Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease characterized by a relative or absolute lack of insulin secretion or insulin inaction. The study investigated the effect of Annona cherimola leaf extract on the liver and kidney function indices of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. A total of twenty (20) albino rats of both sexes weighing about 100g to 200g were used for the study, while eighteen (18) mice were used for the acute toxicity study. The animals were randomly divided into five (5) groups of four (4) rats each; Group 1 was not induced nor treated (normal control), group 2 was induced but not treated (untreated control), group 3 was induced and treated with 100 mg/kg b.w. of metformin (standard control), and groups 4 and 5 were induced and treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg b.w. of the extract respectively. The induction of diabetes was achieved by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg b.w.). The oral administration (treatment) was done once per day using gavages for fifteen (15) days, and the blood glucose level was checked every three (3) days. The result indicated the extract possessed significant (p < 0.05) antidiabetic effect on groups 4 and 5 compared to the untreated group. A significant (p < 0.05) increase in serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TAG) was also observed in groups 4 and 5 compared to the untreated group. In conclusion, this research showed that the ethanol leaf extract of Annona cherimolapossess a potent ameliorative effect in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

Background Recent efforts for the complementary treatment of diabetes have focused on medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds. Tephrosia bracteolata is one of such plants used in the management of diabetes but its anti-diabetic principles are yet to be identified. This study was aimed at identifying the compounds responsible for the antidiabetic activity of the ethylacetate fraction of Tephrosia bracteolata leaves and subsequently, carryout an in silico molecular docking of these compounds against key targets in the pathophysiology of diabetes. Methods The ethylacetate fraction (EAF) of T. bracteolata leaves was fractionated using Silica gel column chromatography to yield 100 fractions. Pooling together of fractions with similar thin layer chromatographic (TLC) mobility profile afforded seven major fractions (SF1- SF7). Preliminary phytochemical studies were carried out on the fractions using standard methods. The antidiabetic activity of the fractions was subsequently evaluated (at a dose of 200 mg/kg) against alloxan- induced diabetes in adult mice. GC-MS analysis was carried out on the fraction with the highest activity. Subsequently, some of the identified active compounds were docked against key targets in the pathology of diabetes using Auto Dock tool. Results Preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of terpenoids, saponins, steroids, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids in varying proportions in the fractions. The sub-fractions produced varying degrees of significant (p < 0.05) decrease in FBS at 12h and 24h- post-treatment. GC-MS analysis of the most active fraction (SF5) revealed the presence of thirty- six compounds among which are some that have been reported to possess direct or indirect antidiabetic properties. These are Mome-inositol, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, 1-D-thio-glucitol, 4-Piperidinone, Hexadecanoic acid, 9- octadecanoic acid, n- hexadecanoic acid and D- allose. Molecular docking studies (Auto Dock tool) between Mome inositol, 1-D-thio-glucitol and alpha-glucosidase showed that Mome inositol (− 6.7 kcal/mol) had a stronger affinity to the enzyme. Similarly, for sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT 2), Mome inositol (− 6.5 kcal/mol) had a stronger affinity than 1-D-thio-glucitol. Conclusions The identified compounds in the fraction could be responsible for the observed antidiabetic properties of the fraction of T. bracteolata.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the prominent causes of hospital-acquired bacteremia. Despite the availability of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics, hospital acquired S. aureus bacteremia is still a major problem with considerable morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate, identify and determine the Antibiotics susceptibility profile of Staphylococcus aureus from the surfaces of surgical equipment and environment of major public and private hospitals in Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria using colonial characteristics, microscopy and conventional biochemical techniques. The Antibiotics susceptibility profile of the isolates was determined in accordance with the Guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI). A total of three hundred and fifty (350) swab samples comprising of fourty (40) from surgical equipment and three hundred and ten (310) from the environment were collected from three (3) different public and private hospitals within Lokoja metropolis. The results obtained showed that 110(31.4%) of samples from the hospital environment were confirmed positive for Staphylococcus aureus with Hospital A constituting 30(8.6%), Hospital B had 59(16.8%) and Hospital C recorded 21 (6.0%). Of the 19 selected S. aureus isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility screening, 10.52% and 5.26% were intermediately resistant to Norfloxacin and Chloramphenicol respectively. Furthermore, the screened S. aureus isolates showed 100% susceptible to Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin and Erythromycin; 94.73% susceptible to Chloramphenicol and 89.47% susceptible to Levoflaxin. The result also revealed 100% resistance to Penicillin and 15.78% resistance to Rifampicin. The high presence of Staphylococcus aureus in the hospital environment is a potential threat to the health of the patients and the public as this organism has been implicated in several human diseases, especially hospital- acquired bacteremia. Therefore, improved personal and public hygienic practices within the hospitals are required to reduce the high presence of S. aureus and other pathogenic microorganisms.