The methanol-soluble fraction of Millettia macrophylla (Fabaceae) stem bark endowed with estrogenic properties has adverse effects on the male reproductive system of Wistar rats

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Zingue ◽  
Chantal Beatrice Magne Nde ◽  
Dieudonné Njamen
Keyword(s):  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Soluble Fraction ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Stem Bark ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Traditional Medicinal Plants ◽  
Intromission Frequency ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Estrogenic Properties

AbstractThe use of traditional medicinal plants to treat various diseases is common in Sub-Saharan African countries, including Cameroon.We evaluated the effects of the dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH) soluble fractions ofData showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the wiring-touch frequency, mount frequency, intromission frequency, ejaculatory frequency, penile-licking frequency, and computed indices of sexual behavior, throughout the experimental period, as well as a significant increase (p<0.001) in mount, intromission, and ejaculatory latencies as well as post-ejaculatory interval. Moreover, we observed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the androgen-dependent sexual parameters evaluated. The DCM extract did not induce significant effects on the assessed parameters.These results suggest that long-term exposure to the estrogenic MeOH fraction of

BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HYDROETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF IRVINGIA WOMBOLU KERNELS ON RAT LIVER AND KIDNEY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oyetunji Timothy Kolawole ◽  
Akeem Ademola Ayankunle ◽  
Olayemi Kamoru Wakeel ◽  
Anthony Tope Olofinnade ◽  
Olatunde Samson Olaniyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Total Protein ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Myocardial Damage ◽  
Serum Levels ◽  
Stem Bark ◽  
The Body ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Medicinal And Aromatic Plants ◽  
North East

Objective: Many plants are consumed as food by humans for growth and survival, but a large number of these plants have not been tested for toxicity potential. Repeated consumption of such plants could lead to accumulation of toxic chemicals in the body and cause health-related problems. Irvingia wombolu kernel is widely consumed by many ethnic groups in Nigeria and some other African countries. The toxicity potentials of Irvingia wombolu kernel extract (IWKE) on the kidney and liver of rats was evaluated in this study. Methods: Three groups of Wistar rats were fed orally with IWKE (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg b.w) daily for 28 days. The fourth group which is the control was treated with distilled water (10 ml/kg b.w) for the same period.  The rats were sacrificed on the 29th day, and blood samples, kidney and liver were harvested for analyses. Serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein, albumin, bilirubin, creatinine, and urea were determined. Kidney and liver sections were examined for histopathological changes. Data were subjected to Student’s t-test for statistical analysis. Results: Serum levels of creatinine and urea were not significantly altered in the IWKE-treated rats compared with the control. At 200 mg/kg b.w, the extract significantly increased (p<0.05) serum levels of ALT, AST, total bilirubin, total protein, and albumin compared with the control. Significant distortions were observed in the liver sections of rats treated with 200 mg/kg b.w IWKE compared with control, but the structure of the kidney section of IWKE-treated rats was not significantly different from the control. Conclusion: The results showed that repeated ingestion of Irvingia wombolu kernel at a dose of 200 mg/kg b.w for 28 days induced liver damage, but does not significantly affect renal function.                       Peer Review History: Received: 9 September 2021; Revised: 12 October; Accepted: 27 October, Available online: 15 November 2021 Academic Editor:  Dr. Ali Abdullah Al-yahawi, Al-Razi university, Department of Pharmacy, Yemen, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency.  Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.0/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.5/10 Reviewers: Dr. Sangeetha Arullappan, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia, [email protected] Ahmad Najib, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Makassar, Indonesia, [email protected] Taha A.I. El Bassossy, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Department, Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt, [email protected] Dr. Nazim Hussain, North East Frontier Technical University, Arunachal pradesh, India, [email protected] Similar Articles: MYOCARDIAL POTENCY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF HARUNGANA MADAGASCARIENSIS STEM BARK AGAINST ISOPROTERENOL-INDUCED MYOCARDIAL DAMAGE IN RATS PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF METHANOL EXTRACT OF RUSSELIA EQUISETIFORMIS AGAINST PARACETAMOL-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN WISTAR RATS

scholarly journals African agriculture in the context of COVID-19: Finding salvation in the devil

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-310
Author(s):  
Guy Blaise Nkamleu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Food System ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The world is facing unprecedented challenges from COVID-19, which is disrupting lives and livelihoods. The pandemic could profoundly affect the African continent and wipe out hard-won development gains, as sub-Saharan Africa heads into its first recession in 25 years. Beyond the multispatial impact of the coronavirus in Africa, its effects on the agriculture and food system is of particular interest, as food security could be the most affected area and, at the same time, agriculture could be the sector that could help African economies recover quicker from the impact of COVID19. This paper supports the view that COVID-19, as devilish as it may be, offers an opportunity to revive interest in the agricultural sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense pressures on African countries to raise additional resources, and consequently Africa’s growing public debt is again coming back to the centre stage of the global debate. The conversation on African debt sustainability has begun to dominate the scene and will flood the debate in the near term. While the observed, growing calls for debt relief for African countries are legitimate, we support in this paper that one should not divert attention from the long-term solutions needed to strengthen Africa’s resilience. These long-term solutions lie where they always have: in agriculture. With COVID-19, shipping agricultural inputs and food products from other continents to Africa has become disrupted and is accelerating the trend towards shortening supply chains. This will leave a potential market for inputs and food produced on the continent. COVID-19, together with the launching of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), have aligned the stars in favour of a decisive transformation of the agriculture sector on the continent. Agriculturalists and development experts need to be aware of their responsibility at this time, as they need to advocate for the topic of agricultural development to return to the centre and the heart of the agenda of discussions on how to respond to the consequences of Covid-19 in Africa. In this sense, and unexpectedly, COVID-19 is an opportunity for the agricultural sector.

