Anti-atherogenic and cardio-protective properties of sweet melon (Cucumis melo. L. Inodorus) seed extract on high fat diet induced obesity in male wistar rats.

BACKGROUND: Cucumis melon is a medicinal plant with multiple pharmacological properties such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and diuretic effects. An increasing body of scientific evidence established the anti-diabetic/anti-obesity effects of Cucumis melo in humans, mice, and hamster models. However, there are no tangible reports on its ability to prevent cardiovascular complications following diet-induced obesity. The anti-atherogenic and cardioprotective effects of the Methanolic extract of Cucumis melo. L. Inodorus seeds on a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats was assessed in this study.  METHODS: Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups, (n = 8/group); i.e., Normal (N), HFD, HFD + 50 mg/kg b.w. of MCMs (Methanolic extract of Cucumis melon seeds), HFD + 100 mg/Kg b.w. of MCMs and HFD + 200 mg/kg b.w. of MCMs. The experimental animals were anaesthetized and sacrificed after 10 weeks, and blood samples and heart tissue were collected for further analysis. Using the Graph Pad Prism version 5.0, the results expressed as Mean ± SD was tested using the one-way ANOVA to show intergroup differences, followed by Bonferonni 's post hoc test. The level of significance was determined at P ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: MCMs significantly (P < 0.05) reduced body weight, adiposity index, total fat mass, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and total cholesterol (TC) compared with the HFD obese groups MCMs caused a significant reduction in the body weight, total fat mass, adiposity index, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and total cholesterol (TC) when compared to the animals in HFD obese groups. Also, the Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), Castelli index and, malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in MCMs treated groups compared to the HFD obese group. The catalase, protein, and HDL levels were significantly increased in MCMs treated groups compared to HFD-obese animals. Expression of nitric oxide in the form of nitrite in the heart tissue significantly increased in the MCMs treated compared to the HFD-obese rats, with the majority of the positive results recorded at 100 mg/Kg b.w. of MCMs. CONCLUSIONS: MCMs have anti-atherogenic and Cardio-protective properties on High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Male rats via an antioxidant and nitric oxide-dependent mechanism. Further study is recommended to evaluate the molecular mechanisms to which these anti-atherogenic and cardio-protective actions can be attributed and exploit the GCMS result in the development of drug candidates.

Synergistic cardioprotective ability of co-administration of Moringa supplemented diets and acarbose in diabetic cardiomyopathy involves attenuation of cholinergic, purinergic, monoaminergic, renin-angiotensin system, and antioxidant pathways.

One of the major complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) is diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) due to the multifaceted therapy involved. Here, we evaluated the combinatorial effect of Moringa leaf (ML) and seed (MS) supplemented diets plus acarbose (ACA) on cardiac acetylcholinesterase (AChE), adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), adenosine deaminase (ADA), monoamine oxidase (MAO), arginase, angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), and thiols levels. The diets and ACA (25 mg/kg) were administered for 14 days. The fasting blood glucose level (FBGL), cardiac AChE, ATPase, ADA, MAO, arginase, ACE, LDH activities, and TBARS and thiol levels were determined. Relative to the normal rats, the biomarkers were significantly increased in DM rats but were suppressed significantly in the diets plus ACA-treated rats while improving antioxidant status, with the 4% Moringa plus ACA proving outstanding compared to individual ML/MS and ACA. In addition, ML-supplemented diets with/without ACA had better effects compared to MS with/without ACA, respectively. In conclusion, the combination of ML/MS supplemented diets and ACA synergistically modulates the tested biochemicals. However, the effect on blood vessels and the nerves that control the heart, stiffness of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, fibrosis, cell signaling abnormalities, related gene expression, clinical trials, and echocardiology studies should be further investigated to affirm this claim. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Moringa oleifera has been a vocal appetite in mitigating cardiovascular disease induced by diabetes, but the formulation of a medicinal diet as an ameliorative route of attention to the pathology is fairly addressed, not talking of its combination with the synthetic antidiabetic drug, such as ACA. Based on this experiment, it is imperative to explore such an idea. This research shows that co-administration of moringa leaf/seed formulated diets plus ACA exhibits a synergistic effect in DCM management. However, further research is needed in this field of experiment.

