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Aims: To evaluate the antioxidant properties of Sutherlandia frutescens and Tulbaghia violacea to justify their medicinal uses and values. Study design: Experimental Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University and Department of Biotechnology, University of The Western Cape, Cape Town, between June 2019 to July 2021. Methodology: The antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of Sutherlandia frutescens and Tulbaghia violacea extracts were determined by several standard methods including ferric-ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), trolox equivalent absorbance capacity (TEAC) and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) assays. Results: All S. frutescens extracts exhibited higher FRAP activities (ranging from 687.43 ± 11.90 to 974.31 ± 6.21 µMAAE/g) compared with corresponding extracts of T. violacea. Aqueous extract of S. frutescens produced the highest trolox equivalent absorbance capacity (1603.12 ± 5.50 µMTE/g), copper-initiated prooxidant activity (51.40 ± 1.25 µMTE/g) as well as peroxyl (1049.45 ± 0.54 µMTE/g) and hydroxyl (3911.27±18.67 µMTE/g) scavenging activities. The peroxyl and hydroxyl scavenging activities of aqueous methanolic extracts of S. frutescens and T. violacea increased in a concentration dependent manner. The inhibition of Fe2+-induced microsomal lipid peroxidation showed that aqueous methanolic extracts of Sutherlandia frutescens and Tulbaghia violacea significantly inhibit this process when compared with ethylacetate, dichloromethane and water only extracts. Conclusion: The results suggest that S. frutescens and T. violacea antioxidant capacities depend on the extractive solvent. The antioxidant activity of the plants could be related to inherent phenolic bioactive compounds. However, further study is required to determine the precise mechanism of action and active constituents responsible for the antioxidant properties of these plants.

Background: Endometrial carcinoma is the commonest genital tract malignancy in most developed nations, but it lags behind cervical carcinoma and ovarian cancers in most developing nations including Nigeria. Estrogen has been described as a promoter of endometrial carcinogenesis. Objectives: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the frequency of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expressions of endometrial carcinoma and to correlate it with tumour grade. Materials and Methods: Cases of endometrial carcinoma diagnosed in the Department of Pathology over a 10-year period were reviewed retrospectively. The paraffin-embedded blocks were retrieved, and immunohistochemistry for ER and PR was performed on them. Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) slides were reviewed, and tumours were graded by three independent pathologists. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22. The level of significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: There were 44 cases of endometrial carcinoma. ER and PR were positive in 29.5% and 18.2% of endometrial carcinoma, respectively. There was no significant association between ER ( P = 0.361) and PR ( P = 0.204) expressions and histological grade of the tumour. The most common histological grade was grade 3 with 70% of cases (36 cases), whereas 13 cases (26%) were grade 2 and only 2 cases (4%) were grade 1. Conclusion: The positive expressions of ER and PR in endometrial carcinoma suggest that steroid receptor studies may be of potential benefit in the management of some patients with endometrial carcinoma. Future studies employing larger sample size are therefore recommended.

BackgroundThyroid cancer is the commonest endocrine cancer. There are various histopathological types requiring different therapeutic approaches and having variable prognosis. The objective of this study was to determine the pattern of thyroid cancers in Nigeria.MethodsThe systematically searched databases were African Journal Online, Google Scholar, PubMed and SCOPUS. The pre-print databases Research Square, SciELO and medRxiv were also systematically searched. Moreover, the available grey literature was keenly searched. The meta-analysis was done using Meta XL version 5. The quality of the selected studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The DerSimonian Laird random effect model was used for the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity of the selected studies was determined using I2 statistic and the Cochran’s Q test. Publication bias was assessed with the LFK index and Doi plot.ResultsTwenty-six studies met the eligibility criteria. The total sample size was 1224. In Nigeria, thyroid cancer was most common in the 4th and 5th decades of life. It was 3.5 (95%CI: 3.0- 4.6, p<0.0001) times commoner in females than males. The pooled proportions of thyroid cancers included papillary thyroid cancer- 46% (95% CI: 40 -53), follicular thyroid cancer- 39% (95% CI: 32-45), medullary thyroid cancer – 7% (95% CI: 6 -9), and anaplastic thyroid cancer- 5% (95% CI: 3 -7). The trend showed a change from follicular cancer predominance to papillary cancer over the past two decades.ConclusionPapillary thyroid cancer is the commonest type in Nigeria. Thyroid cancer is seen more in females and it occurs most commonly in middle age.