Background. Hitherto studies in response to the June 2010 lead poisoning, Zamfara State, Nigeria, have focused on clinical interventions without information on livestock and other metals. Objective. This study has investigated the distribution of heavy metals in farm produce and livestock around lead-contaminated goldmine in Dareta and Abare, Zamfara State, Nigeria. Methods. Vegetables, soil, water, blood, and different meat samples were harvested from goat, sheep, cattle, and chicken from Dareta, Abare, and Gusau communities. The samples were digested with 10 mL of a mix of nitric and perchloric acids; the mixture was then heated to dryness. Lead, cadmium, zinc, chromium, copper, magnesium, and nickel were analysed using flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The daily intake, bioaccumulation factor, and target hazard quotient (THQ) were calculated. Results. Chicken bone-muscles from Dareta had the highest concentrations of lead, zinc, and nickel (28.2750, 16.1650, and 4.2700 mg/kg, resp.), while chicken brain had the highest levels of cadmium, magnesium (0.3800 and 67.5400 mg/kg), and chromium (6.1650 mg/kg, kidney tissue inclusive). Conclusion. In addition to lead, cadmium may also be of concern in the contaminated mining communities of Zamfara State, Nigeria, given the high levels of cadmium in meat and vegetables samples from these areas.

BackgroundThe use of medicinal plants in the treatment of diseases has generated renewed interest in recent times, as herbal preparations are increasingly being used in both human and animal healthcare systems. Diarrhoea is one of the common clinical signs of gastrointestinal disorders caused by both infectious and non-infectious agents and an important livestock debilitating condition. Plateau State is rich in savannah and forest vegetations and home to a vast collection of plants upheld in folklore as having useful medicinal applications. There is however scarcity of documented information on the medicinal plants used in the treatment of animal diarrhoea in the state, thus the need for this survey. Ten (10) out of 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs), spread across the three senatorial zones were selected. Farmers were interviewed using well structured, open-ended questionnaire and guided dialogue techniques between October and December 2010. Medicinal plants reported to be effective in diarrhoea management were collected using the guided field-walk method for identification and authentication.ResultsA total of 248 questionnaires were completed, out of which 207 respondents (83.47%) acknowledged the use of herbs in diarrhoea management, while 41 (16.53%) do not use herbs or apply other traditional methods in the treatment of diarrhoea in their animals. Medicinal plants cited as beneficial in the treatment of animal diarrhoea numbered 132, from which 57(43.18%) were scientifically identified and classified into 25 plant families with the families Fabaceae (21%) and Combretaceae (14.04%) having the highest occurrence. The plant parts mostly used in antidiarrhoeal herbal preparations are the leaves (43.86%) followed by the stem bark (29.82%). The herbal preparations are usually administered orally.ConclusionRural communities in Plateau State are a rich source of information on medicinal plants as revealed in this survey. There is need to scientifically ascertain the authenticity of the claimed antidiarrhoeal properties of these plants and perhaps develop more readily available alternatives in the treatment of diarrhoea.

COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease with devastating economic and public health impacts globally. Being a novel disease, current research is focused on a clearer understanding of the mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis and viable therapeutic strategies. Oxidative stress and inflammation are intertwined processes that play roles in disease progression and response to therapy via interference with multiple signaling pathways. The redox status of a host cell is an important factor in viral entry due to the unique conditions required for the conformational changes that ensure the binding and entry of a virus into the host cell. Upon entry into the airways, viral replication occurs and the innate immune system responds by activating macrophage and dendritic cells which contribute to inflammation. This review examines available literature and proposes mechanisms by which oxidative stress and inflammation could contribute to COVID-19 pathogenesis. Further, certain antioxidants currently undergoing some form of trial in COVID-19 patients and the corresponding required research gaps are highlighted to show how targeting oxidative stress and inflammation could ameliorate COVID-19 severity.

Clinical and experimental evidence suggests that hyperglycaemia is responsible for the oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus. The study was designed to investigate the comparative effects of probiotic and vitamin C (Vit-C) treatments on hyperglycaemia, oxidative stress and dyslipidaemia in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) was induced in male Wistar rats by a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of alloxan (150 mg/kg). Six groups of the animals received the following treatment regimens for four weeks: (1) Normal saline, per os; (2) alloxan (150 mg/kg, i.p.); (3) alloxan (150 mg/kg) + insulin (4 U/kg, subcutaneously); (4) alloxan (150 mg/kg) + probiotic (4.125 × 106 CFU/100 mL per os); (5) alloxan (150 mg/kg) + Vit-C (100 mg/kg, i.m.); (6) alloxan (150 mg/kg) + probiotic (4.125 × 106 CFU/100 mL per os) + Vit-C (100 mg/kg, intramuscularly). Probiotic + Vit-C decreased (p < 0.05) blood glucose concentration in diabetic treated group, when compared with the untreated diabetic group. Probiotic + Vit-C reduced malondialdehyde concentration, in the serum, brain and kidneys, respectively, but increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Probiotic and Vit-C may be more effective than Vit-C alone, in ameliorating hyperglycaemia, oxidative stress and dyslipidaemia in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