Biotherapies in Medical Practice: A Review and the Nigerian Experience.

Biologics or Biological agents are pharmaceuticals manufactured, extracted from or semi synthesized from biological sources and used in the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of diseases. When used for rheumatic diseases, they are monoclonal antibodies targeting wide range of peptide mediators (cytokines), receptors and cells. They have complex structures and are about 200 to 1000 times larger than chemical molecule drugs. Biologics are being increasingly used in auto immune rheumatic and non-rheumatic diseases, especially when synthetic immunosuppressive have failed. They are also useful in various other auto immune diseases in other systems. There are a lot of these agents available depending on the targeted cytokine. Biologics use in rheumatic disease, rheumatoid arthritis was first documented in Nigeria in 2007. Ever since then, the two available biologics in Nigeria, Etanercept( Enbrel) and Rituximab( Mabthera) have been used in the management of diverse conditions. Many of the indications have been off label. While their efficacies are not in doubt, however their cost is prohibitive, and adverse effects are sometimes seen. This review describes the evolution of biotherapy, mode of action of biologics, indications for their use and challenges. It also gives our experience in the use of these agents among Nigerian patients seen in a private practice rheumatology clinic between 2007-2019.

Les produits biologiques ou agents biologiques sont des produits pharmaceutiques fabriqués, extraits ou semi-synthétisés à partir de sources biologiques et utilisés dans le diagnostic, le traitement ou la prévention de maladies. Lorsqu'ils sont utilisés pour les maladies rhumatismales, ce sont des anticorps monoclonaux ciblant une large gamme de médiateurs peptidiques (cytokines), de récepteurs et de cellules. Ils ont des structures complexes et sont environ 200 à 1000 fois plus gros que les molécules chimiques. Les produits biologiques sont de plus en plus utilisés dans les maladies rhumatismales autoimmunes et non rhumatismales, en particulier lorsque les immunosuppresseurs synthétiques ont échoué. Ils sont également utiles dans diverses autres maladies auto-immunes dans d'autres systèmes. Il existe un grand nombre de ces agents disponibles en fonction de la cytokine ciblée. L'utilisation de produits biologiques dans les maladies rhumatismales, la polyarthrite rhumatoïde a été documentée pour la première fois au Nigéria en 2007. Depuis lors, les deux produits biologiques disponibles au Nigéria, l'étanercept (Enbrel) et le rituximab (Mabthera) ont été utilisés dans la gestion de diverses conditions. De nombreuses indications ne sont pas conformes à l'étiquette. Bien que leur efficacité ne soit pas mise en doute, leur coût est toutefois prohibitif et des effets néfastes sont parfois observés. Cette revue décrit l'évolution de la biothérapie, le mode d'action des produits biologiques, les indications de leur utilisation et les enjeux. Il donne également notre expérience de l'utilisation de ces agents chez des patients nigérians vus dans une clinique de rhumatologie en cabinet privé entre 2007­2019. Mots clés: Indications biologiques Effets indésirables Pratique medicale expérience Nigériane.

Causes of attrition among frontline health workers in rural areas of Bauchi and Cross River States of Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The situation of frontline health workers in the rural areas of Bauchi and Cross River States has been classified as critical regarding the shortages due to attrition. This affects health service delivery and outcomes. METHODS: We targeted 402 participants, and 389 frontline health workers (nurses, midwives, nurse/midwives, community health officers and community health extension workers) responded. They were drawn from 42 public primary healthcare centers: 23 from Cross River and 19 from Bauchi States. Five focused-group discussions were conducted with 42 facilities in-charges to identify what they perceived as the main causes of attrition in the rural areas. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that the reasons that had potential to cause attrition of the frontline health workers were either voluntary or involuntary. Out of the 81 nurses in the study, 66 (81 percent) would voluntarily exit the workforce while 15 (19 percent) would leave involuntarily. From a total number of 81 nurses, midwives and nurse/midwives from the two states, 75% would exit due to resignations in search of better prospects in the urban areas. Ninety-nine percent of the community health worker's attrition had very low intentions of exit, and it would mainly be due to retirements and deaths. CONCLUSION: Implementation of tailor-made strategies that reflect their needs is imperative in the two states to reduce attrition among frontline health workers and improve health service outcomes.

