International Journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research
Volume:12 Issue: 2, Spring 2024

Hyperuricemia presents as a prevailing concern in routine clinical practice, affecting an estimated 8.9% to 24.4% of the general populace. Central to the emergence of hyperuricemia and its associated ailments is the enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO), which participates in the breakdown of purines into uric acid. This investigation is dedicated to appraising the ability of Jatropha tanjorensis methanolic extract to counteract hyperuricemia and inhibit XO in mice induced with pyrazinamide. The isolation of XO from cow milk was accomplished using ammonium sulfate precipitation techniques, followed by quantification of its activity via spectrophotometric measurements at a wavelength of 293 nm. Evaluation of uric acid levels was carried out through an enzyme colorimetric approach. The yield of Jatropha tanjorensis was found to be 9.2% (27.6 g). The XO inhibitory action of the extract was evident in the reduction in uric acid concentration from 8.73 μg/ml to 4.45 μg/ml after 1 hour. Assessment of toxicity showed that the extract, even at a high dose of 8000 mg/kg bw, had no observable impact on the animals’ behavior or physical appearance. The uric acid assay demonstrated that all three doses of Jatropha tanjorensis extract led to a noteworthy reduction in mean serum uric acid levels compared to the negative control group. The highest mean uric acid levels were noted in the negative control groups, measuring 5.36 ± 0.40 mg/dl and 2.71 ± 0.34 mg/dl, respectively. In contrast, the positive control group treated with febuxostat exhibited a mean uric acid level of 3.15 ± 0.27 mg/dl. Regarding weight changes, the normal control and positive control groups displayed average gains of 62.53 g and 35.94 g, respectively, while the negative control group did not exhibit substantial weight variation. Consequently, the Jatropha tanjorensis extract induced a notable reduction in serum uric acid levels, and this antihyperuricemic effect became more prominent as the extract concentration increased. This suggests the extract's potential value in managing hyperuricemia.

Diarrhea results in the disruption of intestinal architecture and marked decrease in the activity of intestinal brush border enzymes, including Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). This study was done to determine how well jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus) based oral rehydration solution (ORS) can improve intestinal enzyme activity in diarrheagenic rats. Animals were divided into 4 groups; the control group (animal received distilled water and rat chow), Group A (animals were induced with diarrhea and left untreated), Group B (animal were induced with diarrhea and treated with World Health Organization Glucose Electrolyte Solution (WHO GES), while Group C (animal were induced diarrhea with jicama-based ORS (JB-ORS). Diarrhea was induced by feeding the animal with 5ml/100g body weight of 20% solution of D- mannitol daily. After treatment, the rats were sacrificed under ketamine anesthesia, dissected and their small intestines were removed, homogenized, and assayed for alkaline phosphatase enzyme. Jicama ORS increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels (higher than WHO-ORS) and resulted in the normalization of body weights in rats following diarrhea induction. The results suggest that jicama could be used as food-based ORS to restore to normal metabolic activities in diarrheic condition.

The objective of the current study was to assess the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Carica papaya's hypoglycemic effects. Yeast glucose uptake, muscle glucose uptake, and glucose adsorption capacity were used to measure the extracts' in vitro hypoglycemic effects. The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was assessed by investigating how they affect lipid peroxidation brought on by iron (II) sulphate and sodium nitroprusside. The findings showed that glucose was absorbed by both the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Carica papaya, and that this adsorption significantly increased as the concentration of glucose rose. There were no variations in their adsorption capabilities that were statistically significant (p=0.05). The yeast cells were also stimulated to take up glucose by the plant extracts, and this stimulation was influenced by the sample and glucose content. In the study's muscle glucose uptake, the ethanolic extract of Carica papaya leaves showed substantially greater (p=0.05) performance than the methanolic of the same leaves with increasing concentration. The study's findings showed that the plant's methanolic extract was substantially more potent than its ethanolic (p=0.05). In addition, the methanolic extract considerably inhibited the generation of MDA (malondialdehyde) in the liver and brain homogenates more than the ethanolic extract did. Both plant extracts also exhibit dose-dependent inhibition of the various pro-oxidant agents (Iron (II) Sulphate and sodium nitroprusside) caused fatty acid oxidation tissues present in the brain and liver.

