Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes in cervical cancer in Maiduguri, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is the commonest gynaecological malignancy and the second most common cancer among women worldwide. Several epidemiological, clinical and molecular studies have strongly implicated oncogenic high-risk human papillomavirus infection in the aetiopathogenesis of cervical cancer. The objectives of this study were to determine the cervical HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in cervical cancer in Maiduguri, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a descriptive and retrospective study. Sixty-three archived paraffin-embedded tissue blocks with confirmed diagnoses of cervical cancer during the study period (2013-2015) were retrieved and examined. The procedure included deparaffinization of tissue samples, DNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and HPV genotyping by reverse hybridization line probe assay. RESULTS: Sixty-three cervical cancer cases were subjected to genomic DNA extraction and HPV-DNA detection by PCR. Fifty-eight samples showed PCR positivity while 5 samples were PCR negative. HPV-specific DNA was detected in 44 of the 58 PCR-positive samples and thus the prevalence was 69.8%. Ten different high-risk HPV genotypes were detected. Both single and multiple high-risk HPV infections were observed. The most prevalent type of the human papillomavirus detected was HPV16. CONCLUSION: HPV-DNA was prevalent in majority of the examined cervical cancer tissues and that HPV16, HPV18, HPV45, HPV51 and HPV52 were the predominant HPVs detected in both single and multiple HPV infections. The results of this study and further studies will provide more detailed information about HPV and may contribute significantly to the prevention of cervical cancer through primary high-risk HPV testing and HPV vaccination against the oncogenic viruses.

Potent anti-cervical cancer activity: synergistic effects of Thai medicinal plants in recipe N040 selected from the MANOSROI III database.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCES: One of the prestigious Thai/Lanna folklore wisdoms is the medicinal plant recipes. Thai/Lanna medicinal plant recipe database MANOSROI III has been developed by Prof. Dr. Jiradej Manosroi. It consists of over 200,000 recipes covering all diseases including cancer. AIM OF THIS STUDY: To investigate the in vitro and in vivo anti-cervical cancer activity and the active constituents of the Thai medicinal plant recipe N040 selected from the MANOSROI III database. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The extracts of recipe N040 and single medicinal plants in the recipe were prepared by hot water and methanol extraction, respectively. The n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), n-butanol (n-BuOH) and water fractions of Caesalpinia sappan, the plant which showed the highest anti-proliferative activity were prepared by liquid-liquid partition extraction. The fraction which showed the highest anti-proliferative activity was further isolated for active constituents. Anti-proliferative activity of recipe N040, methanolic extracts, fractions of Caesalpinia sappan and brazilin, an active constituent on HeLa cell were investigated using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Anti-oxidative activities including free radical scavenging and metal ion-chelating activities, as well as the phenolic and flavonoid contents of these fractions were also determined. The in vivo anti-cancer activity of recipe N040 on HeLa cell xenograft and the subchronic toxicity were performed in nude mice and rats, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: N040 showed the potent in vitro anti-proliferative activity on HeLa cell with the IC50 value of 0.11 µg/ml. Phytochemicals detected in the plants were steroids/triterpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids. For the single plant, methanolic extract of Caesalpinia sappan gave the highest anti-proliferative activity with the IC50 of 33.46 µg/ml. EtOAc fraction of Caesalpinia sappan showed the highest anti-proliferative and free radical scavenging activities with the IC50 and SC50 of 17.81 and 21.95 µg/ml which were 1.88 and 0.83 folds of its methanolic extract and ascorbic acid, respectively. Poor metal chelating activity (MC50>500 µg/ml) was observed in methanolic extract and all fractions. The highest phenolic and flavonoid contents were observed in the methanolic extract. Brazilin, the known compound isolated from the EtOAc fraction exhibited potent anti-proliferative activity with the IC50 of 0.28 µg/ml which was higher than its methanolic extract and EtOAc fraction of 119.50 and 63.61 folds, respectively, but only 0.39 fold of the recipe extract N040. The tumor size of the HeLa cell xenograft nude mice treated with the recipe N040 at the dose of 44.50mg/kg body weight per day was significantly smaller (p<0.05) than that of the control with the relative tumor weight inhibition of 57.23% which was 0.65 fold of cisplatin. In the subchronic toxicity study, N040 given orally at the dose of 1000 mg/kg body weight per day for 90 days showed no alteration in body weight gain, hematology [except the increase mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) in the treated male rats] and clinical blood chemistry (except the increase blood glucose in the treated male rats) both in female and male rats. Only minor lesions of the organs including lung, liver, kidney and small intestine were observed in both sexes. This study has demonstrated the synergistic effect of the plants composed in the recipe which resulted in the potent anti-cancer activity and confirmed the traditionally use of the recipe N040. In addition, this study has also suggested the compound brazilin isolated from Caesalpinia sappan for its high potential to be further investigated as a novel anti-cervical cancer drug.

A preliminary study of the mechanism of hypoglycaemic activity of Nauclea latifolia leaf ethanolic extract.

