The prevalence of malaria infection in pregnant women living in a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria
October 2010
Malaria during pregnancy continues to be a major health problem in endemic countries with clinical consequences including death of both mother and child. In Nigeria, statistics shows that as many as 300,000 lives especially those of children and pregnant women are lost annually to malaria. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women living in Ojo local council, a suburb of Lagos...
Alpha-amylase inhibitor of amadumbe (Colocasia esculenta): Isolation, purification and selectivity toward α- amylases from various sources
September 2010
Two proteins (A-1 and B-2) with a-amylase inhibitor activity were extracted and partially purified from Colocasia esculenta tubers through 80% ammonium sulphate fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel and gel-chromatography on Sephadex G-100. The molecular weight of A-1 and B-2 were estimated to be about 17000 and 19000 daltons, respectively. The inhibitors inactivated a-amylases of...
Influence of sub-chronic oral exposure to high monosodium glutamate on some serum markers of the renal functions in male Wistar rats
September 2010
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancing food additive that may be present in packaged food without appearing on the label. This could increase the possibility of its inadvertent consumption in high concentration. The study investigated the effects of MSG on some serum markers of renal functions in adult male Wistar rats by daily oral exposure to 3 ml kg-1 dose distilled water (DW) and 15 mg kg-1 MSG...
Adsorption, metabolism and degradation of erythromycin in giant freshwater prawn and tilapia aquaculture in Mekong River Delta
September 2010
Adsorption, metabolism and degradation of erythromycin in freshwater prawn and tilapia aquaculture in Mekong River Delta were monitored and evaluated. They were fed practical diets medicated with erythromycin (50 and 100 mg. kg-1 body weight for 7 days). Erythromycin residues in their muscle were determined by the liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry/ mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. Our study provided...
In vitro and in vivo evaluation of free radical scavenging potential of ethanolic extract of Podophyllum hexandrum
August 2010
The study was aimed at evaluating the antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of rhizome of Podophyllum hexandrum under in vitro and in vivo situations. The extract was found to contain a large amount of polyphenols and also exhibit an immense reducing ability. At a concentration of 250 µg/ml, 48% of H2O2 radicals could be scavenged by the extract. The extract also inhibited...
Expression of chitosanase gene from Aspergillus fumigatus JXSD-97 in Pichia pastoris
August 2010
In this study, the plasmid pPIC9K-CSN was transformed into Pichia pastorisstrain GS115 by electroporation and the high expression transformants with G418 resistance were obtained. The expression conditions for CSN in P. pastoris, such as the expression time, pH value and methanol concentration in the BMMY were optimized. The maximum activity of CSN is about 100 mg/L under optimized condition (96 h of 0.5%...
Corncob is the optimum carbon resource for the growth of Tremella aurantialba
August 2010
The minimum medium without carbon source was used to investigate the effects of five kinds of hexoses, four kinds of pentose, four kinds of bi-saccharide and three kinds of polysaccharides on Tremella aurantialba growth. The result demonstrated that (1) The fittest carbon source of T. aurantialba was the five-carbon aldose in all the tested monosaccharides; (2) Polysaccharides linked with...
Metabolic engineering of an ethanol-tolerant Escherichia coli MG1655 for enhanced ethanol production from xylose and glucose
August 2010
Efficient ethanol production will require a recombinant to able to ferment a variety of sugars (pentoses, and hexoses), less formation of by-products, as well as to tolerate high ethanol stress. In this study, a mutant (MGE) that can grow in 60 g ethanol/l was selected from Escherichia coli MG1655 by enrichment method with increasing concentrations of ethanol. The ethanol-tolerant mutant was used as the host...
Evaluation of nutritional and antinutritional characteristics of Obeche (Triplochition scleroxylon scleroxylon) and several Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves
July 2010
The biochemical composition of some selected varieties of White Mulberry and Obeche leaves were investigated to ascertain their nutritional and antinutritional values. Three varieties of White Mulberry leaves (S36, S54 and K2) were harvested from Ondo State sericulture centre while Obeche leaves were harvested from Aponmu Forest Reserve located in Ondo State, Southwestern Nigeria, for analysis. Proximate chemical...
Phytochemical screening and histopathological effects of single acute dose administration of Artemisia annua L. on testes and ovaries of Wistar rats
July 2010
Artemisia annua L. is a medicinal plant whose derivatives are used in the treatment of malaria. Phytochemical screening and histopathological effects of single acute intraperitoneal dose of the alcoholic extract of A. annua, were investigated in Wistar rats in this study. Thirty five adult albino Wistar rats (109 - 307 g) of both sexes used for the study were randomly assigned on the basis of weight and...