As a neoplasm risk factor, Cadmium can remarkably accumulate in the kidneys and alter its natural function through several pathways. This study aimed to inspect the antioxidant effect of Crocin on inactivating the Cadmium carcinogenicity in the kidney. In this experimental study, groups of selected rats, including a control group, Corn oil, Crocin, Cadmium, and Complex (Crocin+ Cadmium) were treated with relative gastric gavage for 8 weeks. 48 hours after the last treatment, rats were sacrificed, and aortic blood was collected for measuring the plasma levels of Creatinine and Bun. The kidney was also removed to evaluate the biomarkers of kidney damage using real-time PCR and histopathological examination. The biochemical assay results addressed the significant (P<0.001) rise of Creatinine and Bun levels in Cadmium exposure to rats was associated with kidney cancer or malfunction. The reduction of serum Creatinine and Bun levels in the Complex group confirmed the recovery rate of kidney function by Crocin. Findings from molecular assay revealed that Crocin reduced the expression of kidney damage marker Cystatin C while increasing the biomarkers of kidney function gene expression. These implied the kidney-destructive role of Cadmium and the retrieval role of Crocin. Histopathological results deduced that Cadmium could induce partial destruction of the kidney and the neoplasm mass. However, Crocin can cause tubular necrosis in cancer cells. Crocin has been concluded to be a potent reno-protective agent against Cadmium-induced nephrotoxicity. Thus, Crocin would be a promising novel pharmacological agent for alleviating kidney cancer.

It was shown that several bioactive aromatic compounds with biological applications have the furan nucleus watch Numerous significant synthetic compounds include furan scaffold, which offers a helpful therapeutic idea and is found to have strong affinity for a range of receptors, assisting in the synthesis of novel, advantageous derivatives The antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antidepressant, antianxiolytic, anti-Parkinson, anti-glaucoma, muscle-relaxant, antihypertensive, diuretics, anti-ulcer, anti-aging, and anti-cancer effects of furan derivatives make them frequently utilized. Diverse furan derivatives have piqued the interest of researchers. Furan is a colourless liquid that boils almost at ambient temperature and is highly volatile and combustible. Electron-Rich Nature: Furan rings have the ability to engage in a variety of electrical interactions with biomolecules due to their electron-rich nature. This characteristic might make it easier to attach strongly to biological targets like enzymes or receptors, which would affect how they function. Aromaticity: Furan's aromatic properties may give the compounds stability, which could improve their metabolic stability and bioavailability. Numerous natural compounds and pharmaceutical molecules are known to depend heavily on aromatic systems for their bioactivity.Functional Group Diversity: A wide variety of derivatives can be synthesized by simply modifying furan scaffolds with different functional groups.

The detection of new variants of COVID-19 still faces challenges due to various observations in human society as well as possible reservoirs in domestic and wild animals, and the prediction of possible future pandemics requires accurate and early detection of viruses. Although different techniques have been used to detect COVID-19, advanced diagnostic assay methods are needed for better and more efficient control of COVID-19. One of the analytical and sensitive techniques for detecting viruses is surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which provides a fingerprint for any biomolecule. The widespread application of SERS technology in integration with immunoassay methods has provided great achievements in the diagnostic studies of viruses. Likewise, the ultra-sensitive diagnostic ability of the SERS method using substrates based on plasmonic nanostructures has been proven in various biological researches. In addition, by optimizing various conditions such as improving the ability and repeatability of SERS detection and increasing the efficiency of the platforms used for early detection of coronavirus-19, the problems of traditional approaches can be solved. Thus, SERS is a promising option in the early detection of COVID-19 in the recent pandemic. In this review, some diagnostic applications of the SERS technique for the COVID-19 identification are briefly discussed, which we hope will be useful for researchers.

Malaria and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are significant public health challenges when they overlap geographic distributions. There is potential for co-infections and syndemism of both pathogens due to the rising incidence of the overlap between regions endemic for hepatitis C virus and malaria. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the sero-prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and malaria co-infection among outpatients attending General Hospital Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. A total of 100 outpatients consisting of 30 males and 70 females within the age of 11 to 70 years were randomly recruited to the study. Rapid diagnostic test kits were used to screen for HCV and malaria among the outpatients. Of the 100 outpatients screened, 12 (12%) were sero-positive for HCV while 4(4%) were sero-positive for Malaria. Of the 12 HCV sero-positive patients, 4 (13.33%) were male while 8 (11.43%) were females. Furthermore, all malaria sero-positive patients were male. Likewise, malaria and HCV co-infection in this study was 2%. Although low, the prevalence of HCV infection, malaria and HCV-malaria co-infection are worrisome especially in this area. Hence, patients should be encouraged to go for routine screening and know their infection status so as to prevent complications due to active infection.

This study explores the antifungal properties of honey against dermatophytes isolated from children and farmers in Wukari, Nigeria, addressing the global public health concern of dermatophytosis. Dermatophytes such as Trichophyton species, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Microsporum canis were identified in skin, hair, and nail samples. Through agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods, the study demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibitory effects of honey on these dermatophytes, with substantial zones of inhibition. Notably, Trichophyton species exhibiting a maximum zone diameter of 36 mm at 100% honey concentration followed by Epidermophyton floccosum (25 mm) and Microsporum canis (40 mm). MIC results at a 60% honey dilution showed very scanty growth for Trichophyton species and Epidermophyton floccosum, while Microsporium canis displayed no growth after both five and seven days of culture. The findings suggest honey's potential as an alternative antifungal agent against dermatophytes amid increasing antimicrobial resistance. Future research should focus on identifying honey's specific bioactive components and conducting clinical trials for practical application.