Natural honey is one of the most widely sought products due to its unique properties, which are attributed to the influence of the different groups of substances it contains. Honey is used for nutritional, medicinal and industrial purposes and it is an important commodity in the international market; serving as foreign exchange earner for many countries. In Nigeria, honey production (beekeeping) has the potential to develop as a prime agro-horticultural and forest-based industry which can be a major foreign exchange earner if international standards are met. The precise chemical composition and physical properties of natural honeys differ according to the plant species on which the bees forage. Differences in climatic conditions and vegetations are also important factors that can affect the various properties of honey. North-eastern Nigeria consists of humid, semi arid and arid climates with varying agricultural activities and blossoms from different types of vegetations, which can influence the natural composition and properties of honey. Thus, analysis of the biochemical composition of 18 honey samples obtained from different locations in the northeast sub-region of Nigeria was carried out to ascertain their qualities. Moisture and ash contents of the samples had average values of 16.00 ± 2.19 g/100 g and 0.47 ± 0.09 g/100 g, respectively. The protein contents ranged between 0.35 and 1.08g/100 g with a mean of 0.67 ± 0.25 g/100 g while fat content lied between 0.10 and 0.50 g/100 g with a mean of 0.29 ± 0.11 g/100 g. Total carbohydrate contents and Energy values showed average values of 82.30 ± 2.03 g/100 g and 1,401.33 ± 33.71 KJ/100 g, respectively. Fructose contents gave an average of 38.94 ± 0.90 g/100 g, while glucose contents had a mean value of 31.65 ± 2.79 g/100 g. The sucrose contents of the honey samples had a mean value of 1.84 ± 0.79 g/100 g. Total polyphenol and vitamin C contents showed mean values of 65.31 ± 19.50 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/100 g and 21.15 ± 3.99 mg/100 g, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the samples compare favorably with samples in many parts of the world and also fall within the limits of international standards.

Aqueous, ethanolic and hexane extracts of the leaves of Nauclea latifolia (Rubiaceae) were assessed for their fasting blood glucose lowering effect in normoglycaemic and streptozotocin -diabetic rats. Wistar strain albino rats were given different doses of the extracts after 18 hrs fast and their blood glucose measured at 0,1,2,4 and 6 hours after treatment. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts significantly lowered the fasting blood glucose levels of the STZ-diabetic rats in a dose-dependent manner. The highest dose administered (400mg/kg) lowered the fasting blood glucose of the diabetic rats by 31.7% (aqueous) and 36.1% (ethanolic) extracts. The aqueous extract did not significantly lower the glucose levels of normoglycaemic rats (maximum 6.6%), nor was any significant decrease seen in the rats administered with the hexane (maximum of 4.0% for normoglycaemic and 2.4% for diabetics) extract. The hypoglycaemic and antihyperglycaemic potentials of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts were comparable to that of glibenclamide (1mg/kg).These results further support the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

IntroductionCervical cancer is the commonest gynaecological malignancy and the second most common cancer among women worldwide. Several epidemiological, clinical and molecular studies have strongly implicated oncogenic high-risk human papillomavirus infection in the aetiopathogenesis of cervical cancer. The objectives of this study were to determine the cervical HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in cervical cancer in Maiduguri, Nigeria.MethodsThis was a descriptive and retrospective study. Sixty-three archived paraffin-embedded tissue blocks with confirmed diagnoses of cervical cancer during the study period (2013-2015) were retrieved and examined. The procedure included deparaffinization of tissue samples, DNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and HPV genotyping by reverse hybridization line probe assay.ResultsSixty-three cervical cancer cases were subjected to genomic DNA extraction and HPV-DNA detection by PCR. Fifty-eight samples showed PCR positivity while 5 samples were PCR negative. HPV-specific DNA was detected in 44 of the 58 PCR-positive samples and thus the prevalence was 69.8%. Ten different high-risk HPV genotypes were detected. Both single and multiple high-risk HPV infections were observed. The most prevalent type of the human papillomavirus detected was HPV16.ConclusionHPV-DNA was prevalent in majority of the examined cervical cancer tissues and that HPV16, HPV18, HPV45, HPV51 and HPV52 were the predominant HPVs detected in both single and multiple HPV infections. The results of this study and further studies will provide more detailed information about HPV and may contribute significantly to the prevention of cervical cancer through primary high-risk HPV testing and HPV vaccination against the oncogenic viruses.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the possible underlying mechanism of the hypoglycaemic activity of the ethanolic extract of Nauclea latifolia leaves in rats. The extract, glibenclamide or water was administered orally in a glucose, sucrose and maltose tolerance tests. In addition, the effect of the extract on α-glucosidase enzymes was also studied. The ethanolic extract at 200mg/kg body weight inhibited the increase in glucose level after both oral and intraperitoneal glucose loads as did glibenclamide. The extract also dose dependently inhibited both maltase and sucrase activities in vitro but not in vivo. The hypoglycaemic effect of N. latifolia leaf ethanolic extract thus appears to be most probably exerted through a mechanism similar to that of glibenclamide which is related to increased insulin release from pancreatic β-cells.