Serum protein and enzyme levels in rats following administration of ethanolic leaf extract of Ageratum conyzoides (goat weed).

The The potential hepatotoxic effects following oral administration of ethanolic leaf extract of Ageratum conyzoides (goat weed) was investigated in albino Wistar rats. Twenty eight (28) adult male Wistar rats were uniformly divided into four groups of seven rats each. Group 1 served as control while groups 2, 3 and 4 were respectively gavaged with 200 mg/kg body weight, 400 mg/kg body weight and 600 mg/kg body weight of the extract daily for 21 days. At the end of treatments, animals were sacrificed, serum and liver tissues obtained for assay of total protein concentration and levels of ALT, AST and ALP. Results showed that treatment of rats with the respective doses of the extract did not significantly alter the serum and liver levels of total protein, ALT, AST and ALP in all test groups. This result suggests that ingestion of the extract may not be toxic at the doses investigated.

Stimulation of insulin secretion by Viscum album (mistletoe) leaf extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Twenty male white rats (250-300 g) of Wistar strain were randomly divided into two batches, the normoglycaemic batch and the streptozotocin-induced diabetic batch often rats each. Animals in each batch were further divided into two groups of five rats per group. After an overnight fast (12 hrs), animals in each group received D-glucose load (2.0 g/kg.i.v) under pentobarbital anaesthesia, with or without the crude extract (100 mg/kg/iv). Blood samples were collected intravenously at 15 min intervals for 3 hrs. for analysis of glucose, insulin and glucagon levels. From the results, the extract (100 mg/kg) did not appear to have any significant effect on the blood glucose level of normal rats, but produced about 35.3% decrease in the diabetic rats. Despite the apparent lack of action on glucose level of normal rats, the extract stimulated insulin secretion by about 92.9% (% control) in this group, and about 81.5% in the diabetic group (% control). The glucagon level was not altered by the extract in the normal rats. In the diabetic group, there was mild but significant suppression ofglucagon level after the first 1 hr. which lasted for about 50 min. We suggest that this extract from V. album leaves may possess antihyperglycaemic, insulinotropic, and possibly, mild glucagonostatic agent(s) and may therefore be a candidate for the anti-diabetic drugs.

Chemical and Biological Characterization of a Crude Venom Extract from the Sea Anemone-Bunodosoma Aavernata

Background: Sea-anemones; in common with other members of the phylum cnidaria (coelenterate) possess numerous tentacles containing specialized stinging cells of cnido-cysts. Our main objective is to elucidate the chemical character and biological properties of this Nigerian species of sea anemone Bunodosoma cavernata with a view to providing investigators a scientific basis for future research. Methods: The Nigerian species of sea anemone-Bunodosoma cavernata were collected at Opuaduakiri fishing port in Bonny town; Rivers State; Nigeria. The animal extract was prepared according to standard procedure. The protein content of the extract and percentage protein in the whole animal were also estimated following standard methods. Other biochemical constituents of the animal estimated were the total lipids; carbohydrate; moisture and the mineral content. The stability of the extract and an arbitrary unit of biological activity of the extract were also determined. Results: From the results; the protein content of the crude extract was 0.5 mg protein/ml for a 10-fold diluted extract; while the percentage total protein was about 39.4. The percentage lipid was about 14.9while carbohydrate was probably absent. The moisture content was about 95.7with about 3.4mineral content. The extracts prepared from fresh animals showed the highest activity or potency while the freeze-dried extract lost their potency after about 6 months storage. The result showed that the bulk of the animal was water with very low mineral content. On the biochemical constituents; protein level was the highest and the animal was probably devoid of carbohydrates. Conclusion: We conclude that the anemone (B. cavernata) extract is probably highly toxic and it is very likely that the difficulty in storage which resulted in loss of its biological activities was due to the proteinaeceous nature of the animal

Increased plasma total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein levels produced by the crude extract from the leaves of Viscum album (mistletoe).