Aqueous extract of Solanum macrocarpon Linn leaves abates hyperglycaemia and expression of glucose transporters gene in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

PURPOSE: In this study, antihyperglycaemic and level of gene expression of glucose transporters in alloxan-induced diabetic rats administered aqueous extract of S. macrocarpon leaves were assessed. METHOD AND RESULTS: Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal (I.P) injection of freshly prepared alloxan. The animals were divided into six groups, euthanized on the fourteenth day of the experiment and different hyperglycaemic parameters were evaluated. Administration of different doses of the plant extract significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the fasting blood glucose level, glycated haemoglobin, serum lipid profiles, lipid peroxidation, and glucose-6-phosphatase. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in liver glycogen content, antioxidant enzyme activities, hexokinase activity, and expression of glucose transporter genes (GLUT-2 and GLUT-4) in diabetic rats administered different doses of S. macrocarpon. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the aqueous extract of S. macrocarpon leaves could be helpful in the management of diabetes mellitus and its metabolic complications.

Prevalence and Determinants of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Use among Diabetes Patients in Southwestern Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: The epidemic of diabetes mellitus (DM) in African countries demands a critical assessment and review of patients' management protocols and their self-care habits. The objective of this research was to evaluate the pattern of usage of CAM, its role in the management of diabetes and possible determinants of its use in patients with diabetes. METHODS: Subjects were recruited from six selected hospitals from four of the six States in South western, Nigeria. Participants were consecutively recruited from the diabetes clinics of the selected hospitals. Participants completed a multicomponent questionnaire which comprised three sections. RESULTS: The majority of the subjects were females (57.7%) and of Yoruba extraction (89.7%). Their mean age was 62.58±11.80 years and their mean duration of diabetes was 7.95±6.41 years (range 1-36 years). Two hundred and forty one (62.1%) of the subjects reported the use of at least one type of CAM of which 213(88.4%) indicated using CAM as complementary to regular conventional anti-diabetic medications, while in the remaining 28 (11.6%) CAM users, it served as alternative medicine. The predictors of CAM use included male gender, and patients with at least secondary level education . CONCLUSION: The prevalence of the use of CAM therapies is high in this study among people living with diabetes in Southwest, Nigeria. CAM is used mainly as complementary rather than as an alternative therapy. The most commonly used CAM therapy was biological therapy-Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf), garlic and Moringa oleifera. Orientation about CAM should be included in diabetes education at diagnosis and regularly re-enforced at subsequent clinic visits.

Antidepressant-like effect of ethanol extract of Blighia unijugata Bak. (Sapindaceae) leaves in acute and chronic models of depression in mice.

Blighia unijugata (Sapindaceae) is an indigenous tree belonging to the tropical forests of West Africa. It is called "Ako Isin" by the Yoruba people of Southern-Western part of Nigeria, where it is among plants used traditionally in the management of depressive psychosis. The aim of this present study was to evaluate the anti-depressant activity of ethanol extract of Blighia unijugata leaves in-vivo using acute and chronic experimental models of depression. The antidepressant activity of ethanol extract of B. unijugata leaves was investigated using acute and chronic unpredictable mild stress. Depression tests used included forced swimming, tail suspension, yohimbine induced lethality and reserpine induced depression tests. Oxidative stress markers were also assessed in the brain homogenates after chronic unpredictable mild stress. The acute toxicity studied using oral route of administration was 1414 mg/kg. The results showed that, B. unijugata produced significant reduction in immobility time in forced swimming and tail suspension tests without stimulating in locomotor activity in open field test. It was also found that B. unijugata significantly reversed diarrhea, ptosis and hypothermia in reserpine model of depression. 2.5 mg/kg B. unijugata potentiated yohimbine induced lethality in mice and also reduced the oxidative stress markers. The ethanol extract of B. unijugata leaves possessed antidepressant action, thus justifying its use in the management of mental illness.

