Background Omega-3 fatty acids’ inclusion as feed supplement in the diets of both human and animals has been found to play a significant role in body metabolism. The aim of this present study was to evaluate the effects of graded doses of omega-3 fatty acids on haematology and body weight of adult male and female Rattus norvegicus (Wistar albino rats) as a model animal. Methods A total of seventy-two adult male and female albino rats were randomly assigned into two experimental units. Each unit was grouped into three and received different treatment diets. Blood erythrocytes and weight were sampled on days 0, 14 and 28 to evaluate haematological parameters and body weight. Results Results showed concentration- and time-dependent significant increases (p < 0.05) in the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), white blood cells (WBCs), mean cell volume (MCV) and mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and non-significant change (p > 0.05) in the red blood cells (RBCs) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in male rats after day 0. In female rats, significant increases (p < 0.05) were recorded in the PCV, Hb, MCV and MCH, whereas no significant increase was observed in the RBCs. Activities of WBCs and MCHC showed mixed trend in female rats. The results of the body weight recorded non-significant increases (p > 0.05) in both experimental units. Conclusion Our findings depict that the use of omega-3 fatty acids in the diets of both male and female rats produced a dose-dependent effect on blood formation while its role in controlling weight gain was observed. Hence, its intake in both animal and human diets should be rightly prescribed.
Phytochemical screening of the methanolic fruit extract of Solanum macrocarpon was performed using standard method. Eighteen male albino mice, assigned into six groups (n=3) were used to determine the acute toxicity (LD 50) of the extract. Haematological effect of the extract was determined using forty eight adult male rats assigned into four groups (A-D; n=12). The treatment groups received daily oral administration of the extract at doses of 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg of body weight (bw) respectively for 21 days. The phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, phenols, phytates, tannins, cyanides and terpenoids. The extract showed no mortality even at the dose of 5000 mg/kg bw. The highest treatment dose (1600 mg/kg) showed significant reduction in the white blood cell (WBC) count compared to rest of the treatment groups. There were no significant difference (p<0.05) in red blood cell (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) levels of the treatment groups compared to control. Similarly, the mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) results showed no significant difference from days 0 to 21 in all the treatment groups. Findings from this study suggest that except for the fact that the high dose of the extract antagonizes immunity; it has no serious adverse effect on the various haematological parameters, especially as it improves haemoglobin levels on prolonged administration.
The Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) complex plays an important role in maintaining chromosome integrity, in which the SMC5/6 complex occupies a central position by facilitating mitotic and meiotic processes as well as DNA repair. NSE-4 Kleisin is critical for both the organization and function of the SMC5/6 complex, bridging NSE1 and NSE3 (MAGE related) with the head domains of the SMC5 and SMC6 proteins. Despite the conservation in protein sequence, no functional relevance of the NSE-4 homologous protein (NSE-4) in Caenorhabditis elegans has been reported. Here, we demonstrated the essential role of C. elegans NSE-4 in genome maintenance and DNA repair. Our results showed that NSE-4 is essential for the maintenance of chromosomal structure and repair of a range of chemically induced DNA damage. Furthermore, NSE-4 is involved in inter-sister repair during meiosis. NSE-4 localizes on the chromosome and is indispensable for the localization of NSE-1. Collectively, our data from this study provide further insight into the evolutionary conservation and diversification of NSE-4 function in the SMC-5/6 complex.
<p>The increasing discovery of more medicinal plants have triggered increased scientific screening of their bioactivity in order to provide data that will help physicians and patients make wise decision before using them. This study was designed to elucidate comparative phytochemical and antioxidant properties of crude seed powder, aqueous and methanolic seed extracts of <em>Buchholzia coriacea.</em> The results showed that crude seed powder had the highest alkaloid and phenol content of 3.98 ± 0.00% and 0.92 ± 0.00%, while aqueous extract had the least alkaloid and phenol content of 1.00 ± 0.00% and 0.12 ± 0.00% respectively. Methanolic extracts had the highest phytochemical components among the three extracts with flavonoids (12.03 ± 0.0), saponins (1.99 ± 0.01), terpenoids (2.00 ± 0.00), tannin (0.10 ± 0.00) and phytate (2.02 ± 0.01) compositions, while aqueous extracts had the highest hydrogen cyanide (0.30 ± 0.00) and glycoside (0.35 ± 0.00). Antioxidant (DPPH) activities of <em>B. coriacea</em> showed that aqueous extract and crude seed powder had inhibition concentration (IC<sub>50</sub>) of 4.65 mg/ml while methanolic extract had IC<sub>50</sub> of 5.85 mg/ml. The result of the LD<sub>50</sub> of the extracts showed the each extracts was well tolerated at a dose of 5000 mg/kg, an indication of high safety profile. The study therefore clearly demonstrated that methanolic extracts of <em>B. coriacea</em> have antioxidant, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolmic and anticarcinogenic properties owing to the presence of high levels of phytochemical components than the aqueous and crude seed powder. </p>
This study evaluated the effect of diet formulations of Gongronema latifolium leaf (GLL), Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaf (CAL) and Moringa oleifera leaf (MOL) on biochemical parameters of experimentally-induced MS in male albino rats. Adult Wistar rats (forty-eight) 180-210 g were randomly grouped into eight groups of six rats each. Group 1 received normal diet. MS was induced in experimental rats (Groups 2-8) using high fat high carbohydrate (HFHC) diet for eight weeks, then group 2 was fed normal rat diet (untreated), while groups 3 to 8 was treated with diets formulated with GLL, CAL, MOL for another eight weeks. The dose of the plants used for feed formulation was 10% of the formulated diet for each treatment. Antioxidant status, liver enzymes, lipid profile and obesity indices were evaluated using standard methods. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the treatment groups. Significant (p < 0.05) decrease in total cholesterol, triacylglycerols and body weight gain of the treated groups were observed, high density lipoprotein significantly (p < 0.05) increased compared to the untreated group. Results from the study indicate that GLL, CAL, and MOL have therapeutic potentials that could be useful in the management of metabolic syndrome.
The C. elegans cosa-1 gene encodes the crossover site-associated-1 (COSA-1) protein, a cyclin-related protein that functions in promoting crossovers (COs) during meiosis. Previous studies regarding CO dynamics in live C. elegans have mostly relied on the green fluorescent protein-tagged cosa-1 transgenic strain, which was generated by the microparticle bombardment method. Here, we insert the red fluorescence protein mCherry at the C-terminal of the cosa-1 gene to establish cosa-1::mCherry transgenic worm by the CRISPR/Cas9 technique. The COSA-1::mCherry was observed to appear from the early pachytene, and disappear in the diplotene zone of the germline, with 6 COSA-1:: mCherry foci in the late pachytene, which colocalized with GFP::COSA-1 from AV630 strain. Furthermore, the transgenic strain harboring a cosa-1::mCherry fusion shows no defect in the brood size, progeny viability and male frequency, which provides a useful tool for the meiotic analysis in C. elegans .
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