Emmanuel Ike Ugwuja

Biochemical Effects of Energy Drinks Alone or in Combination with Alcohol in Normal Albino Rats

PURPOSE To determine the biochemical effects of energy drink alone or in combination with alcohol in normal albino rats. METHODS Twenty male albino rats weighing 160-180g were assigned into groups A-E of four rats per group. Group A and B rats were given low and high doses of ED, respectively, groups C and D were administered low and high doses of EDmA, respectively while group E rats were given distilled water and served as control. The treatment lasted for 30 days after which the animals were killed and their blood collected for laboratory analyses using standard methods. RESULTS There were no significant differences in body weight, packed cell volume and haemoglobin concentration with either administration of ED or EDmA in comparison to the control. Energy drink alone or EDmA has significant effects on total white blood cell count, plasma potassium, calcium, renal functions, liver enzymes and plasma triglycerides, with EDmA having more effects than ED alone, except for body weight where the energy drink alone has higher effect. CONCLUSION Consumption of energy drink alone or in combination with alcohol is associated with significant alterations in some biochemical parameters. Caution should be exercised while consuming either of them. Public health education is urgently needed to correct the wrong impression already formed by the unsuspecting consumers, especially the youths.

Cadmium-Induced Toxicity and the Hepatoprotective Potentials of Aqueous Extract of Jessiaea Nervosa Leaf

PURPOSE Hepatoprotective potentials of Jussiaea nervosa leaf extract against Cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity were investigated. METHODS Forty albino rats were randomly assigned into groups A-G with 4 rats in each of the groups A-F. Group A served as control and were given feed only while rats in groups B-F were orally exposed to varying concentrations of cadmium for six weeks. Effects of cadmium were most significant at 12 mg/Kg body weight (BW), and this dose was used for subsequent test involving oral administration of Jussiaea nervosa leaf extracts. In this segment, group G (n= 16) was sub-divided into four: G1-G4, with each sub-group containing four rats. Rats in sub-group G1 were given cadmium and feed only and served as positive control. Rats in sub-groups G2, G3, and G4 were given cadmium and 20, 50 and 100g/kg BW of Jussiaea nervosa extract, respectively, for six weeks. Blood and liver were analysed using standard laboratory techniques and methods. RESULTS Liver function parameters (ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin) were significantly (p<0.05) elevated in exposed rats in comparison to the controls, except for total protein and albumin, which were significantly decreased. Histopathological assessment reveals renal pathology in exposed rats in sharp contrast with the controls. Jussiaea nervosa extract however lowered the values of liver function parameters with 100mg/Kg BW dose producing the highest ameliorative effects. Similarly, the serum albumin and total protein significantly (p<0.05) improved with normal liver architecture. CONCLUSION The results show the hepatoprotective potentials of Jussiaea nervosa extract against Cd toxicity.

Anaemia in Relation to Body Mass Index (BMI) and Socio-Demographic Characteristics in Adult Nigerians in Ebonyi State

INTRODUCTION Anaemia, a multifactorial health challenge has been found to affect every stage of human development with negative health impacts. Providing information on the factors associated with Anaemia will help in formulating mitigating strategies against this important public health problem. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of Anaemia and its relationship with body mass index (BMI) and sociodemographic characteristics in adult Nigerians in Ebonyi State, South-eastern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adults (n=428) aged ≥ 18 y (mean=38.4±13.7 y) randomly selected from 130 political wards from the 13 Local Government Areas of the state were studied. Sociodemographic data was collected with questionnaire while blood samples were collected for hemoglobin determination using colorimetric cyanmethemoglobin method. Data was analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS(®) for Windows(®) ver. 16). RESULTS In general, 21.7% of the subjects were anemic with Anaemia prevalence of 9.9%, 15.8% and 39.8% in male, non-pregnant and pregnant female, respectively. About four percent (3.7%) of the subjects were underweight, while 37.6% had excess weight with hemoglobin concentration having no relationship with BMI and sociodemographic parameters. CONCLUSION It may be conclude that the Anaemia in adult Nigerians in Ebonyi State has no definite relationship with BMI and sociodemographic characteristics studied. Further studies are needed to document other factors that may be associated with Anaemia among adults in the State.

Spices Mixture Containing Garlic, Ginger and Nutmeg Has Protective Effects on the Kidneys and Liver of Cadmium Exposed Rats.