The aim of this study was to determine the possible underlying mechanism of the hypoglycaemic activity of the ethanolic extract of Nauclea latifolia leaves in rats. The extract, glibenclamide or water was administered orally in a glucose, sucrose and maltose tolerance tests. In addition, the effect of the extract on α-glucosidase enzymes was also studied. The ethanolic extract at 200mg/kg body weight inhibited the increase in glucose level after both oral and intraperitoneal glucose loads as did glibenclamide. The extract also dose dependently inhibited both maltase and sucrase activities in vitro but not in vivo. The hypoglycaemic effect of N. latifolia leaf ethanolic extract thus appears to be most probably exerted through a mechanism similar to that of glibenclamide which is related to increased insulin release from pancreatic ß-cells.

The effect of aqueous extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa (Sorrel) calyces on heamatological profile and organ pathological changes in Trypanasoma congolense - infected rats.

The effects of aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces on haematology and pathological changes in some selected organs during experimental Trypanosoma congolense infection of rats were investigated. Three groups of rats were intraperitoneally infected with T. congolense (Karu stock). One group was administered with the aqueous extract and another given a solution of vitamin C in drinking water; the remaining infected group was left untreated. Data from these groups were compared with those of two groups of healthy rats, one of which was similarly treated with the aqueous extract. The experiment was terminated three weeks, post-infection (pi). The uninfected and infected rats administered the extract consumed the equivalent of 9.94 mg - and 9.61 mg ascorbic acid / 100g / day during the experiment. Consumption of the extract significantly (p<0.01) retarded the rate of weight gain in both healthy and infected rats; even though the feed-intake was not significantly affected. After two weeks of infection the extract and vitamin C kept the parasitaemia significantly (p<0.01) lower than the untreated infected group. The anaemia in the untreated infected group was significantly (p<0.01) more severe than that of the corresponding extract- or vitamin-treated groups. Trypanosoma congolense infection caused significant (p<0.01) decreases in serum total proteins and albumin; serum and organ ascorbic acid as well as significant (p<0.01) elevation of serum alanine amino transferase levels in untreated rats. Consumption of the extract or vitamin C, however, prevented these disease-induced anomalies in the treated infected rats. Serum creatinine and urea levels were not affected by infection but the extract elevated these parameters significantly (p<0.01) above infection levels. It was concluded that consumption of the extract ameliorated the pathological changes in blood and organs of T. congolense-infected rats.

The effect of aqueous extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa (Sorrel) calyces on heamatological profile and organ pathological changes in Trypanasoma congolense ­ infected rat

Abstract: The effects of aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces on haematology and pathological changes in some selected organs during experimental Trypanosoma congolense infection of rats were investigated. Three groups of rats were intraperitoneally infected with T. congolense (Karu stock). One group was administered with the aqueous extract and another given a solution of vitamin C in drinking water; the remaining infected group was left untreated. Data from these groups were compared with those of two groups of healthy rats, one of which was similarly treated with the aqueous extract. The experiment was terminated three weeks, post-infection (pi). The uninfected and infected rats administered the extract consumed the equivalent of 9.94 mg ­ and 9.61 mg ascorbic acid / 100g / day during the experiment. Consumption of the extract significantly (p<0.01) retarded the rate of weight gain in both healthy and infected rats; even though the feed-intake was not significantly affected. After two weeks of infection the extract and vitamin C kept the parasitaemia significantly (p<0.01) lower than the untreated infected group. The anaemia in the untreated infected group was significantly (p<0.01) more severe than that of the corresponding extract- or vitamin-treated groups. Trypanosoma congolense infection caused significant (p<0.01) decreases in serum total proteins and albumin; serum and organ ascorbic acid as well as significant (p<0.01) elevation of serum alanine amino transferase levels in untreated rats. Consumption of the extract or vitamin C, however, prevented these disease­induced anomalies in the treated infected rats. Serum creatinine and urea levels were not affected by infection but the extract elevated these parameters significantly (p<0.01) above infection levels. It was concluded that consumption of the extract ameliorated the pathological changes in blood and organs of T. congolense-infected rats

Hypoglycaemic activity of Nauclea latifolia Sm. (Rubiaceae) in experimental animals.

Aqueous, ethanolic and hexane extracts of the leaves of Nauclea latifolia (Rubiaceae) were assessed for their fasting blood glucose lowering effect in normoglycaemic and streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Wistar strain albino rats were given different doses of the extracts after 18 hrs fast and their blood glucose measured at 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 hours after treatment. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts significantly lowered the fasting blood glucose levels of the STZ-diabetic rats in a dose-dependent manner. The highest dose administered (400 mg/kg) lowered the fasting blood glucose of the diabetic rats by 31.7% (aqueous) and 36.1% (ethanolic) extracts. The aqueous extract did not significantly lower the glucose levels of normoglycaemic rats (maximum 6.6%), nor was any significant decrease seen in the rats administered with the hexane (maximum of 4.0% for normoglycaemic and 2.4% for diabetics) extract. The hypoglycaemic and antihyperglycaemic potentials of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts were comparable to that of glibenclamide (1 mg/kg).These results further support the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.