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Papers by Abdullahi Daskum

Scientific Reports, Aug 21, 2023

The need for evidence-based data, to inform policy decisions on malaria vector control interventi... more The need for evidence-based data, to inform policy decisions on malaria vector control interventions in Nigeria, necessitated the establishment of mosquito surveillance sites in a few States in Nigeria. In order to make evidence-based-decisions, predictive studies using available data becomes imperative. We therefore predict the distribution of the major members of the Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Nigeria. Immature stages of Anopheles were collected from 72 study locations which span throughout the year 2020 resulted in the identification of over 60,000 Anopheline mosquitoes. Of these, 716 breeding sites were identified with the presence of one or more vector species from the An. gambiae complex and were subsequently used for modelling the potential geographical distribution of these important malaria vectors. Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) distribution modeling was used to predict their potentially suitable vector habitats across Nigeria. A total of 23 environmental variables (19 bioclimatic and four topographic) were used in the model resulting in maps of the potential geographical distribution of three dominant vector species under current climatic conditions. Members of the An. gambiae complex dominated the collections (98%) with Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles coustani, Anopheles funestus, Anopheles moucheti, Anopheles nilli also present. An almost

Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainst... more Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainstay of managing various ailments in underdeveloped and developing nations globally. Despite the availability of orthodox medicines, communities in low income countries rely largely on herbal preparations to manage and cure diseases. In this study, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted with a view to compile and document traditional medicinal plants and practices of six communities, i.e. three (3) from each of two Local Government Areas of Yobe State, Nigeria. Semi structured questionnaires aided by guided interviews were used to obtain information regarding traditional knowledge from 120 traditional herbalists, their attendants and community members. Results revealed that more males 80 (67%) than females 40 (33%) practice traditional medicines in general terms, with the majority of the respondents 36 (30%) falling in the age range of 51-60 years. Specifically, 28 (23.33%) traditional herbalists were observed to specialize in the treatment of fever and fever-related illnesses. A total of 60 medicinal plants belonging to 28 botanical families were identified and their medicinal values recorded. Out of the 28 botanical families recorded, Fabaceae was the most common family with nine (9) species of medicinal plants followed by Asteraceae and Moraceae families, with four (4) representative medicinal plant species each. Similarly, leaves are the most common parts used followed by stem bark and roots/root bark respectively. There is a need to scientifically validate the traditional claim for the use of medicinal plants reported in the treatment of management of disease conditions.

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, Oct 15, 2021

Malaria and intestinal helminth infections are of public health concern globally, particularly am... more Malaria and intestinal helminth infections are of public health concern globally, particularly among the risk groups like pregnant women in developing countries. In this study the prevalence of malaria and intestinal helminth coinfection and their relationship with anaemia were assessed. Two hundred (200) pregnant women aged between 16-55 years reporting to Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe (FTHG), Gombe State for antenatal clinics were enrolled at booking. Venous blood and stool samples were collected from each participant who consented to participate in this study, for haemoglobin estimation, determination of malaria parasitaemia and intestinal helminth parasite. Microscopy and Formal-ether concentration technique (FECT) were used to estimate the prevalence of malaria and determine the presence of intestinal helminth parasite, respectively. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to analyse the relationship between prevalence of intestinal helminth infection with Malaria and Anaemia among the participant. Results obtained revealed that 107 (53.5%) who consented to participate in the study are positive for malaria, with 11 (5.5%) infected with both malaria and intestinal helminths. Findings also revealed that more women 116 (58%) had mild anaemia among the study population. Three intestinal helminths Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichiuris trichiura and Hookworms were also recovered. A significant (P≤ 0.05) correlation between the prevalence of malaria, intestinal helminth and anaemia. Findings of this study provides an insight and further improves our understanding of the some clinical factors responsible for anaemia in pregnancy.

International Journal of Herbal Medicine, 2019

The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery a... more The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The heme polymerization inhibitory activity as well as the antimalarial activity of Senna occidentalis, a local medicinal plant used for malaria therapy in Hausa folk medicine in Northern Nigeria was evaluated in in vitro assays. Results obtained revealed a good inhibition of-hematin formation (83.08% and 83.97%) by the methanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of S. occidentalis at 500µg/mL as against the 54.92% inhibition exhibited by hexane extract at the same concentration. Findings of the in vitro antimalarial studies revealed a dose dependent suppression of plasmodium growth. At a concentration of 6.25 µg/ml, 73% suppression of parasite growth was observed for the hexane extract. This suppression of plasmodial growth attains 84.43% at 50 µg/ml with an IC50 of 3.47 µg/ml. Secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, phenols, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids were detected in S. occidentalis. This could be a responsible for the antimalarial activities observed.

