A confounding factor for healthcare programmes in African countries is the inability of essential health tools to reach targeted locations and populations, due to poor Logistics Management Information System (LMIS). In a bid to contribute towards addressing these challenges, a pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the tracking ability, reliability and applicability of EASE App, a novel Smart Phone based Application. The App is designed to provide real-time tracking and tracing of commodities as well as curation of data in a cloud based database with restricted access which can be linked with other databases. In this study, NIPRIMAL was labelled with QR codes, and tracked within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, using the smartphone based EASE App. Data collected showed that the “EASE App” tracking had accuracy of 100% for date and time of scan, operators’ codes and product identity; and 92.83±1.69% and 99.83±0.27% accuracy for GPS mapping label for the city and country, respectively. The GPS mapping label for specific streets, roads or districts, gave an accuracy of about 64.28±3.14%. The technology was able to provide real-time data on user unique identity, user location as well as date/time of use, and the feedback report indicated that it was readily deployable and easy to use. The results demonstrate that the “EASE App” is a promising technology that can support supply chain and related data management challenges in resource poor settings. The potential benefit of the EASE App in strengthening LMIS and distribution chain system in Africa as well as future optimization of the App are discussed.
Starch occurs in form of granules and constitutes a primary manner in which of carbohydrates are stored chiefly in seeds and underground organs and sparingly in other morphological parts such as leaf and bark parts of plants. Grains of transitional starch can be found in the stroma of chloroplast and cytoplasm in leaf parts when exposed to the sun and transferred to organs for storage at dark times. The shape and size, ratio of amylose and amylopectin content of starch grains are peculiar to different biological sources. A literature survey was carried out using various search engines. Journals were searched for using keywords such as microscopy, amylopectin, starch granules etc. The relative qualitative and quantitative properties of starches from various morphological parts of 35 species from 15 families were studied. The qualitative features of shape and size as observed from microscopy were not specific or peculiar to each genus and family as similar shapes and sizes cut across different species. Amylopectin and amylose contents varied considerably among all the species and can be used as one of the means of identification for medicinal plants and the delineation of plant species along with other genetic and physicochemical properties. discrepancies. In the identification of some species, some morphometric features are specific enough and marker worthy to identify these species however this will be specie specific and might not cut across the genus or family of the botanical source. The qualitative and quantitative morphological and physicochemical properties can be harnessed in the selection of starches from different botanical sources for different uses.
Introduction/Objective of study: Kigelia africana (Bignoniaceae) is enriched with bioactive constituents and has thus found various uses in African folklore. This study aims to evaluate the pharmacognostic, physicochemical, chromatographic and antiproliferative properties of K. africana.Methodology: Standard methods were used to determine the qualitative microscopy, moisture content, ash and extractive value. Furthermore, HPLC analysis was conducted on the samples in order to detect and quantify some phenolic compounds (gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, rutin, ferulic acid, caffeic acid and quercetin). The Sorghum bicolor model was used for the antiproliferative assay. All experiment was carried out in triplicates.Results: Microscopy revealed amphistomata with the presence of non-glandular unicellular, uniseriate trichomes on K. africana leaf. Cellulose, tannins, calcium oxalate crystals on the leaf and stem bark, while the roots lacked calcium oxalate crystals. Ash contents were leaf (21.8 ± 0.1) %w/w, stem bark (4.8 ± 0.03)%w/w and root (3.9 ± 0.2)%w/w. Moisture content was (10.5 ± 0.5) %w/w and (9.5 ± 0.2) %w/w for the root and leaf parts, respectively. All values were within WHO limits for crude drugs. The stem bark and root parts contained more water-soluble constituents than alcohol soluble constituents. From the results of HPLC analysis the leaf, stem bark and root extracts gave 24 peaks, 16 peaks and 30 peaks, respectively, a few peaks matched with reference compounds- quercetin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and rutin. Results of antiproliferative assay showed that methotrexate was significantly (p ˂ 0.05) more effective than the stem bark (from 2-64 mg/mL) with inhibitions ranging from 72.0 ± 1.4% - 90.0 ± 2.4% and root extracts (from 4 – 64 mg/mL) that had inhibitions ranging from 50.3 ± 1.5% - 97.7 ± 0.4% but comparable with leaf extract (from 16 mg/mL - 64 mg/mL) with inhibitions ranging from 68.4 ± 0.8% - 99.0 ± 0.1%.Conclusion: Further information which can be included in an official monograph of the plant for its proper identification and quality control has been provided by this study. Kigelia africana exhibited effective antiproliferative activities and the presence of phenolic compounds.
