In view of ensuring healthy agricultural foods for human consumption, this study assessed the human health risk implicated in selected heavy metals in some commonly consumed vegetables, tubers, nuts and fruits grown around the quarry sites at Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Samples from agriculture area of Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria, constituted the control. The concentration of Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, Cd, and Pb, were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. The potential non-carcinogenic health risk for consumers which included Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for Pb, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd and Cu while carcinogenic health risk using Cancer Slope Factors (CSF) was established for Cd and Pb. Relative abundance of heavy metals across the locations and all samples was in the order Fe > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd. There was statistical significant effect of quarrying activities on the concentration of the heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd) at p < 0.05 level. Based on the observed bioconcentration factors, cassava showed more hyperaccumulation potential compared to other samples. Pumpkin and bitter leaf also could be used in remediation owing to their high bioaccumulation index for Pb and Zn. THQ obtained for Mn and Pb were >1 indicating that the residents at the quarry site may be exposed to potential non-carcinogenic health risk due to Mn and Pb intoxication. With respect to US EPA prescriptions, average carcinogenic risk values obtained for Pb and Cd in this study indicated a lifetime (70 years) probability of contracting cancer suggesting that they be placed for further consideration as chemicals of concern with respect to the assessed locals.Keywords: health risk assessment, bioconcentration factors, daily intake of heavy metals, target hazard quotient, carcinogenic risk, heavy metal.

This study was carried out to evaluate the oxidative and haematologic effects of aqueous extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (CA) in high fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes in Wistar albino rats. Diabetes was induced by feeding the rats with HFD that consisted of 20% sucrose and 20% lard for 4 weeks, followed by a single dose intraperitoneal injection of STZ (40mg/kg body weight (BW)). The aqueous leaf extract of CA was administered orally and daily at 400, 600 and 800mg/kg BW from 7days after induction of diabetes and lasted for 12 weeks, while the normal control and diabetic control rats received regular diet and HFD respectively. Metformin (50mg/kg BW) was used as a standard antidiabetic drug. The animals were anaesthetized and sacrificed to obtain blood by cardiac puncture. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of CA showed the content of tannins (5.72±0.00), saponins (12.49±0.021), alkaloids (17.45 ±0.65), flavonoids (23.72 ±0.02), cyanogenic glycosides (0.75 ±0.10) and phytate (1.97 ±0.06). The six vitamins analysed, showed the concentration of vitamin A (5.24mg/kg), vitamin B 3 (1.40mg/kg), vitamin B 6 (37.23mg/kg), vitamin B 12 (15.98mg/kg), vitamin C (382.00mg/kg) and vitamin E (18.28mg/kg). There was significantly (p<0.05) reduced activity of catalase (CAT), significantly (p<0.05) increased level of TBARS, and non significantly (p>0.05) reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in HFD/STZ induced diabetic rats. CA significantly (p<0.05) increased the SOD and CAT activities, PCV, and Hb concentrations of the treated diabetic rats (TDR) while the TBARS was significantly (p<0.05) decreased compared to the diabetic control (DC). Our findings suggest that CA exhibited reversal effects on these selected oxidative and haematologic markers in rats which were previously damaged by HFD and STZ. © JASEM http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v19i2.5

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Microplastics (MPs) are currently global environmental pollutants, and their associated health risks cannot be ignored. However, research on MP toxicity in mammals is limited. We investigated the effects of polystyrene microplastic (PS-MP) particles on the lipid profile and oxidative stress markers of Wistar rats. Two forms of PS-MP-pristine polystyrene and Styrofoam microplastics-particles of diameter <5 mm were used in this study. Each form was separately incorporated into rat feed in varying proportions of 1, 5 and 10%. A total of seventy rats (thirty-five male and thirty-five female rats) were used for this study and were separately distributed into seven groups of five rats each. The rats were then randomly assigned to a control group which received normal rat feed and water and six (6) test groups which were fed varying percentages (1, 5 and 10) of polystyrene microplastics diet for a period of 90 days. The rats were sacrificed under mild diethyl ether anesthesia 12 hr after cessation of treatment and blood was collected for lipid profile and oxidative stress analyses. Results obtained showed that oral exposure to microplastics caused decreased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and increased low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the rats. In contrast, there were no significant changes in oxidative stress parameters in the rats following microplastics exposure. Atherogenic indices in the PS-MP exposed rats differed according to gender. These results indicated that PS-MP dietary exposure may lead to dyslipidemia and male rats had higher cardiovascular risk.