Coccidiosis is a disease of economic importance in poultry causing morbidity and mortality. Reports show that Azadirachta indica and Khaya senegalensis have been used individually in the treatment of avian coccidiosis. We thus investigated the efficacy and safety of the combined aqueous extracts of these plants for the treatment of experimentally induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens using oocyst count, oxidative stress biomarkers, serum biochemistry, histology, and haematological parameters. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides, and steroids in both extracts. In addition, alkaloids and flavonoids were present in Azadirachta indica. There was significant (p < 0.05) dose dependent decrease in oocyst count across the treatment groups with 400 mg/kg of the combined extract being the most efficacious dose. Immunomodulatory and erythropoietic activity was observed. There were decreased intestinal lesions and enhanced antioxidant activity across the treatment groups compared to the negative control. Administration of the combined extract did not cause damage to the liver as ALT, AST, and ALP levels were significantly reduced in the uninfected chickens treated with the extracts compared to control suggesting safety at the doses used. The combined aqueous extracts of K. senegalensis stem bark and Azadirachta indica leaves were ameliorative in chickens infected with coccidiosis.

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Background. In early 2010, outbreaks of lead poisoning due to artisanal gold mining in villages in the northwest Nigerian state of Zamfara have resulted in the death of hundreds of children < 5 years old. There have also been unconfirmed reports of high mortality of geese within these villages. Objectives. To report a case of lead poisoning in three domestic free-range chickens found in one of the affected communities where illegal small-scale gold mining activities take place. Methods. Three free-range domestic chickens were presented during a field investigation in one of the villages. The birds were observed to be emaciated, weak, showing nervous manifestations and moribund. Results. Tissue extracts of liver, spleen and intestines were negative for Newcastle viral antigens, while cultures of liver and spleen biopsy were positive for Escherichia coli . Histopathological lesions were observed in the kidney, proventriculus and brain. Concentrations of lead in the tissues ranged between 7.5 mg/kg and 120.5 mg/kg wet weight, and the potential daily intake of lead in the tissues were estimated at 34.06–200.15 μg/day/kg body weight with an average of 118.37 μg/day/kg body weight. Conclusions. The results of the present study suggest probable risk to human health due to the consumption of chicken contaminated by lead in the affected villages. Poisoning in animal populations may serve as a sentinel to assess the extent of environmental contamination and human health problems related to lead. Ethics Approval. Protocols were approved and performed in accordance with relevant local guidelines and regulations as set by the Animal Care and Use Committee of the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Nigeria. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic, pruritic, inflammatory skin disease characterized by hyperkeratotic nodules on the trunk and extremities. While there is growing research on the immunological basis of PN, the neuropathic and structural components of PN lesions are unknown. This study examines the inflammatory, neuropathic, and structural pathways in PN compared to atopic dermatitis (AD) using RNA-sequencing of the lesional and non-lesional skin tissue of PN and AD patients, as well as immunohistochemistry analysis of nerve growth factor (NGF), a neurotrophic factor that regulates nerve development. Transcriptomic analysis of skin biopsies revealed that compared to lesional AD skin, lesional PN skin had significantly increased expression of NGF, matrix metalloproteinases, OSM, MCEMP1, IL1α, IL1β, CXCL2, CXCL5, CXCL8, and insulin-like growth factors in PN compared to AD, and decreased expression of CCL13, CCL26, EPHB1, and collagens (COL4/6). Gene set enrichment analysis demonstrated higher enrichment of keratinization, cornified envelope, myelin sheath, TGF-beta signaling, extracellular matrix disassembly, metalloendopeptidase activity, and neurotrophin-TRK receptor signaling pathways in PN. On immunohistochemistry, PN lesions demonstrated higher dermal NGF expression compared to AD. We present novel findings demonstrating increased neurotrophic and extracellular matrix remodeling signatures in PN compared to AD, possibly explaining the morphological differences in their lesions. These signatures may therefore be important components of the PN pathogenesis and may serve as therapeutic targets.