Search

Phoenix dactylifera (P. dactylifera) is common for its nutritional and medicinalbenefits in the northern part of Nigeria. This study was carried out to qualitatively andquantitatively estimate the phytochemicals present in aqueous and ethanol extractsof P. dactylifera. Proximate composition was also determined. The result showedthat the ethanol and aqueous extracts contained high amount of total phenol (72.00± 0.50 and 60.70 ± 0.80 mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract respectively) andproanthocyandins (37.50 ±0.50 and 21.67 ± 0.84 mg catechin equivalent /g extractrespectively), but moderate amount of total flavonoids content (8.56 ± 1.36 and 5.35± 0.50 mg quercetin equivalent /g extract respectively). Phytochemical screeningrevealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, steroid andcarbohydrate in both extract. In the proximate analysis, carbohydrate was thepredominant component with values of 52.0 % followed by moisture 15.0 %, crudeprotein 14.43 %, lipid 10.0 %, ash 5.5 % and crude fibre 3.0 %. Both extracts of P.dactyliferia screened for phytochemical constituents seemed to have the potential toact as a source of useful drugs and also to improve the health status of theconsumers as a result of the presence of various secondary metabolites that are vitalfor good health.

The effect of intraperitoneal administration of lethal dose (50 mg/kg) of paraquat on the microsomal cysteine levels in the plasma, liver and lung of adult male Wistar rats has been investigated using Rank Chromaspek amino acid analyzer. The microsomal alanine levels were also determined to help in assessing the extent of paraquat interference with cellular protein. DL–Buthionine–[S,R]–Sulfoximine (BSO) and Diethyl maleate (DEM) were used to potentiate the toxic effect of the bipyridyl. The microsomal cysteine levels were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) depressed in the plasma, liver and lung of the paraquat-treated rats compared with the saline-injected group but the alanine levels were not similarly affected. Probably, paraquat poisoning interferes specifically with the cellular cysteine content in the rat. These findings could provide a valuable information on the biochemical mechanism of paraquat intoxication.

The causal mechanism of light damage in the albino rat retina has been investigated. Male and female albino Wistar rats weighing 200–300 g and previously maintained in normal room lighting of approximately 15 hr light (0·85±0·05 × 10 −4 W cm −2 ) per 9 hr dark cycle were simultaneously exposed continuously to uniform fluorescent light flux of 3·01±0·5 × 10 −3 W cm −2 for a period of 6–18 hr. The animals were killed immediately after exposure and the retinas analysed for their contents of DNA, protein and lipids. There were significant losses of retinal DNA, protein, total lipid and polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid. The losses were progressive with duration of exposure. There were also changes in phospholipid subclasses. These results could indicate altered photoreceptor-membrane viability secondary to continuous illumination. The ultimate effect would be the loss of photoreceptor cells with a concomitant loss of normal physiological function. Generally, gender was found to play no significant role, thus excluding possible endocrine interference. It is suggested that lipoperoxidative reactions could account for the observations made in this study. The danger of over-exposure to radiant flux in the tropics is inferred from these observations.

Lipids were isolated from 6 patients suffering from schizophrenia and also from 6 age-matched healthy controls. The extracted lipids were fractionated into erythrocyte and plasma lipids. Column and thin-layer chromatography on silica gel were employed further to isolate the extracts into sub-classes within the major neutral and polar lipid classifications. The fatty acid composition of each sub-class was then monitored by gas chromatography after transmethylation. A significantly higher proportion of linolenic acid (18:3w3) was found in schizophrenics when compared with the controls. The change was reflected in both the neutral lipids and phospholipids from plasma and erythrocytes of the patients. On average, 8.7 ± 2.6 and 3.9 ± 1.5 mole% linolenate/100 mg lipid extract were obtained from the plasma of patients and healthy controls, respectively, while 8.6 ± 2.3 and 3.0 ± 1.2 mole/% linolenate/100 mg lipid were recorded from the red blood cells. The other fatty acids investigated did not show such significant differences between patient and healthy subject. A net increase in the amount of total fatty acid was recorded in the patients and it is thought that either linolenate alone or linolenate together with other polyunsaturated fatty acids not considered here are responsible for these observations. Correlations of these findings with the pathology of schizophrenia are discussed.