Bola O. Oboh

Haematological Properties of Aqueous Extracts of Phyllantus amarus (Schum and Thonn.) and Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich in Albino Rats

Abstract A study on haematological effects of aqueous extracts from Phyllantus amarusand Xylopia aethiopica was investigated in albino rats. The extracts from both plants caused a dose-dependent decrease in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) with 400mg/kg of X. aethiopicacausing the least ESR of 2.7±0.6mm/hr. Significant increases were obtained in red blood cell (RBC) count especially with 100mg/kg of P. amarusand X. aethiopicathat caused 5.6% and 7.8% increases in RBC count respectively (P< 0.05). Similar pattern of result was obtained for packed cell volume (PCV). P. amarusdid not appear to affect haemoglobin concentration, but higher values of HB concentration were obtained for X. aethiopica; the difference was, however, not significantly different from the control (P>0.05).Total and differential count studies showed significant increases in the number of circulating leucocytes and neutrophils respectively especially with 100mg/kg of extracts (P<0.05). Assessment of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) gave significantly higher values of ALT for P. amarus – treated rats (P < 0.05). It was therefore suggested that while both plants can serve as immune boosters and blood tonics, there is need for caution on excessive and prolonged consumption of P. amarus.

Partitioning and distribution of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) variation among eggplant Solanum L. in Southwest Nigeria

Solanum L., the largest genus of the Solanaceae family, vary morphologically, is diverse in number and is ecogeographically distributed. In Nigeria, previous studies had focused mainly on chromosome morphology, genome description and medicinal values, which are insufficient for genetic affinities. This study used four highly polymorphic random amplified polymorphic DNA primers to describe both the genetic relatedness and variability among 25 accessions of eggplant from Southwestern Nigeria. At a truncated line of 65%, five clusters and two ungrouped samples are distinguishable from the dendrogram. The data reveals that Solanum dasyphyllum Schum. & Thonn. is more closely related to Solanum macrocarpon L. than to Solanum melongena L. The relatedness between Solanum incanum L. and Solanum melongena, a probability of being progenitors from a common ancestral lineage was also shown. Occurrence of Solanum scabrum L. and Solanum nigrum L. in the same clusters different from S. melongena, is an indication of distant relatedness to S. melongena but close relatedness between them. High level of polymorphism was observed in this study going by the coefficient of variation which exhibited a good separation from a conserved region of the genome. This study, therefore, reveals a wide and diverse genetic base in Nigerian eggplant Solanum. Key words: Eggplant, genome, synonymy, polymorphism, phylogenetic.

Genetic diversity in Nigerian brinjal eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) as revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

The taxonomy of Solanum melongena L., also known as brinjal eggplant, has remained difficult because previous studies to establish genetic relationships among taxa are mainly based on morphological features, which are insufficient to establish genetic affinities. In the present investigation, five highly polymorphic random amplified polymorphic DNA primers were used to describe the genetic similarity and diversity among its accessions in Nigeria. The results show a high level of polymorphism based on the banding patterns among the samples. This indicated a wide and diverse genetic base. Four distinct clusters were equally noticeable at a coefficient of 0.80 from the dendrogram generated. Generally, the grouping pattern clearly indicates that irrespective of variations in fruit traits among samples, they were still grouped together in different clusters with a high similarity coefficient value. This probably showed some genetic relatedness/closeness among the samples concerned. The study also revealed that there is no association between RAPD pattern and the geographic origin of accessions. These agreed with previously published data on the characterization of eggplant. The study disclosed that molecular methods coupled with morphological analyses could make proper classification of S. melongena and other Solanum species in Nigeria possible to achieve. Keywords: Eggplant, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Data, polymorphism, taxonomy African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(21) 2119-2126