The effect of an aqueous extract prepared from the leaves of Viscum album (Mistletoe) on plasma cholesterol and albumin levels in male Wistar rats was studied. Lethality studies revealed that the extract had an LD50 value of 417.0 mg/kg mice, intraperitoneally. The rats were randomly divided into seven (7) groups of 5 rats per group with one animal per metabolic cage. Group one served as the control (C1), groups two to six were treated with extract (200 mg/kg body weight orally and daily) for a maximum of ten (10) weeks, whereas, group seven (C2) received no extract treatment but was fed on normal rat chow. All the rats had free access to rat food and drinking water. The first group (C1) was sacrificed a fortnight after the commencement of the experiment, while group seven (C2) was sacrificed at the end (10th week) of the experiment. The extract-treated groups were sacrificed respectively in the order two, four, six, eight and ten week of extract administration. Whole blood was collected from these groups for analysis. Results showed significant [P < 0.01] increases in the level of total cholesterol (TC) from 1.92 +/- 0.11 mMol/L to 2.59 +/- 0.02 mMol/L (about 35% increase) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) from 0.95 +/- 0.02 mMol/L to 1.50 +/- 0.08 mMol/L (about 58.50% increase) at week ten. The LDL levels, the total protein and albumin levels did not show any significant change from the control values. From the results, it is suggested that the crude aqueous extract from mistletoe leaf may be relatively safe for therapeutic use as it neither predisposes to cardiovascular risk nor adversely affects protein metabolism following prolonged period of administration.

Blood pressure depression by the fruit juice of Carica papaya (L.) in renal and DOCA-induced hypertension in the rat.

A crude ethanol extract was prepared from the unripened fruit of Carica papaya. Lethality studies showed a dose-mortality relationship with an LD(50) of 325.2 mg/kg in mice administered i.p. Male albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into three batches (15 rats per batch)-renal, DOCA-salt hypertensives and normotensives. Each batch was further divided into three groups-the untreated, hydrallazine and extract treated groups. The mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and the heart rate were measured in all groups. From the results, the basal (control) MAP were 93.8 +/- 4.5, 175.2 +/- 5. 1 and 181.3 +/- 6.2 mmHg in the normotensive, renal and DOCA-salt hypertensives, respectively. Both hydrallazine (200 microg/100 g i. v) and extract (20 mg/kg.i.v) produced a significant depression of MAP in all groups (p < 0.01 vs controls), but the extract produced about 28% more depression of MAP than hydrallazine in the hypertensive groups. In another group of rats, the extract failed to depress the MAP in rats pretreated with propranolol, but atropine and noradrenaline pretreatment did not prevent the action of the extract on blood pressure. In vitro studies using isolated rabbit arterial (aorta, renal and vertebral) strips showed that the extract (10 microg/mL) produced relaxation of vascular muscle tone which was, however, attenuated by phentolamine (0.5-1.5 microg/mL). It is concluded that the fruit juice of C. papaya probably contains antihypertensive agent(s) which exhibits mainly alpha-adrenoceptor activity.

The effect of changing living standards on iron status in pregnancy in Calabar urban.

Reduced meat intake is often associated with iron deficiency anaemia. Reduced meat intake that arose from the frugality associated with a prolonged period of national economic reorientation policy, known as the "structural adjustment programme" (SAP), may have placed iron-stress on pregnancy in particular. Iron status of pre-SAP and SAP pregnancies were established from measurement of the haematological values of subjects. Indices such as haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume, serum Fe were lower in pregnancy especially during SAP. However, SAP pregnancy serum ferritin did not respond significantly to iron depletion. Unlike PCV, Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) and serum transferrin values showed a reverse behaviour. The level of these values, however, portends a toll exerted on body iron status in pregnancy associated with reduced haem iron intake. The changes in these values did not, however, lead to any over symptoms of iron deficiency probably because increased sea food (molluscs) consumption ameliorates the iron-toll from low absorbed non-haem iron. For lower income rural women in non-coastal areas, the absence of seafood in their diets exacerbates the low iron status in Pregnancy.

Serum cholesterol profile of some Nigerian pregnant women.

A semi-longitudinal study of the cholesterol profiles at various stages of pregnancy was conducted. The study involved 49 pregnant women who showed no physical signs of obesity, were neither hypertensive nor diabetic, and had a mean age of 24.7 +/- 4.5 (mean +/- SD). The results showed a progressive increase in the serum total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels from 4.02 +/- 0.39 mmol/L (mean +/- SD) and 1.81 +/- 0.15 mmol/L, respectively, at 3 months, to 5.59 +/- 0.51 mmol/L and 2.46 +/- 0.18 mmol/ in the ninth month of pregnancy. These represent a 39 +/- 11% and a 35 +/- 10% increase in total and HDL cholesterol, respectively, over the 3-month level. The levels of total and HDL cholesterol however decreased to 4.08 +/- 0.40 mmol/L and 1.89 +/- 0.17 mmol/L, respectively, a month after delivery. The most significant (P < 0.05) month to month increase was recorded between the 6th and the 7th month for both total and HDL cholesterol. The proportion of HDL cholesterol remained fairly constant at 43 +/- 3 to 45 +/- 4% throughout the period of pregnancy covered, and one month after delivery. This suggests a proportional increase in all lipoprotein fractions. It is concluded that the observed changes are normal physiological events.