Increased curiosity on natural plant products has been raised due to problems of cost, unavailability, and after-effects of countless synthetic drugs. Worrisome, many plant-derived formulations lack phytochemically or toxicological screening. Hence, this study phytochemical and elemental screened the ethanolic leaf extract of Acalypha wilkesiana and as well as determining acute toxicity in adult male Wistar rats. The leaves were obtained in Benin City, Nigeria. Ethanol extraction was carried out on leaves and the extract was subjected to proximate, qualitative, and quantitative phytochemical screening and elemental analysis. Acute toxicity was determined on 12 adult male Wistar rats following Lork’s method. Proximate analysis revealed a high presence of carbohydrate, ash, fiber, and moisture. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation showed the abundance of alkaloids (68.7 ± 0.120%), flavonoids (34.7 ± 0.001%) and minute (<1mg/g) saponins, tannins, phenol, and terpenes. The extract contain nutritive (vitamin E = 1.184 ± 0.055µg/g; vitamin A = 0.0066 ± 0.003µg/g; vitamin C = 0.046 ± 0.037µg/g) and anti-nutritive (oxalates = 229.780 ± 16.93mg/100g; cyanide=0.162 ± 0.006 mg/100g; phytate = 0.131 ± 0.01mg/100g) elements. The elemental evaluation showed an abundance of potassium, sodium, and chloride with traces of cadmium and lead and the absence of manganese and copper. There was no sign of acute toxicity or mortality at an extract dose of 5000mg/kg. These findings indicate the ethanol leaf extract of A. wilkesiana as a rich source of phytochemicals and major macro elements and high safety at 5000mg/kg dose. Considering the several components in the leaves extract, Acalypha wilkesiana leaf might be pharmacological significant for the biological system.

Tuberculosis is a re-emergent disease of great epidemiological concern with the directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) recommended by the World Health Organization falling short of targeted expectations. The aim was to compare the impact of socioeconomic, disease, and biochemical factors on the decision of patients to return to (comply with) the six-month treatment schedule. Effects of education, age, occupational and marital (socioeconomic) and biochemical (drug side effects and values of biochemical indices of liver function) factors were compared between 52 SLR and 49 SNR patients. The results suggest that socioeconomic factors play a more prominent role than factors related to drug side effects in determining whether a patient returns to treatment after initial stoppage. A more integrated multi-disciplinary approach to DOTS administration with professional and social inputs is recommended

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The study was aimed at verifying how oxidative status varies with age of diabetes mellitus (DM) in sufferers with adequate blood sugar control. Forty-one diabetic otherwise healthy (DOH) volunteers and 57 apparently healthy controls were used and plasma levels of two endogenous antioxidant enzymes (Superoxide dismutase, SOD, and catalase, CAT) as well as two markers of oxidative damage (Malondialdehyde, MDA and erythrocyte osmotic fragility, EOF) were determined. Results obtained showed significant decreases in plasma SOD and CAT activities, and significant increases in plasma levels of MDA and EOF as age of disease increases. In addition, there were clear significant differences between the oxidative status of DOH and apparently healthy control subjects of similar chronological (birth) age group. Plasma MDA and EOF as markers of oxidative damage were significantly higher in DOH subjects compared with healthy control subjects of similar age. However, plasma SOD and CAT activities were observed to be significantly lower in DOH subjects compared with healthy control subject of comparable age. It could thus be concluded that diabetes is associated with progressive increase in tissue oxidative damage.