International Journal of Research, 2020

Novel Corona virus (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic in 2020. In less than 60 days, the vir... more Novel Corona virus (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic in 2020. In less than 60 days, the virus has rapidly spread across the globe. This is faster than any infectious disease in human history. Although similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in terms of symptoms, COVID-19 is deadlier. Governments around the world alongside WHO are working to reduce if not break the chain of transmission. In this study, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of general public and Health Care Professionals (HCPs) in Yobe State, Northeastern, Nigeria were assessed to understand the nature of compliance to WHO guidelines through online questionnaires. It was established that 100% of HCPs have knowledge of COVID-19, its mode transmission and preventive measures. However, 89.6% of respondents (general public) have heard of the disease and are complying with government and the WHO guidelines on preventive measures. The study further revealed that qualification is playing vital role towards the KAPs of citizens on the novel disease. It is evident that organisations responsible for enlightenment and sensitization have done the needful.

Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases, Aug 24, 2020

Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many p... more Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many parts of the world. Although preventable, malaria has claimed the lives of thousands of individuals in endemic African countries. Antimalarial drug resistance, lack of vaccines in clinical use as well as complexities of malaria parasite genomes remains a serious threat to malaria eradication efforts. The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The specific objective of this study is to establish the acute toxic effect and antiplasmodial efficacy of crude methanolic leaf extract of Senna occidentalis in an in vivo assay. The four (4) days suppressive test was used in Swiss mice experimentally infected with chloroquine sensitive (CQS) Plasmodium berghei (ANKA). Results obtained revealed no lethality nor any sign of acute toxic reactions following the administration of 2000 mg/kg body weight of the extract. Percent reduction of parasite growth obtained was observed to be dose dependent in all groups treated with the herbal extract and ranges between 66% and 73%. Relative to the negative and positive control groups, a significant reduction in parasitaemia (P≤ 0.01) was observed in all groups treated with the plant extracts. A gradual increase in body weight was observed in extract treated

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022

Silver nanoparticles are one of the most extensively studied nanomaterials due to their high stab... more Silver nanoparticles are one of the most extensively studied nanomaterials due to their high stability and low chemical reactivity in comparison to other metals. They are commonly synthesized using toxic chemical reducing agents which reduce metal ions into uncharged nanoparticles. However, in the last few decades, several efforts were made to develop green synthesis methods to avoid the use of hazardous materials. The natural biomolecules found in plants such as proteins/enzymes, amino acids, polysaccharides, alkaloids, alcoholic compounds, and vitamins are responsible for the formation of silver nanoparticles. The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles is an eco-friendly approach, which should be further explored for the potential of different plants to synthesize nanoparticles. In the present review we describe the green synthesis of nanoparticles using plants, bacteria, and fungi and the role of plant metabolites in the synthesis process. Moreover, the present review also descr...

Malaria remains a major public health concern and a threat to the lives of people living in conti... more Malaria remains a major public health concern and a threat to the lives of people living in continuous malaria transmission regions of the world. While haemoglobin variants results in increased risks of morbidity due to the abnormality of haemoglobin molecules, the possession of these variants provides some degrees of acquired protections against malaria. This research was conducted to determine the common haemoglobinopathies and variation in parasitaemia among malaria infected persons in relation to hospital visits due to malaria in Potiskum Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria. Venous blood was used to determine malaria parasitaemia and genotype of patients with fever related illnesses. Results obtained revealed patients with genotype AA having high parasite load, with 20 (32.79%) having moderate parasitaemia and 39 (63.93%) with low parasitaemia. However, due to low turnout of patients with sickle cell traits (SS), result obtained shows very low 18 (56.25%) to no parasitaem...

International Journal of Research, 2020

Recently, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV-2) associated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS- C... more Recently, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV-2) associated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS- CoV) has emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. This novel coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by pulmonary infection and mostly leads to a wide range of clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic, mild, and moderate to severe. The severe cases present with pneumonia, which can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Despites the containment measures, the spread of this virus is ongoing. In this review, we highlight the epidemiology, symptoms, transmission, treatment and control, of this fatal disease. It is challenge to global public health therefore, a special attention and efforts to protect or reduce transmission should be applied in susceptible populations including children, health care providers, and elderly people. Public health authorities should also keep monitoring the situation closely, as the more we can learn about this novel virus and its as...

Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainst... more Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainstay of managing various ailments in underdeveloped and developing nations globally. Despite the availability of orthodox medicines, communities in low income countries rely largely on herbal preparations to manage and cure diseases. In this study, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted with a view to compile and document traditional medicinal plants and practices of six communities, i.e. three (3) from each of two Local Government Areas of Yobe State, Nigeria. Semi structured questionnaires aided by guided interviews were used to obtain information regarding traditional knowledge from 120 traditional herbalists, their attendants and community members. Results revealed that more males 80 (67%) than females 40 (33%) practice traditional medicines in general terms, with the majority of the respondents 36 (30%) falling in the age range of 51-60 years. Specifically, 28 (23.33%) traditional her...