Standardized alcoholic extract of Phyllanthus fraternus exerts potential action against disturbed biochemical parameters in diabetic animals
July 2010
Alcoholic extract of Phyllanthus fraternus Webster whole plant (PFAE) prepared by successive solvent treatment was administered at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight once in a day for 21 days to the alloxan induced diabetic albino rats. Certain biochemical parameters that is lipid profile (total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, triacylglycerols), kidney functions (urea, creatinine) and liver functions...
Screening of antioxidant activity, total phenolics and GC-MS study of Vitex negundo
July 2010
The present study was carried out for identification of the phytochemicals present in the Vitex negundo leaves and also evaluate the total phenols, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity of the leaf extract. Total phenols was carried out by Folin Ciocalteu method and the phenolic content was 27.72 mg/100 of gallic acid equivalent (GE). Antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH method and the leaves...
Effects of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia on the lipid profile and some enzyme activities in female Wistar rats
June 2010
The effects of a high dietary soybean oil and cholesterol on serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and triglycerides were investigated. Total protein, albumin, glucose, gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) activities were also investigated in weanling female Wistar rats for eight weeks. Two groups of...
Malate dehydrogenase from blood stream Trypanosoma vivax exists in isoenzyme forms
June 2010
Malate dehydrogenase was isolated and partially purified from blood streamTrypanosoma vivax. The enzyme exists in isoenzyme forms (MDH1 and MDH2). The relative molecular weights of MDH1 and MDH2 determined by Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were 61 and 63 kdal. respectively. MDH2 lost activity immediately after purification. It has purification fold of 15 and percentage...
Purification and characterization of the α-amylase isolated from Penicillium camemberti PL21
June 2010
The amylase family of enzymes is a great significance due to its wide area of potential application. α-amylase from Penicillium camemberti PL21 obtained from I. N. A. (The technological laboratory of Agriculture National Institute Paris- France) and using orange waste as substrates was produced under optimum conditions, after 168 h of incubation and subjected for purification and characterization. The...
The distribution of cyanide detoxifying enzymes (rhodanese and 3- mercaptopyruvate sulphurtransferase) in different species of the family Cichlidae (Tilapia zillii, Sarotherodon galilaeus and Oreochromis niloticus)
June 2010
The cyanide metabolising enzymes (rhodanese and mercaptopyruvate sulphurtransferase) were estimated in different tissues of three species of tilapia (Tilapia zilli, Sarotherodon galileus,and Oreochromis niloticus) from two locations (Aiba and Osinmo reservoirs, both in the South-Western region of Nigeria). The enzyme activities were carried out by measuring the amount of thiocyanate produced by the two enzymes...
Characterization of antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds of cinnamon and ginger essential oils
June 2010
Essential oils obtained from the bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) and the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale (ginger) were characterized by analytical TLC and GC/MS, and their antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds were detected by TLC-bio-autography assays. Essential oil of cinnamon bark (CEO) was found to be a unique aromatic monoterpene-rich natural source, with trans-cinnamaldehyde...
Production of yeast using acid-hydrolyzed cassava and poultry manure extract
May 2010
Cassava is made up of starch as its major nutritive reserve. Starch which is one of the most important products synthesized by plants is consumed as food and can be used in industrial processes. This investigation seeks to explore the availability of cassava as a source of glucose as well as poultry manure as a source of nitrogen in the production of yeast. Cassava flour was hydrolyzed with 0.5% (v/v) concentrated...
AQY1 gene from Debaryomyces hansenii
May 2010
Aquaporins are members of the major intrinsic protein superfamily of integral membrane proteins that enable the transport of water, glycerol and other solutes across membranes in diverse organisms. In yeasts, the proposed physiological roles of aquaporins are related to their contribution to freeze tolerance, osmoregulation and water transport. This article reports a contribution to the freeze tolerance in the...
Ginger extract (Zingiber officinale) triggers apoptosis and G0/G1 cells arrest in HCT 116 and HT 29 colon cancer cell lines
May 2010
Although many studies have shown the antitumor properties of ginger extract (Zingiber officinale), little is known regarding the mechanism of its effects. This study was conducted to determine the mechanism of antitumor effects of ginger extract by evaluating apoptosis rate and cell cycle progression status in colon cancer cell lines HCT 116 and p53 defective HT 29. HCT 116 and HT 29 cells were cultured in the presence...
