Annual Research & Review in Biology

The demand for sandfish, Holothuria scabra has rapidly grown in the last decades. In order to better understand the quality of this species as human food, nutritional profiles of farmed and wild juvenile sandfish were investigated in this study by measuring the proximate body compositions of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, including the amino acid and fatty acid contents. Body wall of juvenile wild sandfish from Medana and Sekotong in Lombok, Indonesia were compared with body wall of juveniles cultivated at Marine Bio Industry LIPI, and fed with mashed sea grass Enhalus acoroides leaves for a three months feeding period. The results show that protein, lipid and carbohydrate contents of juvenile farmed sandfish were similar to juvenile wild sandfish. Amino acid compositions of wild and farmed juvenile sandfish predominantly consist of glycine, glutamic acid and alanine. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were the major fatty acids in the body wall of wild and farmed H. scabra. Arachidonic acid (C20:4n6) was recorded as the highest component among all PUFAs. The contents of total PUFAs, total omega-3 and total omega-6 in the body wall of farmed H. scabra were slightly higher compared to wild H. scabra. In summary, both wild and farmed juvenile sandfish contain high amounts of valuable nutrients that have the potential to be used as a functional food for human health due to beneficial FA ratios, besides being adelicious and healthy seafood for human consumption.

Aim: Brown rats (R. norvegicus), a natural intermediate host for Cysticercus fasciolaris, are widely distributed in Grenada. C. fasciolaris causes cysts in a number of organs, but with greater frequency in the liver. The purpose of this study was to investigate the alterations of serum chemistry particularly serum proteins and activity of liver enzymes associated with liver cysts in brown rats infected with C. fasciolaris, as well as to assess their performance in the diagnosis of Cysticercus fasciolaris.

Study Design: In this cross sectional study, 170 brown rats were anesthetized and blood was obtained directly from the heart and collected in red-top tubes. The rats were then euthanized, and dichotomously classified as positive or negative for Cysticercus fasciolaris based on the presence or absence of Cysticercus fasciolaris-associated cysts, grossly and/or histopathologically.

Methodology: For both groups of rats (positive or negative), the concentrations of each specific protein (g/dL), selected liver and pancreatic enzymes (U/L), metabolic waste products (mg/dL) and electrolytes (mg/dL) were measured using Vet Test (IDEXX, USA). Cut-off points for test values of liver enzymes were set at 2-fold or greater than upper reference limit. For all other analytes, test values that were outside the reference interval were considered to be diagnostically relevant. In order to determine the diagnostic performance and agreement between liver enzymes and Cysticercus fasciolaris-associated liver cysts, predictive values and Cohen’s kappa statistics, respectively were calculated.

Results: The activity of AST significant increased among the infected brown rat population. The sensitivity and specificity of AST in detecting Cysticercus fasciolaris in brown rats was 76% and 59%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of AST were (80%) and (35%) respectively. Based on Cohen’s kappa, AST showed good agreement to gross/histopathology [0.4, 95% CI 0.16 – 0.53, SE_kappa 0.42] in the detection of Cysticercus fasciolaris-associated liver cysts.

Conclusion: AST is the most reliable enzyme in detecting Cysticercus fasciolaris in brown rats, and thus C. fasciolaris should be included among the differential diagnoses whenever increased serum activity of AST are observed in brown rats.

Aim: The toxicity profile of management of hypertension in Wistar rats with the methanol extracts of the whole fruit of Lagenaria breviflora Roberty or corms of Xanthosoma sagittifolium was assessed in this study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Animal House of the Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, between November, 2016 and January, 2017.

Methodology: Forty male Wistar rats were divided into 8 groups (n=5). Group 1 served as the control and was administered with distilled water. Hypertension was induced in groups 2-8 by intraperitoneal administration of DOCA-salt twice weekly and daily inclusion of 1% sodium chloride in drinking water. Group 2 (hypertensive but untreated), groups 3 and 4 (lisinopril or hydrochlorothiazide), groups 5 and 6 (L. breviflora at doses of 100 or 200 mg/kg), and groups 7 and 8 (X. sagittifolium at doses of 100 or 200 mg/kg). Urine samples (over 24 hours) and blood samples were collected for urinalysis, hematology and serum biochemistry respectively.

Results: Management of hypertension with the extracts of L. breviflora or X. sagittifolium showed that the extracts did not further progress the haematological and metabolic derangement associated with hypertension. L. breviflora showed non-significant haematopoietic and immunomodulatory effects, while the extract of X. sagittifolium reversed renal damage caused by hypertension. Both extracts showed potent hypocholesterolemic effects and the atherogenic index of plasma of rats treated with the extracts also improved, indicating reduction of risks of development of coronary arterial disease or heart disease (CAD or CHD).

Conclusion: Management of hypertension with fruit of Lagenaria breviflora or corm of Xanthosoma sagittifolium is safe and the haematological and metabolic derangement associated with hypertension will not further deteriorate but will rather improve.

Recently, a number of Saudi studies have indicated the emergence of a new genetic mutation in gram-negative bacteria (GNB) strains, particularly in extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing isolates, which accounts for about 8% to 38% of the total GNBs detected at Saudi hospitals. ESBLs are enzymes identified in GNB and have ability to resist beta lactam antimicrobial agents by breaking down the lactam ring. To ensure the objectiveness of this study, this paper presents most of the published studies on ESBL infection in Saudi Arabia (available online). ESBL-producing bacteria were detected using disk diffusion methods, dilution methods, double-disc synergy test, E-test strip and molecular detection methods. Risk factors contributing to the spread of ESBL infection include renal disease, diabetes, age, gender, hospital admission and previous exposure to antibiotics. CTX-M, TEM and SHV genotypes are the most common in the studies that have been performed in Saudi hospitals. Imipenem, meropenem, tigecycline and nitrofurantoin are still the best options to treat the ESBL infection. Appropriate infection control policies should be applied to reduce the risk factors of such infections.

Wound is an inescapable condition in one’s lifetime that may arise due to physical injuries that can result in an opening or break of skin or chemical means. Wounds represent a significant burden on patients and can affect the physical and mental health of millions of patients thereby imposing a significant cost on them. Wounds are major cause of physical disabilities. The wound area is an ideal medium for the manipulation of many infecting organisms. The injured skin, therefore, remains vulnerable to invasive microbial infections. The primary objective of wound care, therefore, is to prevent or minimize infection and promote healing. Various materials and methods, especially antibacterial drugs are employed. Some of these wound care methods employed include the topical antimicrobial therapy of plant extracts. The present article, therefore, focuses on the review of the role medicinal plants play in wound healing with special attention on plants that have demonstrated both wound healing and antioxidant properties. Further attention was given to isolated compounds from wound healing plants that exhibited wound healing properties.