Japhet M. Olisekodiaka

Consumption of soymilk lowers atherogenic lipid fraction in healthy individuals.

The effect of soy-based products on lipid profile has not been well established. Whereas some investigators have reported that soy is hypocholesterolemic, others could only demonstrate this in hypercholesterolemic subjects, while a few have not found any marked association between soy and cholesterol levels. This study was therefore aimed at investigating the effect of soymilk on lipid and lipoprotein profile of normocholesterolemic, apparently healthy Nigerian Africans. Five hundred milliliters of soymilk preparation was consumed daily by 42 apparently healthy young to middle-aged subjects for a period of 21 days. Forty-two other volunteers with similar characteristics, who did not drink the soymilk over this time frame, were randomly selected as controls. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) concentrations were determined twice by standard spectrophotometric methods (at the initial visit and after 3 weeks). Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated from the TC, TG, and HDL-C concentrations. After 21 days, regulated soymilk consumption significantly reduced mean plasma TC by 11% and LDL-C by 25% (P < .001 and P < .001, respectively) and increased mean plasma HDL-C by 20% (P < .05) in the test population. Plasma TG was not significantly altered. In control subjects, no significant differences were observed in mean TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG. Daily consumption of soymilk significantly decreased atherogenic plasma cholesterol concentration. This suggests that soy drink could be an important non-pharmacological cholesterol-reducing agent.

Coffee Consumption Could Affect the Activity of Some Liver Enzymes and Other Biochemical Parameters in Healthy Drinkers

Objective: To investigate the effect of coffee consumption on some liver function indices in adult male and female Nigerians. Subjects and Methods: Thirty apparently healthy subjects, consisting of 18 men and 12 women, were made to consume 2 g of coffee daily for a total of 30 days. Activities of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and plasma concentrations of total and conjugated bilirubin, total protein and albumin were determined using standard methods. Results: Relative to baseline values, coffee consumption raised mean levels of ALT by 4 IU/l (p < 0.001), AST by 2.0 1 U/l (p < 0.001), ALP by 3.0 1 U/l (p < 0.01), total bilirubin by 0.90 mg/dl (p < 0.05) and total protein by 1.1 g/l (p < 0.05). Gender differences were observed. Significantly higher mean ALP concentration was only seen in male subjects, while mean bilirubin concentration was significantly raised in female volunteers alone. On the other hand, the mean total protein and albumin concentrations in individual male and female groups were not significantly altered (p > 0.05 in each case). Conclusion: The result obtained from the study suggests that short-term consumption of coffee might have a significant effect on the integrity of the liver function tests studied.

Evaluation of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Serum Lipid Profile in Southeastern Nigerian Women with Pre-Eclampsia

Objective: To evaluate the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and lipid profile in women with pre-eclampsia. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five women with and 35 women without pre-eclampsia, who were in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, were enrolled in this study. Weight in kilogrammes and height in metres were measured to calculate the mean body mass index (BMI) for each group. The diastolic and systolic blood pressures were measured. Lipid profile tests and serum CRP assay were done for all patients. Total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined using enzymatic methods, while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated using Friedewalds formula. Results: The mean values of the BMI were 29.47 ± 6.90 versus 26.14 ± 2.92, of the diastolic blood pressure 109.14 ± 15.41 versus 72.29 ± 9.42 mm Hg and of the systolic blood pressure 170.57 ± 19.55 versus 120.86 ± 17.72 mm Hg for women with and without pre-eclampsia, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (p = 0.012, p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). The biochemical analysis also indicated that the women with pre-eclampsia had a significantly higher mean serum CRP (8.57 ± 2.68 vs. 6.46 ± 2.46 mg/l, p = 0.001), TG (2.84 ± 0.45 vs. 1.87 ± 0.38 mmol/l, p = 0.001) and total cholesterol (5.59 ± 0.92 vs. 4.63 ± 0.78 mmol/l, p = 0.001) level but a lower mean HDL-C (1.10 ± 0.12 vs. 1.26 ± 0.15 mmol/l, p = 0.001) level than the controls. There was no statistical difference in the mean LDL-C values between the 2 groups (1.58 ± 0.8 vs. 1.45 ± 0.78 mmol/l, p > 0.05). Conclusion: Significant changes in CRP as well as TG, total cholesterol and HDL-C were associated with pre-eclampsia in these Southeastern Nigerian women.

Total antioxidants status, selenium concentration, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities in rabbits fed a high-garlic diet.

Ai m: Results from previous studies on the effects of intake of garlic on the body antioxidant system appear inconclusive. This study measured glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activities, Total Antioxidant Status (TAS) and selenium (Se) level in rabbits fed a high-garlic diet. Methods: Ten rabbits randomly assigned into two groups (group 1=control and group 2= test) of five rabbits each were used for the experiment. The diet of group 2 was mixed with raw garlic Original Research Article

Association Between Tongue Rolling and Tongue Folding in Osogbo, Southwestern Nigeria

This study was carried out among 144 individuals ( ≥18 years) from the Yoruba tribe of Southwestern Nigeria in order to determine the association between tongue rolling and folding. Participants were examined for the ability to roll and/o r f ld their tongues. The incidence of tongue rollers and folders were 59.7 % and 79.2 % respectively. Tongue rolling was higher in females than male but the difference was not significant (X = 1.039, df = 1, p= 0.308). Tongue folding was significantly higher in females than males (X= 4.211, df= 1, p= 0.04). Of the 144 participants, 76 (52.8 %) were tongue rollers and folders, 10 (6.9 %) were rollers and non -folders, 38 (26.4 %) were non-rollers and folders and 20 (13.9 %) were non-rollers and non-folders. These classes did not vary significa ntly with sex (X= 5.895, df= 3, p= 0.117) but there was a significant association between the ability to roll the tongue and the ability to fol d the tongue (X= 10.97, df= 1, p <0.001). This study shows that tongue rollers are associated with tongue folders.