Prophylactic effect of aqueous extract of Sesamum indicum seeds on ethanol-induced toxicity in male rats.

The liver is vulnerable to alcohol-related injury because it is the primary site of alcohol metabolism. Additionally, a number of potentially dangerous by-products are generated as alcohol is broken down in the liver. However, dietary supplements may prevent or relieve some of alcohol's deleterious effects. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the prophylactic effect of aqueous extract of Sesamum indicum (SI) on ethanol induced toxicity in rats. Male Wistar albino rats were divided into control, ethanol, pre-treatment, simultaneous and post-treatment groups. In the prophylactic experiment, Sesamum indicum, (200 mg/kg body weight) was administered by oral gavage for 28 days; two hours before, simultaneously with or two hours after ethanol exposure. Toxicity was induced by administering 45% ethanol (4.8 g/kg bw) by oral gavage. Lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and gluthathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were then determined in the liver, serum triglyceride (TG) levels, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were monitored and histological examination was carried out. The results revealed that ethanol administration led to significant elevation of TBARS level while depleting in the level of GSH as well as CAT, GPx, SOD and GST activities. Similarly, TG level and ALT and AST activities were elevated. The SI pre-treated group significantly inhibited TBARS, restored GSH level, enhanced CAT, GPx, SOD and GST activities and significantly decreased the elevated level of serum TG, ALT and AST activities. SI treatment (simultaneously with ethanol) exhibited similar effects to those of the SI pre-treated groups, while the SI post-treated group did not show the same protection as the Pre-treated group. S. indicum possesses antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties, that eliminate the deleterious effects of toxic metabolites of ethanol.

Iron status and benefit of the use of parenteral iron therapy in pre-dialysis Chronic Kidney disease patients.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Anaemia is a major cardiovascular risk factor in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Treatment and correction of anaemia leads to improvement of cardiovascular status and quality of life of patients with CKD. This interventional open labeled randomised controlled study comparing the effect of intravenous and oral iron therapy in improving red cell indices and iron status in anaemic pre-dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease was carried out to determine iron status in anaemic pre-dialysis CKD patients to assess the benefit of parenteral iron supplementation as against empirical oral iron in CKD patients with iron deficiency. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty consecutive pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients attending the renal clinic over a six month period were screened. Forty- one subjects (68.3%) were found to be anaemic and were subsequently studied. RESULTS: The ages of the patients ranged between 19 and 71 years with a mean age of 39 years. The mean serum creatinine and mean creatinine clearance were 201.80 (70.25)?mol/L and 37.90 (± 12.17)ml/minute respectively. The haematocrit concentration was found to correlate inversely with the level of serum creatinine and 56.1% of the anaemic patients had iron deficiency. The mean PCV rise in the intravenous iron group was 2.42 (± 1.98)% and this was statistically significant (p=0.002) while the mean PCV difference was 0.909 (± 0.94)% in the oral iron group. Intravenously administered iron alone permitted anaemia correction in about one-third of these patients without any life threatening adverse drug event. CONCLUSION: Anaemia is very common in the pre-dialysis CKD population and the prevalence of iron deficiency is high. Intravenous iron supplementation is an effective and safe treatment for the anaemia in the pre-dialysis CKD patients. Response to oral iron was poor.

Bowel preparation for colonoscopy: enema versus sodium phosphate.

