Asian Journal of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

The current study was carried out to assess the effect of the crude methanolic extract of Aerva javanica for hepatoprotective and nephroprotective assessment along with their antioxidant potential against 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylenbenzthiazolin)-6sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2diphenyle-1-picrylhyzyl (DPPH) using a standard protocol. Result of the crude methanolic extract of Aerva javanica showed 65.55, 59.37, 53.86, 47.49 and 34.76% inhibition against DPPH while against ABTS it showed 60.12, 48.45, 41.36, 37.99 and 31.89% inhibition at the concentrations 1000, 500, 250, 125 and 62.5 μg/mL. Ascorbic acid was used as a positive control and displayed a dose-dependent response. Results of Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) have shown 52% and 67%.The crude methanolic extract of Aerva javanicawas tested at two different doses for hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effect (150 and 300 mg/kg) in rabbits model. In comparison with the standard drug and normal saline, the test sample showed a significant hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effect. The effects of all the analyzed biomarkers of the liver (AST, ALT, ALP, serum triglyceride, serum cholesterol, and serum bilirubin) and Urea (Blood serum, Blood sugar, and Serum creatinine) showed significant effects both at 150 and 300 mg/kg. Both doses were found hepatoprotective (150 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg). Whereas, some liver biomarkers (ALT, ALP, serum triglyceride) of the methanolic extract at a dose of 300mg/kg showed significant hepatoprotective while some biomarkers (AST, serum cholesterol and serum bilirubin) was found effective at a dose of 150 mg/kg rather than the higher dose. The nephroprotective effect of the plant also increases in a dose-dependent manner i.e it is more effective at a dose of 300 mg/kg as compared to 150 mg/kg body weight. On the bases of these biomarkers, the plant extract was found an effective hepatoprotective at both the test doses.

Aims: This study presents baseline data on the In-vitro and In-vivo evaluation of anti-trypanosomal activity of Carica papaya seed extracts and fractions in Albino Wister rats.

Study Design: Mention the design of the study here.

Place and Duration of Study Sample: Department of Biochemistry, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, between June 2009 and July 2010.

Methodology: 56 Wister rats of both sexes were randomly divided into 8 groups (I – VIII) of 7 rats each were used for this study. Four concentrations (100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg) of different extracts of seed carica papaya were screened for trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma brucei In vitro and In vivo. The effect of the extracts was evaluated for trypanocidal activity in rats infected and not infected with the parasite. Administration of the extract and the drugs was orally daily for 5 consecutive days from day 7 of post infection. Level of parasitemia and body weight was taken daily for 21 days.

Results: The extracts inhibited parasite motility and totally eliminated the organisms at the concentrations used In vitro. The extract also showed promising in vivo trypanocidal activity. The observed In vitro and In vivo trypanocidal activities may be due to the presence of bioactive compounds present in the extracts as seen in this study. The extract also improved the observed decreases in haematological parameters of the treated rats, which may be due to their ability to decrease parasite load. The LD₅₀ was estimated to be ≥2,000 mg/Kg (v/v) for acute oral toxicity test (because all the rats survived at the end of the 14-day observation period). This is an indication of very low toxicity, implying that the extract could be administered with some degree of safety. A significant decreased (p<0.05) were observed in weight of rats at 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg 400 mg/kg 800 mg/kg negative control and prophylactic at four to eight days of infections, while significantly increased (p<0.05) were observed in weight of rats for berenil control and normal control.

Conclusion: The decrease in weight of rats could be as a result of loss of appetite due to severe fever and also the trypanosome.

One of the best biometrical methods for estimating genetic diversity among germplasm collections is multivariate analysis; it is used to study their variability and genetic relatedness in order to increase their value in plant breeding programs. The objectives of the present study were to: (i) evaluate the magnitude of genetic diversity, based on phenotypic data, among 19 maize genotypes, under drought and/or low N stressed conditions in the field, using principle component analysis (PCA) and (ii) assess the interrelationships between maize grain yield and its related traits under such stressed conditions using genotype × trait (GT) biplot analysis. An experiment was conducted in two seasons using a split-split plot design with 3 replications, where 2 irrigation regimes (well-watered and water stressed at flowering) occupied the main plots, three N rates (high N, medium N and low N) occupied the sub plots and 19 maize genotypes occupied the sub-sub plots. The genotypes were evaluated for 19 agronomic traits. Analysis of variance was performed under each of the six environments. Significant differences (p≤0.01) were recorded among the maize genotypes for all studied traits under each environment. The best genotypes for each trait were identified. Results of the GT biplot indicated that high means of 100-kernel weight (100-KW), ears/plant (EPP), ear height, days to silking, days to anthesis, plant height, and chlorophyll concentration index (CCI) under water stress (WS), kernels/row (KPR), EPP, 100-KW and CCI under low N and KPR, EPP and 100-KW under WS combined with low N environment and low values of anthesis-silking interval (ASI) under the three stressed environments could be considered selection criteria for high grain yield under respective stressed environments and for drought and/or low N tolerance. It is recommended to select for high values of KPR, EPP and 100-KW and low value of ASI in order to increase grain yield under such stressed conditions.