scholarly journals Acute and sub-acute toxicity studies of Methanol stem bark extract of Cadaba farinosa (Forssk) in wistar rats.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-88
Author(s):  
M.L. Umaru ◽  
G.N. Uyaiabasi
Keyword(s):  
Acute Toxicity ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Stem Bark ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Bark Extract ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Follicular Hyperplasia ◽  
Toxicity Studies ◽  
Stem Bark Extract

The study focused on evaluating the toxicity profile of the methanol stem bark extract of Cadaba farinose (Forssk), considering possibilities of adverse effects arising from continual use of herbal plants especially in the management of long-term conditions. Cadaba farinosa is a slender shrub plant widely used traditionally in the treatment of various diseases such as diabetes mellitus, inflammations, rheumatic pains and various infections including skin and intestine both in Africa and India. The acute toxicity study and sub-acute toxicity studies were carried out in Wistar rats using Lorkes Method (1983) and the OECD Guidelines 425. For the sub-acute toxicity studies, twenty rats weighing between 120 and 170g were randomly grouped into 4 groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 (control) received 10ml/kg of distilled water and the others received doses of 40, 200 and 1000mg/kg p.o of extract for 28 days. The acute toxicity revealed no mortality or behavioural signs of toxicity in both phases up to 5000mg/kg. The haematological indices revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the WBC count, MCV and PLT of the groups that received 1000mg/kg of the extract after treatment for 28 days. The liver function test showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in AST and ALT. Renal indices showed a significant decrease in creatinine and a significant increase (p<0.05) in plasma Na+, K+ and Cl- ion concentration across the groups. Histopathological section of the spleen revealed follicular hyperplasia. The results suggest that the plant could be slightly toxic to the liver and the spleen on long-term use.

scholarly journals Ethnopharmacological Review of Traditional Medicinal Plants Found as an Astounding Remedy to Anemia

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Sree MS ◽  
Rajasekaran S
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Tectona Grandis ◽  
Stem Bark ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Traditional Medicinal Plants ◽  
Nutritional Problem ◽  
Recurrent Type

Iron deficiency is the predominant cause of anemia, which is a recurrent type of nutritional problem. Medicinal herbs have proven to be efficient in the treatment of a variety of ailments in developing countries, including anemia. Anemia is generally treated by hematinics in the form of tablets, capsules and syrup and sometimes injection. Long term intake of hematinics produces some side effects like Gastritis, tooth staining, etc. Many medicinal plants have the ability to treat anemia. Sorghum bicolor stem bark, Brillantasia nitens leaves, Tectona grandis, and Allium ascalonicum are just a few of the plants that have traditionally been used to treat anaemia. The current review aims to list out such medicinal plants along with their ethnopharmacological status in treating anemia.

Schistosomiasis in infants and pre-school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa: implication for control

Parasitology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 139 (7) ◽  
pp. 835-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
UWEM F. EKPO ◽  
AKINOLA S. OLUWOLE ◽  
ENIOLA M. ABE ◽  
HANNAH E. ETTA ◽  
FRANCISCA OLAMIJU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Schistosomiasis Control ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Control Programmes ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Receive Treatment ◽  
Available Information ◽  
And Control

SUMMARYUntil recently, the epidemiology and control of schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa have focused primarily on infections in school-aged children and to a lesser extent on adults. Now there is growing evidence and reports of infection in infants and pre-school-aged children (⩽6 years old) in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda, with reported prevalence from 14% to 86%. In this review, we provide available information on the epidemiology, transmission and control of schistosomiasis in this age group, generally not considered or included in national schistosomiasis control programmes that are being implemented in several sub-Saharan African countries. Contrary to previous assumptions, we show that schistosomiasis infection starts from early childhood in many endemic communities and factors associated with exposure of infants and pre-school-aged children to infection are yet to be determined. The development of morbidity early in childhood may contribute to long-term clinical impact and severity of schistosomiasis before they receive treatment. Consistently, these issues are overlooked in most schistosomiasis control programmes. It is, therefore, necessary to review current policy of schistosomiasis control programmes in sub-Saharan Africa to consider the treatment of infant and pre-school-aged children and the health education to mothers.