BACKGROUND: Colonoscopy is considered to be the gold standard investigation for assessing the colonic mucosa. Good bowel preparation is essential in order to achieve optimal visualisation of the mucosa. Traditionally water enema is used for bowel preparation in most centres in Nigeria. This prospective study was performed at the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Unit of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria between July 2008 and June 2009. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study compared patients' tolerability, adverse effects, efficacy and mean duration of colonoscopy of water enema and sodium phosphate (NaP) for bowel preparation toward colonoscopy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Standard structured questionnaire was completed by 64 patients and the colonoscopist assessing tolerability, adverse effect, efficacy and mean duration of the procedure. RESULTS: There were sixty four patients aged between 22 to 86 years. The mean age was 58.16 ± 15.790. Thirty eight (59.4%) patients were in patients and 26 (40.6%) were out patients. Forty one (64.1%) patients had water enema while 23 (35.9%) patients were included in the NaP group. The median age for patients in both groups was 62.0 years. Patients in NaP group rated their bowel preparation as more tolerable and found the dietary restriction much easier than those in water enema group (p < 0.0001). Better colon cleansing score was found in patient in NaP group as compared with those in water enema group in all region of the colon. The procedure took significantly longer time in patients in water enema group as compared with those in NaP group (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: NaP has a better bowel cleansing score for colonoscopy than water. It has better tolerability, side effect profile, efficacy and gives a shorter mean duration for the procedure.

The antimicrobial activities of processed Nigerian and South African black tea.

The antibacterial activity of processed Nigerian Lipton Tea and South African 5 Roses Tea, extracted using distilled water, chloroform and 70% ethanol were determined against nine (9) enteropathogenic bacteria which includes; Bacillus subtilis, Proteus sp, Enterobacter sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi A, Salmonella arizona and Staphylococcus aureus. The 2 tea bags, Nigerian Lipton tea bag and the South African 5 Roses tea bag were extracted through Solvent extraction method using 3 extraction solvents; Distilled water, Chloroform and 70% Ethanol and then inoculated onto the Mueller-Hinton agar plates containing the standard isolates at 6 different points on each plate. The zones of inhibition of the bacterial isolates produced by each of these tea - extracts were determined while meaningful antibacterial activities against five (5) of the standard isolates; Enterobacter sp., K. pneumoniae, S. paratyphi A, B. subtilis and S. aureus were observed. Lipton tea water-extract was a more effective antibacterial agent than water-extract of 5 Roses tea. While the 70% ethanol-extract of 5 Roses tea had the greatest antibacterial activity of all the different tea-extract used for the study, the chloroform-extracts of the tea bags had no antimicrobial effect on all the test organisms used.

Studies of the antioxidative effects of green and black tea (Camellia sinensis) extracts in rats.

This paper reports a comparative study of the antioxidative effects of black and green tea extracts in sodium oxalate-challenged rats. A dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight of sodium oxalate was used to induce lipid peroxidation in vivo. Rats treated with sodium oxalate had 42.06 +/- 3.10 nM/hour, 45.39 +/- 9.75 mg/100 mL, 10.95 +/- 1.52%, 15.95 +/- 3.19 mg/dL, 112.25 +/- 5.15 mg/dL, 59.21 +/- 2.95 IU, 39.55 +/- 2.51 IU, and 150.62 +/- 9.62 KA/unit for serum levels of malondialdehyde, reduced ascorbic acid, catalase, cholesterol, phospholipid, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), respectively. These values are significantly (P < .05) different from values obtained from normal rats. Rats pretreated with 100 mg/kg of body weight of green tea had 27.59 +/- 3.56 nM/hour, 79.11 +/- 5.13 mg/100 mL, 4.23 +/- 0.36%, 50.09 +/- 5.24 mg/dL, 97.58 +/- 4.73 mg/dL, 23.10 +/- 1.59 IU, 31.14 +/- 1.26 IU, and 96.48 +/- 2.36 KA/unit for serum levels of malondialdehyde, reduced ascorbic acid, catalase, cholesterol, phospholipid, AST, ALT, and ALP, respectively, compared with 37.28 +/- 2.07 nM/hour, 72.62 +/- 2.10 mg/100 mL, 6.23 +/- 1.52%, 37.25 +/- 2.84 mg/dL, 78.05 +/- 2.36 mg/dL, 36.08 +/- 1.80 IU, 29.00 +/- 3.02 IU, and 109.23 +/- 6.32 KA/unit recorded for the same parameters in rats treated with black tea. The cholesterol to phospholipid ratio was increased from 0.14 +/- 0.04 in control rats to 0.47 +/- 0.02 and 0.51 +/- 0.01 by black and green tea extracts, respectively. These results suggest that tea extracts have antioxidant properties and that green tea extract is more potent.

