Hepatoprotective and in vivo antioxidant activity of Olax subscorpioidea Oliv. (Olacaceae) and Distemonathus benthamianus Baill. (Caesalpiniaceae)

Background:

Liver diseases are on rise and remain a serious health problem. Olax subscorpioidea and Distemonanthus benthamianus are two plants used in Ivorian traditional medicine in the treatment of many diseases including jaundice and hepatitis.

Objective:

The present study was carried out to assess the hepatoprotective and in vivo antioxidant potentials of the hydro-ethanolic leaf extracts of these plants in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

Materials and Methods:

The plant extracts at doses of 25 and 100 mg/kg bw, and silymarin (25 mg/kg bw) were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected once daily for 7 days to different groups of rats. Hepatotoxicity was induced on the 7^th day in all the group animals except control. Rats were sacrificed on the 8^th day and blood was collected. Serum biochemical parameters and antioxidant activity were measured using standard procedures. Histopathological examinations of liver rats were also performed.

Results and Discussion:

Hepatotoxicity induced with CCl₄ was well manifested by significant increase in serum activities of GOT, GPT, ALP and GGT, and enhancement of total bilirubin and TBARS levels. On the other hand, the level of total protein, albumin, α₁-globulin significantly decreased, and DPPH-free radical scavenging activity and TAP were lowered. Pretreatment with plant extracts and silymarin prevent the toxic effects of CCl₄ by decreasing serum enzyme activities, total bilirubin and TBARS levels and improving serum TAP and DPPH-free radical scavenging potential. Histopathological observations showed almost normal hepatic cells with a mild degree of inflammation, lesser fatty infiltration and absence of necrosis among the rats treated at 100 mg/kg of extracts of both the plants.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that the hydro-ethanolic leaf extracts of O. subscorpioidea and D. benthamianus possesses hepatoprotective and in vivo antioxidant activity.

[Preoperative diet and complete dentures in Ivory Coast]

The toothless patients of developing country are a real problem of nutrition. The practitioners are in the habit of doing the prostheses restoration wit hoof thinking of alimentation. In this work, authors show the energetic and protein malnutrition of the toothless patients of Cote d'lvoire and propose a hyperprotein diet with their alimentation habit in order to prepare the psychic and physic site who must receive complete prostheses.

[Effect of the intravenous laser blood irradiation on efficacy of drug preparations]

The effect of the intravenous laser blood (ELB) treatment on the sensitivity of blood components with respect to drugs was studied in patients with nonspecific reactive hepatitis and chronic hepatitis. An ELB course reduced the functional activity of thrombocytes in the presence of fibrinogen and adrenaline hydrochloride (collagen inductors), which must be taken into account when these drugs are used as hemostatic agents.

Evaluation of a quantitative double ELISA strategy for confirmation and differentiation of HIV infection

The current HIV pandemic is complicated by the spread of distinct types and subtypes of HIV. The currently used conventional diagnostic tests have shown limitations in the detection of antibodies against all HIV-1 subtypes, as demonstrated by recent identification of HIV-1 subtype O. To evaluate quantitatively the diagnostic potential of a double ELISA strategy for the detection and partial differentiation of HIV-1, HIV-1 subtype O and HIV-2 infections blood samples were examined at five different test centers: Blantyre, Malawi; Abidjan and Daloa, Ivory Coast; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Munich, Germany. All tests results, including ELISA extinction values and Western blot profiles, were forwarded to Munich for final interpretation. An indirect anti-HIV-1/2 ELISA and a competitive anti-HIV-1 ELISA were used in combination for the initial screening of blood specimens. All anti-HIV positive and anti-HIV negative samples were subjected to immunoblot analysis. Independent of the diversity of the extinction profiles, and of the test manufacturer, the quantitative evaluation of the ELISA extinction values could define two extinction areas with a 100% predictive value for HIV-1 seropositivity and HIV seronegativity; extinction values > 2 by the indirect ELISA and < 0.2 by the competitive ELISA for an anti-HIV-1 subtype A to I positive result; extinction values < 0.2 by the indirect ELISA and > 1.0 by the competitive ELISA for an anti-HIV negative result. Additionally, the quantitative evaluation of the extinction profile provides partial information on the HIV-1 subtype as far as the distinction in group M and group O is concerned. In conclusion, the quantitative evaluation of this double ELISA strategy can reduce the number of blood specimens that require additional confirmatory testing in developing countries and can be superior to the immunoblot method during early seroconversion.

The present and future course of the AIDS epidemic in Côte d'Ivoire

An assessment of the current and future mortality and morbidity from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Côte d'Ivoire was made using the results of the 1989 national survey of the prevalence of human immunodeficiency (HIV) infection in the country and the AIDS projection model developed by WHO. For 1989 it was estimated that about 25,000 AIDS cases in adults and children had occurred, although the total number of cases reported for 1989 (up to 1 July 1991) was about 13% (1:6.9) of this estimated total. It is projected that by 1994 in Côte d'Ivoire the cumulative number of cases of AIDS in adults will be 89,000, and that for infants and children the corresponding number will be 41,000. It was also projected that about 371,000 uninfected children will have been born to HIV-infected mothers in Côte d'Ivoire by 1994 and that many of these children will have been orphaned by the deaths of their mothers from AIDS.