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Diabetes is one of the commonest global diseases affecting both sexes and phytomedicine is currently among the foremost replacements for orthodox drug; Polyalthia longifiola is among the locally used herbal remedies for various ailments. The onus of this research was to investigate the phytochemical constituents and potential of P. longifiola aqueous leaf extract against alterations in liver and kidney functions in rats injected with alloxan. Phytochemical evaluation of the aqueous plant leaf extract indicated that terpenes, non-reducing sugar, flavonoid, resin, phenol, gums and mucilage were present. The contents of total flavonoids and phenol in the plant leaf are 55.56 µg catechin equivalent/ g and 1.62 g/ 100g DW, respectively. The plant extract administered reduced the glucose concentration of the diabeticinduced animals in a dose dependent manner. This reducing potential of glucose by the plant is as a consequence of the availability of these phytochemicals in the extract of the plant. Alterations in liver function biomarkers (serum ALP, ALT, AST, GGT, TB and DB) caused by the hyperglycemic state of the test animals were reversed as the extract was given to the diabetic rats. Kidney function makers such as creatinine, urea and uric acid were also reduced upon administration of hypoglycemic drug and aqueous plant extract and improved as time progressed. Thus P. longifiola (mast tree) aqueous leaf extract has ameliorative effects on liver and kidney functions of rats induced with diabetes and could be used in management of type 2 diabetes even at a concentration of 100 mg/kg bwt.

Background. Several toxicants present simultaneously in the environment have combined toxicological effects. In addition, various xenobiotics have distinct effects on oxidative stress biomarkers in animal cells and tissues. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of cadmium (Cd) and cyanide (CN) through the food chain on some antioxidant indices in the tissues (lungs, testes, heart, and brain) of male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods. The study included sixty African catfish allocated to four groups, each comprising fifteen fish, treated with potassium cyanide (KCN) and cadmium chloride (CdCl2), held at a temperature of 25°C in a 100-litre fish tank aquarium with water contaminated with 0.4 mg of both cyanide and cadmium/100 ml of water. All the fish were later killed, dried, and used to prepare diet for experimental animals. Twenty male rats divided into four groups, each comprising five rats, were used for this study as well, and fed for 28 days as follows: Group A - control diet; Group B - cyanide-contaminated diet; Group C - cadmium-contaminated diet; Group D - diet contaminated with cyanide + cadmium. Subsequently, they were sacrificed. Biochemical analysis of the tissues excised from the rats was done. Results. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in lipid peroxidation level and a significant decrease in superoxide dismutase, catalase and reduced glutathione activities in the lungs, testes, heart, and brain of rats fed a catfish diet containing both cyanide and cadmium as compared to controls. In addition, contaminated diet altered acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain, glutathione peroxidase activity, glutathione-S-transferase activity, and glutathione reductase activity in the tissues of experimental rats. Conclusions. Cadmium and cyanide, via the food chain, induce oxidative stress in the lungs, testes, heart, and brain of rats.

The use of medicinal plants in the treatment of harmful impacts of xenobiotics in animals is attracting an increasing attention in recent times. The aim of the current study is to assess the preventive potential of Costus afer aqueous leaves extract (CAAE) in treating metabolic aberrations imposed by crude oil contaminated diet inWistar albino rats. Six groups of rats were treated as follows: A = Normal diet; B=Normal diet + 100 mg/kg body weight of CAAE; C =Normal diet + 200 mg/kg body weight of CAAE; D= Crude oil contaminated diet; E= crude oil contaminated diet + 100 mg/kg body weight of CAAE, F = crude oil contaminated diet + 200 mg/kg body weight of CAAE. After thirty days of exposure to the diet and administration of the corresponding plant extracts, the rats were sacrificed with chloroform and the required organs were excised. The hematological indices, as well as function indicators and levels of drug metabolizing enzymes in the liver and kidney, were investigated with standard protocols. The results indicated that the hematological parameters and kidney and liver function indices were altered in rats fed with crude oil contaminated diet. However, the values came close to those in control rats when Costus afer aqueous extracts were administered. Similarly, the activities of oxidase enzymes (aldehyde oxidase, monoamine oxidase, xanthine oxidase, and sulphite oxidase), following their inhibition by the ingestion of crude oil contaminated diet, equally restored close to control values upon treatment with Costus afer aqueous extract. This study, therefore, was able to establish an aqueous extract of Costus aferleave as an antidote for crude oil intoxication.