and 1.08 to 1.10, while the pH and specific gravity of commercial toothpastes were from 5.39 to 8.55 and 0.97 to 1. 11 respectively. The formulated toothpastes have better and significant (P < 0.05) antimicrobial effect when compared to commercial toothpastes. The zones of inhibition of formulated toothpastes against the tested microorganisms ranged from 4.0 to 18.30 mm, while MIC ranged from 2.5 to 20.0 mg/mL. The formulated toothpastes exhibited potent antimicrobial property against the tested pathogens as a result of bioactive compounds in them. Hence, these biomolecules can be extracted for the production of safe and effective herbal-based toothpaste.

Food Value and Safety Status of Raw (Unfermented) and Fermented Higher Basidiomycetes, Lenzites quercina (L) P. Karsten.

Food value and safety of a wild macrofungus, Lenzites quercina were investigated. The proximate and mineral composition of raw and fermented L. quercina were assessed using standard methods. Brine shrimp lethality bioassay was adopted for assessment of the toxicological property of the extracts obtained from raw and fermented L. quercina. The result of proximate composition revealed higher protein content (26.15%) in fermented L. quercina, while the value of carbohydrate (38.3%), crude fibre (27.6%), and ash contents (6.5%) were higher (P<0.05) in raw L. quercina when compared to fermented L. quercina. The macro and micro elements in the raw and fermented L. quercina were in decreasing order of Ca> K> Zn> Fe> Na> Mg> Pb> Cu with values ranging from 4.04 mg/g to 721.6 mg/g. The amino acids in raw and fermented L. quercina ranged from 0.05 mg/g to 23.78 mg/g, while the fatty acids ranged from 0.11% to 38.5%. The mortality rate of the Artemia salina against the extracts was from 8.0% to 38.0% with lethal dose at 50% of population within 49.11 and 250.50 µg/mL. The results from this study revealed that L. quercina possesses essential amino acids, fatty acids, and substantial micro elements, which may be useful in the formulation of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Phytochemical property and assessment of antidermatophytic activity of some selected wild macrofungi against pathogenic dermatophytes.

The phytochemical property and inhibitory potential of petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of Lenzites quercina, Ganoderma lucidum and Rigidoporus ulmarius were assessed. Standard method was adopted to quantify the phytochemicals in the mushroom extracts. Poisoned food technique was used to assess the inhibition of the extracts obtained from the macrofungi against some pathogenic dermatophytes. The phenolic content of the studied mushroom extracts ranged from 15.7 to 83.8 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g extract. Ethanolic extract of G. lucidum has the higher content of alkaloids (34.3 mg/g) and flavonoids (18.1 mg/g). Exactly 33.1 mg/g of terpenoids and 16.6 mg/g of saponins were also quantified in ethanolic extract of L. quercina. Extracts of L. quercina, G. lucidum and R. ulmarius exhibited wide range of mycelia inhibition at 50 mg/ml on the tested dermatophytes. The consistent inhibition displayed by the mushroom extracts against the dermatophytes affirms that these wild mushrooms contain bioactive compounds that are antifungal in nature and may possess the ability to cure dermatophyte infections.

In Vitro Evaluation of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Extracts Obtained from Raw and Fermented Wild Macrofungus, Lenzites quercina.

In recent time, there is a major concern about antibiotic resistance displayed by some pathogenic microorganisms and this had involved a continuous search for natural antimicrobial products. The phytochemistry as well as antimicrobial activity of extracts obtained from Lenzites quercina was investigated. The extracts and purified fractions were, respectively, tested against indicator organisms using agar well diffusion and disc diffusion methods. The quantity of phytochemicals found in the extracts of L. quercina ranged from 14.4 to 20.7 mg/g for alkaloids, 6.1 to 12.8 mg/g for steroids, 4.5 to 10.6 mg/g for saponins, 2.8 to 17.2 mg/g for terpenoids, and 0.41 to 17.1 mg/g for flavonoids. The gas chromatography mass spectrophotometry (GCMS) analysis of the extract reveals the presence of caprylic acid, stearic acid, tetradecanoic acid, methyl-11-octadecenoate, oleic acid, and 4-methyl-2-propyl-1-pentanol. Extracts of L. quercina and its purified fractions exhibited wider range of inhibition (4 mm to 26 mm) on Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC 35218), Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella typhi, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. The antimicrobial effects of L. quercina extracts indicate that this wild macrofungus contains significant amount of pharmacological agents, which could be extracted to curb the menace of antibiotic resistances by pathogenic organisms.

Wild termitomyces species collected from Ondo and Ekiti States are more related to African species as revealed by ITS region of rDNA.

Molecular identification of eighteen Termitomyces species collected from two states, Ondo and Ekiti in Nigeria was carried out using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The amplicons obtained from rDNA of Termitomyces species were compared with existing sequences in the NCBI GenBank. The results of the ITS sequence analysis discriminated between all the Termitomyces species (obtained from Ondo and Ekiti States) and Termitomyces sp. sequences obtained from NCBI GenBank. The degree of similarity of T1 to T18 to gene of Termitomyces sp. obtained from NCBI ranges between 82 and 99 percent. Termitomyces species from Garbon with ascension number AF321374 was the closest relative of T1 to T18 except T12 that has T. eurhizus and T. striatus as the closet relative. Phylogenetic tree generated with ITS sequences obtained from NCBI GenBank data revealed that T1 to T18 are more related to Termitomyces species indigenous to African countries such as Senegal, Congo, and Gabon.