Background: The emergence of a multidrug-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf Pailin) raises concern about malaria control strategies. Unfortunately, the role(s) of natural plants/remedies in curtailing malaria catastrophe remains uncertain. The claims of potential antimalarial activity of Cannabis sativa in vivo have not been well established nor the consequences defined. This study was, therefore, designed to evaluate the effects of whole cannabis consumption on malaria-infected host.Methods: Thirty mice were inoculated with dose of 1×107 chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium berghei ANKA-infected erythrocyte and divided into six treatment groups. Cannabis diet formulations were prepared based on weighted percentages of dried cannabis and standard mice diet and the study animals were fed ad libitum. Chemosuppression of parasitemia, survival rates, parasite clearance, and recrudescence time were evaluated. Histopathological studies were performed on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus of the animals after 14 days' consumption of cannabis diet formulation by naive mice.Results: There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the day-4 chemosuppression of parasitemia between the animals that were fed C. sativa and chloroquine relative to the untreated controls. There was also a significant difference in the survival rate (p<0.05) of animals fed C. sativa diet (40%, 20%, 10%, and 1%) in contrast to control animals on standard mice diet. A parasite clearance time of 2.18±0.4 was recorded in the chloroquine treatment group, whereas recrudescence in chloroquine group occurred on day 7. There were slight histomorphological changes in the PFC and cell densities of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of animals that were fed C. sativa.Conclusions: C. sativa displayed mild antimalarial activity in vivo. There was evident reduction in symptomatic manifestation of malaria disease, though unrelated to levels of parasitemia. This disease tolerance status may be beneficial, but may also constitute a transmission burden through asymptomatic carriage of parasites by habitual cannabis users.

Background: The leaf extract of Croton zambesicus (CZ) is used in traditional medicine for the management of various conditions including kidney disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the protective effects of leaf extract of CZ on rat kidney toxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride. Method: Male albino rats were divided into 6 groups of 5 rats and treated for 5 days with aqueous extract (200-400 mg/kg) and n-butanol fraction (20-40 mg/kg) of CZ. Carbon tetrachloride (2 ml/kg of 40% in olive oil) was administered subcutaneously for 3 days and the rats were treated with the extract and fraction for 3 days. Animals were euthanized on day 8 with intraperitoneal injection of ketamine (60 mg/kg) and xylazine (7.5 mg/kg). Blood sample was collected for the analysis of serum electrolytes, urea and creatinine. Kidney tissue was harvested to determine the antioxidant enzyme activity. Results: Carbon tetrachloride produced increased serum sodium ion, chloride ion, urea and creatinine with decreased superoxide, catalase, glutathione, oxidized glutathione and an increase in malondialdehyde concentration. Treatment of rats with the aqueous leaf extract and n-butanol fraction attenuated the toxic effects of carbon tetrachloride on kidney with a significant decline in serum electrolytes, urea, creatinine and a significant increase in the concentration of antioxidant enzymes. Conclusion: Results from this study revealed that the aqueous leaf extract and n-butanol fraction of CZ had protective effect against carbon tetrachloride-induced renal toxicity in rats, thus justifying the consideration of this plant for the management of kidney disease.

Herbal mixtures are extensively consumed globally for medicinal use due to the belief that they are safe and readily accessible. The herbal preparation (SHM), evaluated in this study, is made up of 7 plants found in Nigeria and it is used internally and externally for varieties of disease conditions. The heavy metals and microbial content of SHM was evaluated. Three batches of the SMH were analyzed for presence of heavy metals using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The microbial load was also evaluated by determining the total viable yeast, mould and coliform bacteria count. The metal and microbial content of the samples were compared with WHO permissible limits and differences in concentration among the batches were determined. Fe (0.010-0.100 mg/L) and Zn (0.010-0.030 mg/L) detected were significantly (P<0.05) lower than the permissible limits while Cu, Pb and Cd were absent. A batch had total yeast and mould count (4.95 x 103Cfu/mL) above the permissible limit whereas the other batches were below the limit. Microorganisms (yeasts, mould like Aspergillus flavus and Rhizoctonia solani) were present in all the batches and hence SHM may not be safe for internal use. Keywords: Herbal mixtures, Heavy metals, Microbial load, Atomic absorption spectrophotometer

Pharmacology teaching in Nigeria is extremely teacher‐centered and does not meet the educational needs of Pharmacy students. Despite the numerous advantages of active learning, Pharmacy schools in Nigeria are yet to adopt this teaching method.This action research was carried out to introduce and determine the effectiveness of active learning in a pharmacology classroom. Twenty‐four Pharmacy students in their third year participated in the study. Randomized control‐group pre‐test post‐test design was used. A pre‐test was administered to the control and treatment groups. Traditional lecture method was employed in teaching twelve students (control group) while three active learning strategies; Think‐pair‐share, Student presentation and Socratic questioning was used in teaching a cardiovascular module to twelve students (treatment group). A Post‐test was given to both groups after four weeks of instruction. We administered a structured questionnaire to obtain information on students' perception of active learning strategies. A higher mean score was obtained from the post‐test of students taught with active learning strategies. Majority of the respondents agreed active learning enhanced team work, increased their knowledge and confidence. Inadequate pre‐class preparation by the students was a major barrier encountered with use of active learning strategies and more time will be required to depart from passive to active learning. In conclusion, students were involved in the learning process and effective instruction was achieved. These findings will be of value to educators who plan to adopt active learning strategies in small classrooms.Support or Funding InformationNo funding.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

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