This study investigated the antimicrobial resistance profile and presence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes in Salmonella typhi from patients attending selected general hospitals in Abuja municipal, Nigeria. Four hundred stool samples from patients with suspected typhoid fever were collected from Asokoro General Hospital Abuja (AGH), Garki Hospital Abuja (GHA), Maitama General Hospital Abuja (MGHA) and Wuse General Hospital Abuja (WGHA) and S. typhi was isolated and identified using standard microbiological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was carried out using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) method. Molecular detection of PMQR genes in the ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates was carried out using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. The overall occurrence of the isolates was 13.3% (53/400), with the highest hospital-related occurrence at WGHA (18.0%). The occurrence was highest at age 21-30yrs in AGHA (20.0%), GHA (33.3%) and WGHA (45.0%). The occurrence was higher in females at AGHA (12.7%) and GHA (16.0%); but higher in males at MGHA (11.4%) and WGHA (18.2%). Resistance to ciprofloxacin was the least at 30.2%, distributed as follows: AGHA (20.0%), GHA (35.7%), MGHA (36.4%) and WGHA (27.8%). The most common resistance phenotype was: NA-S-XT-AMC-TE-CRO-C-CN with overall occurrence of 9.4% (5/53) observed in AGH (10.0%), GHA (16.7%) and MGHA (18.2%) but not in WGHA. All (100%) isolates were multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) isolates, with MAR indices above 0.2; and the commonest MAR index of 0.6 (30.0%) in AGHA, 0.8 (35.7%) in GHA; 0.8 (45.6%) in MGHA, and was 0.7 (38.9%) in WGHA. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was the commonest at 96.2% (51/53), with occurrences in the selected hospitals as follows: AGHA (90.0%), GHA (100.0%) and MGHA (100.0%) and WGHA (94.4%).The PMQR genes detected had overall frequency in the order: aac(6′)-Ib-cr (50.0%) >qnrB (37.5%) >qnrS (18.8%); qnrS was absent in AGHA and WGHA. The genes co-existed with one another with the qnrB+ aac(6′)-Ib-cr combination, present in isolates from all the hospitals, being the most common at (31.3%). Ciprofloxacin was the most effective antibiotic against the isolates; most isolates were MAR with prior exposure to antibiotics; most isolates were MDR and the ciprofloxacin-resistant isolatesharbored qnrS, qnrB and aac(6′)-Ib-cr PMQR genes, with aac(6′)-Ib-cr being the most prevalent.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is a well-documented major cause of female morbidity and mortality worldwide. Ongoing research era is focusing on the establishment of diagnostic and prognostic markers, helping for early pick up of the cases, proper prognosis evaluation and clarifying reliable treatment strategy.

Aim of the Study: This study aimed to evaluate the role of  Ki-67 as prognostic marker for breast cancer  in Egyptian females population.

Patients and Methods: 120 BC patients and 30 age and BMI matching health controls are the subjects of the study, Ki-67 index values were investigated by immunohistochemistry that was performed on 5-lm slides of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded archival tumor tissue (core needle biopsy samples). Antigen retrieval was performed in a micro-oven in citrate buffer pH 6 for 20 minutes. Ki-67–stained slides were captured digitally at a hot spot at 3200 magnification. The Ki-67 labeling index was measured using digital image analysis software. Image analysis was performed by an experienced pathologist. Ki-67 index values were correlated with the clinicopathologic aspects of the BC patients.

Results: Our study showed that Ki-67 index values revealed gradual increase with disease severity and correlated with poor prognosis aspects.

Conclusion: Ki-67 index values are shown to be associated with breast cancer prognosis,  supporting their role as prognostic biomarkers.