Hypoglycemic activity of leaves of Acanthus montanus T.Anderson (Acanthaceae) in rats

Hypoglycemic activity of Acanthus montanus, used locally in Nigeria to “cure” diabetes, was evaluated. Phytochemical tests and acute toxicity tests were carried out on the methanolic extract. Using normoglycemic and alloxanized (alloxan monohydrate 70 mg/kg IV body weight) rats, pre-treatment was done with 400 mg/kg of the extract and glibenclamide 10 mg/kg as reference drug orally. Blood glucose levels of the rats were measured at various time intervals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 h). In addition, a dose dependency test was also done with alloxanized rats using 100 and 200 mg/kg of the extracts. Glucose levels were analyzed statistically using ANOVA and Dunnett’s tests. The extract revealed abundance of alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides and flavonoids. Acute toxicity tests showed an oral LD₅₀ of 4,800 mg/kg. With the exception of glibenclamide 10 mg/kg (glucose reduction to 44 mg/dl, p?<?0.01) there was no significant reduction in glucose level in normoglycemic rats in all the treatments at 6 h. In alloxanized rats, there was significant reduction of glucose level by the extract and glibenclamide compared to control 2 h after treatment. Mean percentage reduction of glucose showed a time dependent increase in glucose reduction by the extract with a maximum reduction of 67.1%, P?<?0.01, at 6 h. A dose dependent glucose reduction was seen with increasing doses of the extract till the 6 h time after treatment. This study suggests that the methanolic extract of Acanthus montanus T.A possesses a hypoglycemic effect.     

Socio-cultural factors as correlates of maternal mortality in Edo South Senatorial District,Nigeria

ObjectiveTo investigate the socio-cultural factors that contribute to Maternal Mortality in Edo South Senatorial District.MethodsThe population of the study was made up of 2 157 females of reproductive age and multi-stage random sampling technique was used. The instrument for data collection was a self developed structured and validated questionnaire with a reliability of 0.82. Focus group discussion (FGD) and in-depth interview guide were employed to complement the instrument. Inferential statistics of multiple regressions were also employed to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.ResultsThe results showed that the socio-cultural variables when taken together contributed positively to maternal mortality [R² = 0.32; CV = 16.5; df = 7). The finding further revealed that six, out of seven of the independent variables in the study significantly contributed to maternal mortality in Edo South Senatorial District. The implications of these findings in maternal and child health care were highlighted.ConclusionsThe study had shown that in addition to medical causes of maternal mortality, there are socio-cultural factors that contribute to women dying during pregnancy, labour and pueperium.     

Growing the field of health impact assessment in the United States: an agenda for research and practice

Health impact assessment (HIA) methods are used to evaluate the impact on health of policies and projects in community design, transportation planning, and other areas outside traditional public health concerns. At an October 2004 workshop, domestic and international experts explored issues associated with advancing the use of HIA methods by local health departments, planning commissions, and other decisionmakers in the United States.Workshop participants recommended conducting pilot tests of existing HIA tools, developing a database of health impacts of common projects and policies, developing resources for HIA use, building workforce capacity to conduct HIAs, and evaluating HIAs. HIA methods can influence decisionmakers to adjust policies and projects to maximize benefits and minimize harm to the public's health.     

Prostate-specific antigen and its derivatives in young adults occupationally exposed to quarry pollutants in southeastern Nigeria

To evaluate the level of total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and effect of duration of exposure to pollutants in quarry workers, 5 mls of blood sample was collected from participants: 72 male quarry workers exposed to quarry pollutants and 72 unexposed controls. PSA estimations were done using the principle of ELISA. Mean total PSA, free PSA, and free-total PSA ratio levels of quarry workers did not differ from those of controls and was below the cutoff for the risk of prostate diseases. Higher mean total PSA and free PSA were observed in workers exposed for > 3 years compared to the unexposed control and workers exposed for ≤ 3 years. Age-adjusted linear regression indicated significant association (R = 0.515; p < .001) between the duration of exposure and total PSA level in quarry workers. This study suggests that longer duration of exposure to the quarry pollutants may elevate PSA level if precautions are not taken to minimize dose of exposure.     

Resveratrol prevents cisplatin-induced lipid peroxidation in the non-gravid uterus of Sprague-Dawley rats

Background

Several studies have demonstrated Cisplatin-induced toxicity on the ovary. However, there is a dearth of literature on the effect of Cisplatin on the non-gravid uterus.