Exiting Fragility

2021 ◽  
pp. 600-628
Author(s):  
Enrique Gelbard ◽  
Giorgia Albertin ◽  
Lars Engstrom ◽  
Jose Gijon ◽  
Clara Mira
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Technical Support ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Sub Saharan

Finding a path out of fragility is a complex and lengthy progress. This chapter examines the experience of five sub-Saharan African countries who are at different stages in the resilience- building process—Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and the Central African Republic. It concludes that building resilience is the outcome of a virtuous circle of good policies and political and social inclusion that foster economic stability and growth, improve security, and enable the state to deliver basic services. For this to happen, a leadership capable of implementing a strategy with enough internal consensus and a mechanism to mobilize support is necessary. In addition, coordination among stakeholders on early and well-tailored financial and technical support and long-term engagement is key in supporting fragile countries. However, an uneven evolution of the above factors including weak capacity and governance easily lead to reversals and continued fragility.

scholarly journals Capital Account Liberalization and Financial Stability: An Application of the Finite Distributed Lag Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Joseph Stevy Mba Ollo
Keyword(s):  
Financial Stability ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Capital Account ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Capital Account Liberalization ◽  
Distributed Lag ◽  
Distributed Lag Model ◽  
Lag Model ◽  
Sub Saharan

The recurrence of financial crises in recent years has sparked renewed interest in the controversy over the implications of financial openness for the stability of the financial system. This article examines the relationship between capital account liberalization and financial stability in 31 sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1996-2015. Firstly, the study uses the Exchange Market Pressure Index (EMP) as the indicator of the degree of financial risk. Then, to determine the timing and the nature of the effect of capital account liberalization on financial stability, a finite distributed lag model is used. The estimation of long-term structural coefficients is obtained by the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method in panel data. The results show that liberalization of the capital account negatively affects financial stability after two years in sub-Saharan African countries. These results suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should standardize their strategies for liberalizing capital accounts and engage reforms to promote long-term capital flows that are more stable and improve the macroeconomic and institutional environment.

scholarly journals Tax bargaining, fiscal contracts, and fiscal capacity in Ghana: A long-term perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (475) ◽  
pp. 177-202
Author(s):  
Prince Young Aboagye ◽  
Ellen Hillbom
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Tax Reforms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Tax Revenues ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
People’S Perceptions

Abstract Many Sub-Saharan African countries are unable to generate sufficient tax revenues for public purposes. While it is widely accepted that governments’ ability to tax is shaped by politics, the precise mechanisms through which this relationship takes place in practice remain elusive. Based on a historical analysis of four major tax reforms in Ghana from the 1850s to the late 1990s, this article captures the various ways in which taxpayers negotiate with the state in an attempt to limit the extent of taxation, especially in cases where state reciprocity falls short of what people expect. Our evidence suggests that, far from being a recent development, effective taxation in Ghana has long depended on the ability of the state to convince taxpayers that tax revenues will be used for the public benefit. A history of misappropriation of tax revenues, overt corruption, and profligacy diminished taxpayers’ support for governments’ tax efforts. More generally, the article points to the importance of understanding how tax bargaining works in practice and people’s perceptions of their governments over the long term to overcome resistance to tax reforms.

The Development Dance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley J. Swedlund
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Credible Commitments ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Donor Agencies

The Development Dance is about how donor countries and recipient governments negotiate the delivery of foreign aid. The book provides a conceptual framework for understanding donor-government relations and a theory for explaining the sustainability of aid delivery mechanisms. Drawing on extensive in-country fieldwork in four sub-Saharan African countries, as well as an original survey of development practitioners in twenty countries, the book points to a fundamental problem in the delivery of aid: the policy compromises reached by donor agencies and recipient governments are rarely politically sustainable. Commitment problems constrain the policy compromises reached by donors and recipients. As a result, fads and fashions dominate development cooperation, and the delivery of foreign aid is not determined by effectiveness alone. If we want to know whether an aid delivery mechanism is likely to be sustained over the long term, we need to look at whether it induces credible commitments from both donor agencies and recipient governments.

Integrating alternative technologies to improve built environment sustainability in Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali GhaffarianHoseini ◽  
John Tookey ◽  
Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini ◽  
Nicola Naismith ◽  
James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Technologies ◽  
African Context ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Environment Sustainability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review extant literature and to provide perspectives on approaches to enhancing built environment sustainability in Africa. There is a mismatch between global societal resources and the increasing demand for natural resources. The consequences of this mismatch are prevalent in many African countries, causing the need to implement of built environment sustainability as a matter of cause. Design/methodology/approach Little research has been undertaken to date with a focus on the environmental sustainability of Africa. With this in mind the review was undertaken through a series of incremental steps. It began with an initial review, before developing through exploratory and development phases. The process culminated with the refined literature review presented. Findings The paper finds that a different approach is required to achieve built sustainable development for developed and developing countries, with a clear difference in terms of its application observed between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Current energy and water crisis facing Africa is brought to the fore and an evaluation is provided of the systems being used to ameliorate its effects. The study explores a range of technological solutions that are appropriate for consideration in the African context. It also examines the barriers that need to be overcome to facilitate the widespread use of the suggested solutions in Africa. Originality/value This study examines built environment sustainability through the Africa lens. It highlights its importance and the contextual factors inhibiting the widespread uptake of built environment sustainability solutions. The study offers a number of recommendations for the future to encourage long-term built environment sustainability in Africa and more specifically the Sub-Saharan region.

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