Background: Co-infection of malaria and typhoid can result in serious complications and conditions in pregnant women.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria pass between humans, between animals and between humans and animals in both directions, the use of antibiotics in poultry has contributed to multiple antibiotic resistant in pathogenic bacteria and use of two antibiotics might prevent the emergence of resistance to either. In this study, synergistic effect of combined antibiotics against multidrug resistant human pathogenic bacterial isolates from poultry droppings in Akure, Nigeria was examined. Collection of samples, isolation and identification of bacteria were carried out using standard microbiological method, antibiotic sensitivity test was performed by disc diffusion method and zone of inhibition was used to interpret the sensitivity test as resistant, susceptible or intermediate while combined effects of two antibiotics were investigated by macrobroth dilution and checkerboard assay methods while the synergetic effects of combined antibiotics were calculated using Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) and percentage synergistic interaction was calculated. All the ten (10) species of bacterial isolates were multidrug resistant and are less resistant to ofloxacin. The highest percentage synergistic interactions observed were Ofloxacin + Amoxicillin (90%), Ciprofloxacin + Amoxicillin (90%), Tetracycline + Amoxicillin (70%), Tetracycline + Augmentin (80%), Cotrimoxazol + Amoxicillin (50%), Cotrimoxazol + Augmentin (70%), Chloramphenicol + Amoxicillin (70%) and Chloramphenicol + Augmentin (80%). Poultry droppings is a potential source of human pathogenic bacteria, high frequency of multiple antibiotic resistance bacteria observed in this study is of great treat to man as this may cause the treatment of infection caused by these bacteria to be difficult. Combination of beta-lactam antibiotic with fluoroqunolones, tetracycline, Chloramphenicol and Cotrimoxazole was synergetic and this will reduce dose related toxicity and prevent resistance to single antibiotic. How to cite this paper: Omoya, F.O. and Ajayi, K.O.

In this study, the effect of exposing entomopathogenic bacteria isolated from macerated termite cadavers to varying intensities of a magnetic field for different periods of time on their pathogenic potential was examined; pathogenicity tests were carried out for each of the bacterial species. Two of the bacteria, Bacillus subtilis (Ehrenberg) Cohn and Serratia marcescens Bizio, were able to induce morbid effects on termites and both were re-isolated from the resulting cadavers. Reinfection using different concentrations of both bacteria was carried out on termites to determine the minimum lethal concentration required for pathogenicity. Bacillus subtilis was able to degenerate the termites at concentration values of 10 8 colony-forming units (cfu)/ml and S. marcescens at 10 7 cfu/ml. Both bacteria were then exposed to magnetic fields of different intensities for different periods of time, after which they were used for reinfection of healthy termites. Postinfection study after the exposure of termites to magnetic field-treated bacterial cells revealed no reduction in the entomopathogenic potency of S. marcescens. As the extensive use of chemicals to control insect pests has been found to have detrimental effects on people and the environment, there is a pressing need to discover and develop new entomopathogens to control these insects biologically. Therefore, bacteria discovered in this study to have entomopathogenic potency against termites may be further studied and formulated into either powdery forms or suspensions to be applied to infested wood or wood products.

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The recent report on patterns of malaria endemicity in Nigeria continues to show high levels of burden across the country with majority of the population at risk. Therefore, the development of safe and effective anti-malarial drug from locally grown medicinal plants may serve as an alternative for novel drugs for malaria control. Especially, in rural areas deprived of modern antimalarial with record of high mortality. This study was carried out to evaluate in vivo antiplasmodial effect of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Alstonia boonei leaves and stem bark. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the extracts were carried out using standard methods. The in vivo anti-plasmodial effect against infection was studied using 4-day suppressive test in chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei NK65-infected mice. Results of the phytochemical tests showed that alkaloids and terpenoids were absent in aqueous extracts. Quantitative screening of the methanolic extract of leaves revealed the presence of tannins (14.75%), alkaloids (8.79%) and terpenoids (7.19%). The suppressive test revealed that methanolic and aqueous leave extracts exerted significant (P<.05) dose-dependent reduction against the parasite. The administered dosages 500mg/kg body weight per day of Alstonia boonei methanolic and aqueous extracts of leaves caused chemo suppression of 97.80% and 71.42% respectively on day four, similar dosages of methanolic and aqueous stem bark extracts caused chemo suppression of 89.59% and 72.89% respectively on day four. In conclusion, Alstonia boonei contained active antiplasmodial compounds and therefore might be a potential antimalarial drug.

