No abstract

Despite the great benefits derived from fruits and vegetable consumption, raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables (without adequate washing and/or cooking) can be significant vehicles of food-borne parasites [4]. Globally, it is estimated that 33 million years of healthy lives are lost as a result of consuming contaminated foods each year.

Objectives: Schistosomiasis is a chronic, progressive and granulomatous disease which is not immediately fatal but constitutes enormous medical and public health implications. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence, intensity, Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of urinary schistosomiasis among primary school pupils (aged 4-16 years) in Owena town, Ondo State, Nigeria.Methods: Urine specimens were collected and examined, using a 325 Wire Mesh filter and microscopy. The conclusive diagnosis was based on the presence of the characteristic eggs of Schistosoma haematobium, while the intensity of infection was described as the number of eggs per 10 ml of urine (eggs/10ml). 464 school children, comprising 268 (57.8%) boys and 196 (42.2%) girls, were examined.Results: Altogether, 175 (37.7%) of the pupils examined had the characteristic egg of S. haematobium in their urine. Boys, (42.3%), were significantly more infected than girls, (31.6%) (p<0.05). The highest prevalence of infection (47.2%) was seen among pupils in the age range of 8-10years while the lowest (28.0%) occurred among 11-13years. Boys had significantly higher mean (SD) egg-count 428 (5.8) eggs/10 ml/SD and prevalence of macro-hematuria (70.2%) than girls 373.0 (3.1) eggs/10ml/SD and 29.8% respectively] (p <0.05). The relationship between water-contact activities and prevalence of infection was statistically significant (x2 = 24.17, p<0.05). Conclusion:This study identified protracted water-contact activities, ignorance, and lack of safe water supply as the major risk factors promoting endemicity of S. haematobium in Owena town. It is therefore imperative that interventions and control measures, such as health education, safe water supply, and chemotherapy are implemented.

This study was carried out to examine the antibacterial activity and phytochemical compositions of extracts from the leaf of Sida acuta . Using water and 70% ethanol, active components of Sida acuta were extracted and tested against six authenticated clinical isolates: Eschericia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi . The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of extracts were determined using broth dilution and recovery plate methods respectively, while Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) were used in determining the presence and quantity of phytochemicals in the extracts. All clinical isolates, except P. aeruginosa , were markedly susceptible to Sida acuta leaf extracts, with inhibition zones ranging from 6.0mm to 20.0mm. The least MIC (3.13 mg/ml) and MBC (3.13 mg/ml) was observed in ethanolic leaf extract against S. aureus , while the highest (150 mg/ml and 150.00mg/ml) were observed in the ethanolic leaf extract against K. pneumoniae . Phytochemical tests identified flavonoids as the most dominant compound while tannins was the least. TLC analysis showed Rf values ranging from 0.10 to 0.98, while the GC-MS identified scopoletin (45.8%) and vomifoliol (41.0%) as the most abundant compounds from the aqueous extract. Evofolin-A, 4-ketopinoresinol, assamicin I and assamicin II were also observed from the leaf extracts. The findings of this study reveals the potency of Sida acuta leaf extracts as an antibacterial, thus suggesting its possible use in treating common infections as well as a potential candidate for further research on antibacterial therapeutics. Keywords: Sida acuta , leaf extracts, antibacterial, phytochemicals, scopoletin, vomifoliol.