Application of acid-hydrolyzed cassava (Manihot esculenta) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) for the production of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
April 2010
Much progress has been made in the cultivation and production of cassava (Manihot esculenta) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in Nigeria. In the present study, investigation was carried out on the possibility of using cassava flour as a source of glucose as well as cowpea as source of nitrogen in the production of yeast. Acid hydrolysis (using dilute H2SO4) of cassava and cowpea was undertaken to release the sugars and...
Captopril interferes with some serum biochemical findings
April 2010
Captopril is a widely used anti-hypertensive drug that acts by inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme. This work has been carried out to investigate the effects of captopril on some common biochemical laboratory parametres in the sera of patients receiving the drug. For this study, 40 subjects were included, all within the age range of 40 to 63 years and with newly diagnosed essential hypertension. From each patient,...
Effect of ferric oxide nanoparticles on microtubules organization
April 2010
Nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in several manufactured products. The small size of nanoparticles facilitates their uptake into cells as well as transcytosis across epithelial cells into blood and lymph circulation to reach different sites, such as the central nervous system. Studies have shown different risks of Fe2O3NPs in the neuronal system and other organs. They are membrane-bound layer aggregates or...
Synergistic effects of glucan and resveratrol
April 2010
Recent data showing that glucan stimulates defense reactions in plants through synthesis of resveratrol, led us to study the possible synergetic effects of a glucan-resveratrol complex on immune reactions in mice. We measured phagocytic activity, expression of CD4 marker on spleen cells, IL-2 secretion and antibody response. In all cases we confirmed the stimulatory effects of glucan. Resveratrol alone had either limit...
Assessing the role of RecA protein in the radioresistant bacterium, Deinococcus geothermalis
April 2010
The moderately thermophilic bacterium Deinococcus geothermalis exhibits extraordinary resistance to ionizing radiation. RecA protein is considered to be one of the most important participants in radioresistance. To assess the role of the RecA protein in D. geothermalis, the recA gene was isolated from D. geothermalisand over expressed in Escherichia coli. After the D. geothermalis RecA...
Fermentation in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) pulp juice improves nutritive value of cassava peel
March 2010
A major challenge in using cassava peel as feed for animals is the presence of cyanogenic glycosides and the low concentration of protein. The present study investigated the possibility of upgrading cassava peels using fermented cassava pulp juice. Cassava pulp juice was squeezed out of grated cassava pulp and fermented for 3 days at ambient temperature. The microorganisms in the fermented pulp juice were identified...
Production of cuticle - degrading proteases by Beauveria bassiana and their induction in different media
March 2010
The concern for the development of hyphomycete fungi as suitable biocontrol agents of insect pests leads to the isolation of various insect pathogenic fungi. Amongst them, one of the most studied entomopathogenic fungus is Beauveria bassiana. The conidia of mitosporic fungi adhere to the host cuticle and germinate to produce an infectious propagule, and produce a sequential release of extra cellular enzymes to...
Optimization of culture parameters to enhance production of amylase and protease from Aspergillus awamori in a single fermentation
March 2010
Concomitant production of amylase and protease by Aspergillus awamorinakazawa MTCC 6652 was enhanced in a single fermentation by media engineering and optimization of other important parameters. Wheat bran was considered as a suitable substrate for production of amylase and protease by A. awamori in a single fermentation as none of the additional substrate such as powder of peanut, corn, soybean seeds and...
Hepatoprotective role of Garcinia kolanut (Heckel) extract on methamphetamine: Induced neurotoxicity in mice
March 2010
The hepatoprotective effect of aqueous extract of Garcinia kola (AEGK) was studied in 60 mice of mixed sexes. The animals were divided into 6 groups of 10 mice each. Group I received normal saline, Groups II and III got 100 and 200 mg/kg AEGK (orally), respectively. Group IV received 10 mg/kg methamphetamine (MAM) (s.c.) only. Groups V and VI got 100 and 200 mg/kg of AEGK respectively, before 10 mg/kg methamphetamine...
Lecithin: Cholesterol acyltransferase, lipoprotein lipase and lipoproteins in adult Nigerians with sickle cell disease
February 2010
Lecithin: Cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is a glycoprotein enzyme involves in the esterification of plasma cholesterol to form cholesteryl ester and is important in the maturation of high density lipoprotein. Lipid metabolism in sickle cell anaemia patients may be affected. The objective of this study was to determine the activities of serum lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase, lipoprotein lipase, lipids and...