The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera leaf were evaluated for safety, antimalarial and antipyretic activities because it is commonly used for various types of ailments especially malaria and fever. The various concentration of these extracts (0-800mg/kg) were tested against Plasmodium berghei berghei infected albino mice of either sex, in a Peters’ four day antiplasmodial test while antipyretic activities were evaluated in malaria- induced mice. Their possible effects on haematological parameters of PCV, WBC, neutrophil, lymphocytes count and liver enzymes were also determined as well as on the liver and kidney architecture. All the tested doses of the aqueous extract were comparable in antiplasmodial activity (p>0.05) to each of the tested doses of the ethanolic extract which were significantly different (p<0.05) from the negative control.  Only the highest doses of both extracts gave significantly higher (p<0.05) antiplasmodial activity than the standard drug. For the ethanolic extract, a significant antipyretic activity was not observed until at 800mg/kg in time T3 while the aqueous extract exerted no significant antipyretic activity at all doses and at all times. The ethanolic extract gave significantly higher PCV values than that of the aqueous. The administration of the aqueous extract gave significantly lower WBC than the ethanolic extract while comparable increase in lymphocyte count was noticeable at each of the doses of both extracts when compared to the negative control. Only 100mg/kg and 800mg/kg of the aqueous extract maintained a relatively high neutrophils count in this study. Also, the aqueous extract elicited higher concentration of ALT (greater than fourfold of normal) but the ethanolic extract produced the highest level of AST at the highest dose of 800mg/kg when compared to the ethanolic extract. Histological examination of the kidney showed progressive degeneration while that of the liver showed recovery when compared to negative control as a result of progressive increase in dosage of the extracts in malarial treatment. In conclusion, though both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of M. oleifera leaves exert chemosuppressive antiplasmodial activities in Plasmodium berghei berghei infected mice and exhibited antipyretic activity with some improved haematological parameters, caution should be taken in its indiscriminate use because of probable toxic effects on the kidney and the liver.

Background: Malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases in Nigeria and in Africa at large as everyone is at risk of the infection. Objectives: This study was carried out to evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of Alchornea laxiflora leaf extracts against Plasmodium berghei infected mice. Materials and Methods: In vivo antimalarial assay on chloroquine-sensitive P. berghei-infected mice was carried out by oral administration of graded doses (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg) of methanolic and chloroform extracts using chloroquine and distilled water as positive and negative control respectively. Prophylactic potential in residual infection and curative assay against established infection were tested in P. berghei-infected mice. The assay was performed using 4-day suppressive standard test. Results: The prophylactic efficacy of methanolic and chloroform leaf extacts showed percentage chemosuppression of 72.37% and 66.32% respectively at oral dose of 600 mg/kg. The methanol leaf extract of A. laxiflora displayed the highest curative activity of percentage chemosuppression of 98.36% at oral dose of 600 mg/kg. The extracts displayed dose-dependent significant (p ≤ 0.05) antiplasmodial activity as compared to the control. Haematological analysis revealed an increase in packed cell volume, red blood cell, haemoglobin and white blood cell counts on dose-dependent manner in the treated mice compared to the negative control mice. Conclusion: The high suppressive values obtained in this study show that the tested leaf extracts of Alchornea laxiflora might be a good alternative drug for the treatment of malaria infection in Nigeria.