Introduction: The knowledge, attitude, and practice of Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs) are key to achieving effective and sustainable integration of all forms of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) and health services towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In this study, the operational and psychological readiness of Traditional Medicine Practitioners towards integration with the conventional health system was examined by critically considering the various factors central to traditional medicine integration as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Traditional Medicine strategy (2014–2023). Methods: Paper based questionnaires were administered to Traditional medicine practitioners from three geo-political zones in Nigeria along with Key Informant Interviews. Qualitative – thematic and content analysis using both iterative and interpretative processes, and quantitative –descriptive and inferential analysis were done using statistical package for social sciences version 25. Results: A total of 337 respondents participated in the study ranging from 21-61 years of age. More than half (61.7%) were males. Most respondents 310 (92%) had one form of formal education out of which those with secondary education constitute over one-thirds, 121 (35.9%). Over three-quarter of the respondents, 290 (86.1%) were into general practice and over half of the respondents had between 11 – 20 years of experience as traditional medicine practitioners. About two-thirds, 216 (64.1%) of study participants had no knowledge of what integration nor Universal Health Coverage 256, (76%) meant. However, many of the respondents (76.3%) had a good attitude towards integration. More than two-thirds of respondents, 241 (71.5%) claimed to keep patient records but only 157 (46.6%) kept written records. Conclusion: Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Nigeria have a positive outlook towards integration. Salient knowledge and practice gaps among them have been revealed. The study shows that regulatory and policy actions should be centred around the support, capacity building through trainings and conferences to disseminate information on scientific/technological advancements to improve their practice, and also to improve on existing policies and government activities.
S PICES are reported to be helpful against diseases of oxidative stress such as cardiovascular diseases and exhibit antimicrobial properties. The potential for their use as adjuvants in tuberculosis cases have not been explored. In this study, the in vitro antioxidant and antituberculosis activities of nine Nigerian spices (Syzigium aromaticum, Thonnigii sanguinea, Piper nigrum, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, Zingiber officinale, Cyperus articulatus, Xylopia aethiopica, Lepidum sativum, and Nigella Sativa) along with their phenolic contents, including total phenolics, total flavonoid and total tannin contents were evaluated. Antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH scavenging and nitric oxide inhibitory assays. The anti-tuberculosis activity against Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium smegmatis was evaluated using the broth micro-dilution method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The ranges for the total phenolics, total flavonoids and total tannins contents were 7.3-193.9 mgGAE/g, 0.0-12.5 mgQE/g, and 0.0-44.4 mgTAE/g, respectively, in all spices. The extracts presented strong DPPH scavenging and nitric oxide inhibitory activities with IC 50 values ranging from 4.2-1098 µg/mL and 0.0025-28.65 µg/mL, respectively. S. aromaticum and T. sanguinea showed significant DPPH scavenging activities with IC 50 of 4.2 and 7.7 µg/ mL, respectively, which were comparable to that of ascorbic acid (3.6µg/mL)(p≤0.05). Z. zanthoxyloides and S. aromaticum also exhibited significant nitric oxide inhibitory activities (p≤0.05) with IC 50 of 0.0025 and 0.0051 µg/mL, respectively, which were comparable to the gallic acid value of 0.00088 µg/mL. A weak anti-tubercular activity was however observed with MIC values ranging from 25000-781 µg/mL and 12500-781 µg/mL for M. bovis and M. smegmatis, respectively. A correlation between anti-tubercular and antioxidant (NO and DPPH) activities of the spices was found for M. bovis and M. smegmatis (R =0.8957, 0.8241; R= 0.7681, 0.7030,p≤0.05) respectively. The anti-tuberculosis properties of Thonnigii sanguinea and Lepidum sativum are being reported for the first time.
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