Launaea taraxacifolia leaf partitions ameliorate alloxan-induced pathophysiological complications via antioxidant mechanisms in diabetic rats.

Launaea taraxacifolia (Wild.) Amin ex. Jeffery belongs to family Asteracaea. The plant is used for treatment of diseases and eaten as vegetable in Nigeria. This study investigated the ameliorative potentials of L. taraxacifolia leaf partitions in alloxan induced diabetic complications. Male Albino rats were divided into eleven groups of five rats each. Diabetes was induced following intraperitoneal administration of 150 mg/kg alloxan monohydrate and was treated with 200 and 300 mg/kg of each partitioned fractions. Hyperglycemia was reversed in all treated rats within seven days of treatments. Rats treated with the partitions showed significant increase in hematological parameters compared with diabetic control. N-hexane fraction had the best overall effect against oxidative stress particularly on heart and pancreas reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and kidney glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities. The various degrees of degeneration observed in the kidney, liver, pancreas and heart of the untreated diabetic rats were milder in rats treated with partitions. The results therefore revealed the ameliorative potentials of the partitioned fractions of L. taraxacifolia leaf extract against diabetes mellitus complications via activation of the antioxidant enzymes.

An integrative review of therapeutic footwear for neuropathic foot due to diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic footwear is built on a model of patient's foot, for people with diabetes suffering with neuropathy. Can the footwear helps to improve plantar pressure in neuropathic foot? This study focussed on available data on therapeutic footwear as an intervention for improving and offloading plantar pressure in neuropathic diabetic foot. METHODS: Relevant scientific literature in PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar published between 2000 and 2017 were searched. The keywords searched were therapeutic footwear, plantar pressure, neuropathic foot, rocker sole, ulcer healing and offloading of plantar pressure. Articles on randomized controlled trials, observational, cohort, feasibility and factorial studies were reviewed. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty five (125) articles were identified. The article comprised of 6 randomized controlled trials, 2 observational, 1 cohort, 1 feasibility and 1 factorial study met the inclusion criteria and were critiqued with a total enrolment of 1380 study subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The review of the collated literature demonstrated that, therapeutic footwear can improve the healing of neuropathic diabetic foot ulcer by redistributing plantar pressure. However, the efficacy of therapeutic footwear requires the inclusion of technical features that should not be compromised from the design to the production of the footwear.

Epidemiological evaluation of onchocerciasis along Ogun River System, southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological studies were carried out to assess the prevalence and community microfilarial load (CMFL) of onchocerciasis after repeated annual treatment with ivermectin along Ogun river System, southwest Nigeria. METHOD: Skin snips were taken from consented participants in 11 selected communities along the River system. The microfilarial load of the community was estimated. RESULTS: The prevalence and CMFL varied significantly in the communities (p <0.05). The prevalence of onchocerciasis ranged from 19.1 to 45.6%, while the CMFL ranged from 0.11 to 1.03 microfilariae per skin snip. The CMFL recorded was <5 microfilariae per skin snip, i.e. recognized by WHO as threshold value in certifying the communities to be free of onchocerciasis as public health problem, thus, signifying the possibility of onchocerciasis elimination in the study area. CONCLUSION: Efforts should therefore be intensified to achieve improved ivermectin coverage and compliance in annual ivermectin treatment in order to completely eliminate onchocerciasis as a public health problem in the studied communities.

Distribution of bacteria and fungi in the earthworm Libyodrillus violaceous (Annelida: Oligochaeta), a native earthworm from Nigeria

Earthworms are soil invertebrates that play a key role in recycling organic matter in soils.In Nigeria, earthworms include Libyodrillus violaceous. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial counts, as well as fungal counts of viable microorganisms in soils and gut sections, were made on twenty L. violaceous collected from different sites on the campus of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. The samples were collected between April and November, 2002. Numbers of microorganisms were higher in castings and gut sections than in uningested soil samples. The guts and their contents also had higher moisture and total nitrogen contents than the uningested soils. Bacteria and fungi isolated from the samples were identified by standard microbiological procedures on the bases of their morphological and biochemical characteristics. Isolated bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus, Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus mutans, Clostridium, Spirocheata spp., Azotobacter spp., Micrococcus lylae, Acinetobacter spp., Halobacterium for bacteria. Yeast isolates were identified as Candida spp., Zygosaccharomyces spp., Pichia spp., and Saccharomyces spp while molds were identified as, Aspergillus spp., Pytium spp., Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp and Rhizopus spp. Of the five locations examined, the refuse dump area had the highest numbers of both aerobic and anaerobic organisms, followed by the arboretum while the cultivated land area recorded the lowest counts. The higher numbers of microorganisms observed in the gut sections and casts of the earthworms examined in this work reinforce the general concept that the gut and casts of earthworms show higher microbial diversity and activity than the surrounding soil.

Distribution of bacteria and fungi in the earthworm Libyodrillus violaceous (Annelida: Oligochaeta), a native earthworm from Nigeria.

Earthworms are soil invertebrates that play a key role in recycling organic matter in soils. In Nigeria, earthworms include Libyodrillus violaceous. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial counts, as well as fungal counts of viable microorganisms in soils and gut sections, were made on twenty L. violaceous collected from different sites on the campus of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. The samples were collected between April and November, 2002. Numbers of microorganisms were higher in castings and gut sections than in un-ingested soil samples. The guts and their contents also had higher moisture and total nitrogen contents than the un-ingested soils. Bacteria and fungi isolated from the samples were identified by standard microbiological procedures on the bases of their morphological and biochemical characteristics. Isolated bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus, Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus mutans, Clostridium, Spirocheata spp., Azotobacter spp., Micrococcus lylae, Acinetobacter spp., Halobacterium for bacteria. Yeast isolates were identified as Candida spp., Zygosaccharomyces spp., Pichia spp., and Saccharomyces spp while molds were identified as, Aspergillus spp., Pytium spp., Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp and Rhizopus spp. Of the five locations examined, the refuse dump area had the highest numbers of both aerobic and anaerobic organisms, followed by the arboretum while the cultivated land area recorded the lowest counts. The higher numbers of microorganisms observed in the gut sections and casts of the earthworms examined in this work reinforce the general concept that the gut and casts of earthworms show higher microbial diversity and activity than the surrounding soil.