PURPOSE To determine the potential protective effect of spice mixture containing garlic, ginger and nutmeg on the liver and kidney of cadmium exposed rats. METHODS Male albino rats (n=30) weighing 120 - 180 g, grouped into five (1-5) of 6 rats/group were studied. Group 1 (NC) rats were administered distilled water (1 ml) orally for 4 weeks and served as the negative control while group 2 (PC) rats were administered low dose (LD) cadmium (25 mg/kg body weight) orally for 4 weeks and served as positive control. Group 3 (TBE) rats were treated with spice mixture (SM); 300 mg/kg body weight orally for 2 weeks and then administered LD cadmium for 4 weeks. While group 4 (CET) rats were concurrently administered LD cadmium and SM for 4 weeks, group 5 (TAE) rats were administered LD cadmium for 4 weeks and then treated with SM for 2 weeks. The whole experiment lasted for 42 day after which the animals were sacrificed and blood collected for determination of biochemical parameters using standard procedures and techniques. RESULTS Exposure to Cd produced greater increases in the liver function parameters. However treatment with SM significantly (p<0.05) reduced ALT in animals treated after exposure, AST and bilirubin in those treated before exposure and significant (p<0.05) increased serum albumin in animals treated before exposure to Cd. The altered renal function parameters and total serum cholesterol were restored to near normal values following treatment with SM. CONCLUSION It may be concluded that concurrent intake of garlic, ginger and nutmeg at culinary dose in the diet has both therapeutic and prophylactic effect at mitigating Cd toxicity and reaffirms the safely of spices combinations as being currently practiced.

The effect of parity on maternal body mass index, plasma mineral element status and new-born anthropometrics

BACKGROUND Adverse pregnancy outcome is an important public health problem that has been partly associated with increasing maternal parity. AIM To determine the effect of parity on maternal body mass index (BMI), mineral element status and newborn anthropometrics. METHODS Data for 349 pregnant women previously studied for the impacts of maternal plasma mineral element status on pregnancy and its outcomes was analysed. Obstetric and demographic data and 5mls of blood samples were obtained from each subject. Blood lead, plasma copper, iron and zinc were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. RESULTS Maternal BMI increases with parity. Women with parity two had significantly higher plasma zinc but lower plasma copper with comparable levels of the elements in nulliparous and higher parity groups. Although plasma iron was comparable among the groups, blood lead was significantly higher in parity > three. Newborn birth length increases with parity with a positive correlation between parity and maternal BMI (r = 0.221; p = 0.001) and newborn birth length (r = 0.170; p = 0.002) while plasma copper was negatively correlated with newborns head circumference (r = -0.115; p = 0.040). CONCLUSION It is plausible that parity affects maternal BMI and newborn anthropometrics through alterations in maternal plasma mineral element levels. While further studies are desired to confirm the present findings, there is need for pregnant and would-be pregnant women to diversify their diet to optimize their mineral element status.

Metabolic Syndrome in Hypertensive Nigerians: Risk Factor Analysis

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and adequacy of the National Cholesterol Education Programme/ Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria for the diagnosis of the MS in hypertensive Nigerians. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and thirty six hypertensive patients, (men 49 %), aged ≥ 35 years who were randomly recruited from Medical Outpatient clinics of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria were studied. Waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP) were measured in addition to fasting plasma glucose (FPG), Triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein- cholesterol (HDL-C) using standard laboratory techniques. Results: MS prevalence of 45.6% was recorded with more women (54%) than men (36.4%) having the syndrome. Sex-specific and significant differences were recorded only in waist circumference (WC) ( 102cm) gave sensitivity of 69.4%, specificity (71.6%), positive predictive value (PPV) of 67.2% and odd ratio (OR) of 5.7 among the males-plus-females patients. There were improvement in these indices when a WC ≥ 93cm was used with values of 79.9%, 62.9%, 72% and 6.7 for sensitivity, specificity, PPV and OR respectively and MS prevalence of 54.4% with improvement most significant among the male subjects. The ATP III criterion for female WC (>88cm) gave a low specificity (41.7%), which improved (46.1%) when WC ≥ 93cm was used. While the ATP III criterion for HDL-C gave low predictive indices for male, but improved when 1.3mmol/l was used, it was adequate for the female subjects. However, while the ATP III criterion for TG was adequate in all the groups, it gave low predictive values for FPG, with better results among the males than in the females Conclusions: The ATP III criteria were not wholly suitable for the diagnosis of the MS in the hypertensive Nigerians. The criteria exhibited sex-specific variations in their predictive potentials. WC (≥93cm) for men and women, raised fasting TG (≥ 1.70mmol/l0, raised BP (≥130/85mmHg), low HDL-C (≤ 1.3mmol/l) for men and women, FPG (>5.6mmol/l) were suggested as more appropriate for the diagnosis of MS in the study population.