Toxic effect of lead on kidney function in rat wistar
February 2010
Lead is one of the environmental pollutants that can threat the life of living creatures in many ways. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of lead exposure on kidney function. Fourteen male Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups; group 1 was given a tap water diet and group 2 was given 1000 ppm lead acetate in drinking water for 8 weeks. Lead concentration in blood was determined by atomic absorption....
Changes in haemorrheologic and fibrinolytic activities upon hypertension and diabetic chemotherapy in Calabar diabetic residents, Nigeria
February 2010
This research was carried out to assess the effect of hypertension on haemorrheologic and fibrinolytic activities in fifty (50) diabetics resident in Calabar municipality and the values obtained were compared with those of fifty (50) age and sex-matched non diabetics in the same locality. Relative plasma viscosity plasma fibrinogen concentration, euglobulin lysis time and fasting blood sugar were determined using...
The response to iron deficiency of two sensitive grapevine cultivars grafted on a tolerant rootstock
February 2010
Two sensitive cultivars were examined, Vittoria and Italia, grafted on a tolerant rootstock (140 Ruggeri). Two levels of iron chlorosis in scions were selected, initial and evident, and compared to the healthy rootstock (control). The fractions of extracellular and cytoplasmatic cations, chloroplastic mobile, loosely linked, strongly linked and residual cations as well as the active fraction were...
The effects of aqueous extracts of the leaves of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn on renal function in hypertensive rats
February 2010
The leaves of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn (Family Malvaceae) have been used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of various human diseases such as aphrodisiac, hypertension, wound healing, diabetes mellitus and cancer. In this present study, the effect of 200 mg/kg of the aqueous leaf extract on the renal function of hypertensive rats was investigated. The administration of H. rosa-sinensis leaves...
Effects of soaking and boiling and autoclaving on nutritional quality of Mucuna flagellipes (Ukpo)
February 2010
The effect of soaking and boiling, and autoclaving on nutritional factors (proximate and mineral) and anti-nutritional qualities of legume, Mucuna flagellipes were studied. Batches of seeds were soaked for 6, 12, 18 and 24 h in distilled water at room temperature, then boiled in water for 30, 45, 60 or 90 min respectively. Another batch of the M. flagellipes was autoclaved for different duration of...
The influence of 950 MHz magnetic field (mobile phone radiation) on sex organ and adrenal functions of male rabbits
February 2010
Mobile phones are used frequently and held close to the body thus they are potentially dangerous sources of electromagnetic (EM) radiations. The clear effects of EMF (electromagnetic field) on many organs of the body have not been known until now and have puzzled scientists. The objective of this study was the evaluation of the influence of different powers (3 and 6 W) of 950 MHz magnetic field on testosterone, FSH...
Effect of egusi melon oil on lecithin: Cholesterol acyltransferase activity in rats fed a cholesterol diet
January 2010
The effect of feeding egusi melon oil as a supplement to a cholesterol-based diet on serum lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase activity of rats was evaluated. The rats were divided into two groups designated: control and test respectively. Rats in the test group were fed 5% cholesterol diet supplemented with 5% egusi melon oil while the control rats received 5% cholesterol diet...
Assessment of current iodine status of pregnant women in a suburban area of Imo State Nigeria, twelve years after universal salt iodization
January 2010
Three hundred and two pregnant women participated in this study. Our results showed that the range, mean and median urinary iodine excretion (UIE) were 28.1 to 218.1, 152.09 ± 41.65 and 163.1 µg/l, respectively. The range, mean and median TSH concentration were 0.7 - 5.9, 1.4 ± 0.7 and 1.3 µIU/ml, respectively. Our results showed that none of the women have severe iodine deficiency, 2% had...
A study on prostate specific antigen (PSA) with the ratio of free to total PSA
January 2010
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a glycoprotein produced as a marker by prostate gland for prostate cancer, benign prostate hyperplasia and prostatitis. Study objective is to evaluate f/t PSA ratio to distinguish the Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer patients in and around SRM University. To define the age specific reference ranges of PSA in control and test group at Chennai, India. Healthy men...
Cytoplasmic, peroxisomal and mitochondrial membrane phospholipid alteration in 31-diamino-azo-benzene (31-DAB)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma
January 2010
Alteration in the cytoplasmic, mitochondrial and peroxisomal membrane phospholipid has been investigated in 31- diamino-azo-benzene (DAB) -induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats. The cytoplasmic membrane of tumour group shows 27.5, 19.7, 38.7 and 34.7% increase in phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and sphingomyelin respectively compared with the control group, mitochondrial membrane...