Toxicity studies on Datura metel L. with reference to official stramonium.

Suspensions of the powdered leaf of Datura metel L. and Datura stramonium L. (Solanaceae) were administered by intubation at different doses: 0.125 mg/kg, 0.250 mg/kg, 0.500 mg/kg, 1.000 mg/kg, 1.224 mg/kg and 1.400 mg/kg to virgin female albino mice and were observed daily. After two weeks, the mice were sacrificed and the liver, kidney and intestine were removed, preserved in 10% formalin solution and embedded in paraffin wax. Tissues from these organs were stained for assessment of tissue morphology. Pathological changes observed at 1.224 mg/kg and 1.400 mg/kg (LD100) were irreversible. At all other dose levels, there were reversible changes in the liver, kidney and intestine. Generally, D. metel-treated mice showed less anatomical abnormalities than D. stramonium-treated mice. Hence, D. metel could serve as a substitute for D. stramonium in drug development.

Antibacterial potency of methanol extracts of lower plants.

Antibacterial potency of methanol extracts of three green lower plants, Pneumatopteris afra, Platycerium bifurcatum and Nephrolepsis bisserata was determined using agar dilution method on clinical strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp. and Salmomelia typhi. Antibacterial activities were observed at concentrations of 12.5, 25.0, 50.0 and 100.0 microg/ml. Their minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 12.5approximately 100 microg/ml. Extracts of P. afra and P. bifurcatum were most active. Antibacterial activities observed with N. bisserata were less pronounced with no detectable activity at extract concentrations of 12.5 and 25.0 microg/ml. E. coli, together with S. aureus appeared to be the most susceptible of the test bacteria while Klebsiella spp. was least sensitive. The significance of our findings is discussed.

Anti-sickling potential of a Nigerian herbal formula (ajawaron HF) and the major plant component (Cissus populnea L. CPK).

The anti-sickling activities of the extracts of the roots of a plant Cissus populnea L. (CPK) (a major constituent of a herbal formula Ajawaron HF used in the management of sickle cell disease in south-west Nigeria) has been examined. Phytochemical examination of the extract showed the presence of anthraquinone derivatives, steroidal glycosides and cardiac glycosides. Alkaloids and tannins were completely absent in the CPK extracts. Evaluation of the anti-sickling activity involved the use of both positive (p-hydroxybenzoic acid, 5 microg/mL) and negative control (normal saline) for each set of experiments aimed at the inhibition of sodium metabisulphite-induced sickling of the HbSS red blood cells obtained from confirmed non-crisis state sickle-cell patients. The chloroform and water partitioned fractions of the cold methanol extracts of CPK exhibited a 62.2% and 52.9% inhibition of sickling, respectively, at 180 min. The herbal formula (HF) aqueous extract showed the highest anti-sickling activity on a weight by weight basis of all the extracts and fractions tested, giving a 71.4% inhibition of sickling at the end of 180 min incubation when compared with the normal saline control. The maximum percentage inhibition of sickling exhibited by the p-hydroxybenzoic acid control was 46.0% at 90 min incubation.

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: a prospective study of 154 cases.