Blood lead levels in children attending a tertiary teaching hospital in Enugu, south-eastern Nigeria.

Abstract Background: Reports have demonstrated widespread lead contamination of the Enugu environment and the possibility of childhood lead poisoning. Objective: To determine the blood lead levels of children attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu, Enugu State. Method: Blood samples from 100 children were analysed for blood lead concentration using an atomic absorption spectrometer. Results: The mean (SD) age was 6·2 (2·13) years (range 1–15) and the mean (SD) blood lead level was 8·7 (5·4) μg/dl (range 0·3–17·7). Thirty-three per cent of the children had blood lead levels >10 μg/dl, which is the United States Center for Disease Prevention and Control action limit, and 36% of the children had blood lead levels of 5–10 μg/dl. Mean (SD) blood lead level in the 6–10-years age group was 11·3 (5·7) μg/dl and 9·4 (4·6) μg/dl in the >10-years age group, which is significantly higher than in the 1–5-years age group [7·5 (5·1) μg/dl, P = 0·03]. Males had significantly higher mean (SD) blood lead levels than females [9·6 (5·8) vs 6·8 (3·8), P = 0·03]. Conclusion: One-third of children had blood lead levels >10 μg/dl, particularly older and male children. Blood lead screening should be considered for sick children, and further screening of blood lead levels in children should be undertaken in Enugu and other parts of Nigeria, and efforts made to identify the sources of exposure.

Plasma levels of copper, iron and zinc in healthy primary school children from rural communities of Ebonyi State, South Eastern Nigeria

Plasma copper, iron and zinc were determined in 295 primary school children; mean age = 8.81 ± 2.07 years from rural communities in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria using atomic absorption spectrophotometers. Copper and zinc deficiencies were found in 4.1% and 6.1% respectively while inadequate plasma iron and anaemia were found in 21.4% and 20%, respectively. Significantly, higher prevalence of zinc deficiency was observed in females (8.8% vs. 3.4%; p = 0.047) and copper deficiency in males (6.1% vs. 2.0%; p = 0.043). Although, plasma copper and zinc decrease with pupils’ age, only copper was found to be statistically significant (r = –0.121, p = 0.038). Data suggest that copper and zinc malnutrition may not be of concern among rural primary school children however, sustenance of functional health facilities and public health education on food diversification and good personal and environmental hygiene are advocated.

Plasma cadmium and zinc and their interrelationship in adult Nigerians: potential health implications

Abstract Zinc (an essential trace element) and cadmium (a ubiquitous environmental pollutant with acclaimed toxicity) have been found to occur together in nature, with reported antagonism between the two elements. The present study aimed at determination of plasma levels of zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) and their interrelationship in adult Nigerians. The series comprised adults (n=443) aged ≥18 yrs (mean ± SD 38.4±13.7 yrs), consisting of 117 males, 184 non-pregnant and 140 pregnant females. Sociodemographic data were collected by questionnaire while anthropometrics were determined using standard methods. Plasma Cd and Zn were determined by using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean plasma zinc and cadmium were 94.7±18.1 μg/dl and 0.150±0.548 μg/dl, respectively. Age, sex, pregnancy, and parity had no effect on either plasma Zn or Cd. Although educational level had no effect on plasma Zn, it had a significant effect on Cd; subjects possessing either secondary or tertiary education had significantly lower plasma Cd than subjects without formal education. Moreover, there seemed to be an inverse relationship between Cd and Zn, but this was not statistically significant (r=–0.089; p=0.061). Although plasma Zn was not related to BMI (r=0.037; p=0.432), Cd was significantly negatively correlated with BMI (r=–0.124; p=0.009). It may be concluded that adult Nigerians in Ebonyi State have elevated plasma levels of Cd, with apparent impact on the levels of plasma Zn. This has important public health implications considering the essential roles of Zn in the protection of Cd mediated adverse health effects. While food diversification is recommended to improve plasma Zn, efforts should be made to reduce exposure to Cd to mitigate partially its possible adverse effects.