Investigation of antimicrobial and plasma coagulation property of some molluscan ink extracts: Gastropods and cephalopods
January 2010
The ink secretion of molluscan species was identified as one of the novel sources of bioactive compounds. Aqueous ink extracts of Dollabella auricularia inhibited the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In addition to D. auricularia, Octopus vulgaris and Sepia aculeate ink samples showed antifungal activity. The antimicrobial activities of the samples were not due to the...
Anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcerogenic activity of the ethanol extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale)
December 2009
The acute toxicity test carried out on the ginger extract gave the LD50 value as 1000 mg/kg. The antiinflammatory and anti-ulcerogenic effects of the ethanol extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in adult Wistar rats were studied using values below the lethal dose. Inflammation was induced by injecting 0.1 ml undiluted fresh egg albumin (philogistic agent) into the subplantar surface of the...
Modulation of melanin synthesis and its gene expression in skin melanocytes by palm tocotrienol rich fraction
December 2009
Melanin is the pigment that determines skin color. Melanin synthesis is catalysed by the enzyme tyrosinase and is controlled by TYR, TYRP1 and TYRP2 genes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti pigmentation property of palm tocotrienol rich fraction by determining melanin synthesis and expression of genes involved in its regulation in skin melanocytes. Palm tocotrienol...
Antifeedant and antimicrobial activity of Tylophora indica
December 2009
Crude and pure extracts of Tylophora indica were investigated in view of antifeedant, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Leaf crude extract showed more antifeedant activity than stem and root against Spodoptera litura, a polyphagous pest on wide ranging crops. Among the pure compounds isolated, Tylophorine showed the highest antifeedant activity followed by Septicine, O-Methyl...
Effect of falciparum malaria on some plasma proteins in males: With special reference to the levels of testosterone and cortisol
November 2009
Sex-associated hormones were evidenced to modulate immune responses and consequently directly influence the outcome of infection. Testosterone is known to influence both protein metabolism and the level of cortisol which is the hormone of stress. This work was conducted to explore the influence of the degree of parasitemia in Plasmodium falciparum malaria on the male sex hormone testosterone, plasma...
Immunopurification of a rape (Brassica napus L.) seedling lipase
November 2009
Lipase or triacylglycerol acylhydrolase (E.C.3.1.1.3) was purified to homogeneity from rapeseed-germinated cotyledons (Brassica napus L.). The purification scheme involved homogenization, centrifugation, ultracentrifugation and affinity chromatography using polyclonal antibodies raised against porcine pancreatic lipase. The purified rapeseed lipase was homogenous and did not contain...
Effect of Gongronema latifolium crude leaf extract on some cardiac enzymes of alloxan-induced diabetic rats
November 2009
The effect of Gongronema latifolium on serum cardiac enzymes in alloxan induced diabetic rat models and normal control rats were determined using graded doses of 80% ethanol extract of G. latifolium leaf. The serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CKMB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LD) were determined in diabetic Wistar albino...
Electrolyte profile and prevalent causes of sickle cell crisis in Enugu, Nigeria
November 2009
One hundred sickle cell patients aged between 6 - 25 years in steady state who attended Sickle Cell Clinic at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria were selected for this study. Out of this number, only thirty who were eventually admitted in crisis state within one year of this study were selected for subsequent investigations. They included 20 females and 10 males. We also selected thirty...
The role of ascorbic acid in the treatment of Plasmodium Berghei infected mice
November 2009
This work aimed at examining the effect of malaria parasites and ascorbic treatments in mice. The relevance of this research derives from the desire to understand the role of ascorbic acid in malaria infection. In this study design, three groups of ten mice each categorized as non-parasitized-non-treated (control), parasitized-non-treated (PnT) and parasitized ascorbic acid treated (P+asT) were used....
Prevention of cadmium-induced alteration in rat testes and prostate lipid patterns by α-tocopherol
October 2009
Cadmium induced testicular damage has been investigated in α-tocopherol (Vitamin E) pretreated and non-pretreated male rats exposed to a single sub-lethal dose of cadmium in form of CdCl2. Graded doses of vitamin E (75, 150, and 750 mg kg-1 body wt.) were administered daily to rats in separate groups by gavage for 4 weeks while 3 mg Cd kg-1 body wt was administered subcutaneously, 24 hr to the termination of the...
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