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma is a tumour with a dismal prognosis. In recent times, however, great advances have been made in its management. This 13-year prospective study done at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, was an attempt to appraise the outlook of the disease in Nigeria at the turn of the 21st century. Primary hepatocellular carcinoma affected mainly middle-aged Nigerians (peak age-group = 40-59 years), predominantly males (M:F = 2:1) and, in a sizeable proportion (78%), it co-existed with cirrhosis. Significant risk factors found were scarification marks (87%), anicteric hepatitis (71.3%), abuse of medicinal herbs and analgesics (68.6%) and injection from quack doctors (51%). Blood test for HBsAg was positive in 61% of patients. The mean duration of symptoms. before diagnosis was 12.64 weeks (SD 13.77) while, on the average, patients died within 14.0 weeks (SD 13.0) of illness, usually of liver failure (67.7%). Only symptomatic treatment could be offered in 148 patients (96.1%) while chemotherapy was merely attempted in 5 (3.25%). Majority of the patients (59.8%) were either discharged against medical advice or lost to follow-up. This study shows that Nigerian patients presenting with primary hepatocellular carcinoma already have advanced disease and this makes treatment and survival hopeless. Universal immunisation with HB vaccine should be implemented in Nigeria without further delay and health education should be directed against socio-cultural practices which are aetiological risk factors for primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

Potency status and efficacy of measles vaccine administered in Nigeria: a case study of three EPI centres in Lagos, Nigeria.

The potency status and efficacy of measles vaccines were studied in three immunization (EPI) centres in the suburban area of Lagos, Nigeria. A total of 14 vials of measles vaccine were collected and subjected to potency testing while, 203 measles-vaccinated children were recruited for this study. Only 85 (41.87%) of the vaccinees reported back for the post-vaccination follow-up screening. The seroconversion pattern showed that 51(60%) had potent antibody titres ranging from 1:40 to 1:1280, while the remaining 34 (40%) had a low antibody titres between < 1:20 and 1:20. The vaccine potency test showed that only 1 (7.14%) of the 14 vaccine vials collected at these centres had virus titre of 3.5 Log while the remaining 13 (92.86%) had virus titres lower than 3.0 Log: the recommended human dose by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for measles vaccine. The administration of these subpotent and/or impotent vaccines vis-à-vis the status of immune response elicited in the vaccinees may be one of the reasons for the occurrence of measles infection in vaccinated children in the recent time in Nigeria. We herein suggested the subjection of all vaccines to a thorough standard laboratory screening before use in Nigeria.

Changes in differently processed soya bean (Glycine max.) and lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) with particular reference to their chemical composition and their mineral and some inherent anti-nutritional constituents.

The effects of 3 processing techniques: cooking, roasting and autoclaving on the proximate chemical composition, the mineral content and some inherent toxic factors of soya and lima beans were investigated. The processing techniques generally reduced the crude fibre levels and enhanced the extractable fat in the soya and lima beans. The coefficients of variability for crude fibre and ether extract due to the processing techniques of soya and lima beans were 20.9%, 16.0% and 22.3%, 38.1%, respectively. In parallel with decreased ash content in the cooked bean samples, there was a decrease in the K, Mg, Na and P levels relative to the raw bean and also relative to the other processing techniques. Mineral contents of the autoclaved bean samples were generally similar to those of the raw (unprocessed) samples. Under the processing conditions, roasting caused the highest reduction in thioglucoside content (59%) in soya bean while cooking caused the highest reduction in lima bean (78%). Trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) ranged between 0.59 mg/g sample in the cooked soya bean and 11.6 mg/g sample in the raw bean while the corresponding values for lima bean ranged between 0.59 and 6.3 mg/g sample. Cooking and roasting caused over 90% reduction of TIA, while autoclaving caused 64-69% reduction in both bean samples. Under the assay conditions, haemagglutinating activity was not detected in the cooked and autoclaved soya and lima beans. The need to prevent both functional and nutritional damage to food proteins and other nutrients, resulting from excessive heating, was discussed.