The hypolipidaemic effects of the leaves of Gongronema latifolium (GL) and Vernonia amygdalina (VA) diet preparations on the lipid profile of rats were compared. The rats were fed for 28 days on diet specially formulated to contain 5%, 15% and 30% by weight of the leaves of each plant respectively while the control group was fed standard rat diet. The serum total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were determined on blood samples collected on the 28 th day. The results show that the VA diet induced a significantly lower serum total cholesterol level at the 15% and 30% concentrations relative to the GL diet preparation. The results also show that there was no significant difference between the effects of GL and VA diet preparations at the various levels of treatments. The comparison of the effects of the two diet preparations show that VA produced higher levels of HDL-C compared to GL which was significant at 5% and 15% concentrations respectively. It appears from our results that VA diet preparation may have better hyperlipidaemic effect than GL diet preparation. Therefore, VA may have better therapeutic promise in preventing lipid related pathologies compared to GL

The serum electrolytes and blood pressures of apparently healthy Nigerians were studied. A total of 121 subjects took part in the study. The serum electrolytes (Na ) and blood pressure were measured by standard methods. The mean(±SD) serum sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate concentrations were 142.15±15.16, 5.17±1.04, 98.50±11.22 and 26.55±8.17 mEq/L respectively while the mean (±SD) systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 117.67±11.75 and 73.21±9.64 mm/Hg respectively. The mean blood pressure and serum concentrations of the electrolytes generally fall within the reference range though some were outside the normal range. The mean serum level of potassium was found to be higher than results obtained from other regions of the country while the mean sodium and chloride ions concentrations were lower than the results obtained from Zaria, northern Nigeria. It is likely that both geographical locations and dietary habits among Nigerians might influence these differences. The study suggests that in interpreting results of electrolytes and blood pressure for clinical uses, both geographic (climatic) conditions and dietary factors should be considered.