International Journal of Research, 2014

Trypanosomiasis is a disease of varying severity, it is caused by a unicellular flagellated proto... more Trypanosomiasis is a disease of varying severity, it is caused by a unicellular flagellated protozoan parasite of the family Trypanosomatidae, and genus Trypanosoma.

During the intra-erythrocytic development of malaria parasites, haemoglobin in the red cell cytos... more During the intra-erythrocytic development of malaria parasites, haemoglobin in the red cell cytosol is ingested and taken to the food vacuole, where it is degraded. Haemoglobin degradation in the malaria parasite results in the formation of heme/haematin, an essentially toxic protein and denatured globin fragments. Due to its toxicity, free heme (Fe +3 ) induce oxidative stress by generating reactive oxygen species, subvert and lyse membranes, as well as inhibit the action of a number of enzymes, thus leading to parasite death. To overcome the toxicity of free heme (Fe +3 ) and avoid death, malaria parasites convert free heme (Fe +3 ) to a non-toxic haemozoin. This research intends to demonstrate the in vitro conversion of haemin to β-haematin/haemozoin through haemin based spectrophotometry and test emetine dihydrochloride hydrate and chloroquine diphosphate for their ability to prevent the conversion of haemin to β-haematin. Results obtained justify the inhibitory activity of chlo...

Background: Malaria infection and complications during and after pregnancy remained a major publi... more Background: Malaria infection and complications during and after pregnancy remained a major public health concern in the tropics and subtropics, with approximately 24 million pregnant women reported. In Nigeria, pregnant women are hard hit by malaria due to their compromised immunity. The focal point of this study was to investigate the influence of malaria parasitaemia on some hematological parameters in pregnant women attending General Hospital Geidam, Yobe State, Nigeria. Methodology: Systemic sampling technique was used to select 288 pregnant women who registered for antenatal clinics and visits the General Hospital Geidam. Informed consent was sought from the pregnant women who participate in the study and was screened for malaria. Result: Malaria prevalence was found to be higher in women between 25-29 years of age (79 1.74) and lower in women between 40-45 years of age (4 ± 0.92). Conclusion: Malaria was found to be prevalent among the study population and it may have an effe...

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, 2020

Poverty and lack of access to health facilities had necessitated the less privileged to depend on... more Poverty and lack of access to health facilities had necessitated the less privileged to depend on herbal remedies to treat a number of diseases including malaria. The successes recorded from the discovery of novel antimalarials from plant sources had paved the way for the search of antimalarial compounds from traditional pharmacopeia. Phytochemical analysis as well as GC-MS analysis of crude leaves extract of Senna siamea was conducted, with a view to identifying compounds with biological activities. Further antimalarial assessment of the crude extracts was also performed in an in vitro assay. The phytochemicals; phenols, tannins, anthraquinones, alkaloid and flavonoids were detected from hexane and methanol extracts. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of Saponins specifically, triterpenoids (Lupeol, α-amyrin), Sesquiterpene (Octadecane), Diterpenes (Eicosane), Esters of pthalic acids (Diethyl phthalate) Squalene, α-Tocopherol (a fat soluble Vitamin E) and hexadecanoic acid buty...

The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery a... more The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The heme polymerization inhibitory activity as well as the antimalarial activity of Senna occidentalis, a local medicinal plant used for malaria therapy in Hausa folk medicine in Northern Nigeria was evaluated in in vitro assays. Results obtained revealed a good inhibition of β-hematin formation (83.08% and 83.97%) by the methanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of S. occidentalis at 500μg/mL as against the 54.92% inhibition exhibited by hexane extract at the same concentration. Findings of the in vitro antimalarial studies revealed a dose dependent suppression of plasmodium growth. At a concentration of 6.25 μg/ml, 73% suppression of parasite growth was observed for the hexane extract. This suppression of plasmodial growth attains 84.43% at 50 μg/ml with an IC50 of 3.47 μg/ml. Secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, phenols, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids were detected...

Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases, 2020

Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many p... more Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many parts of the world. Although preventable, malaria has claimed the lives of thousands of individuals in endemic African countries. Antimalarial drug resistance, lack of vaccines in clinical use as well as complexities of malaria parasite genomes remains a serious threat to malaria eradication efforts. The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The specific objective of this study is to establish the acute toxic effect and antiplasmodial efficacy of crude methanolic leaf extract of Senna occidentalis in an in vivo assay. The four (4) days suppressive test was used in Swiss mice experimentally infected with chloroquine sensitive (CQS) Plasmodium berghei (ANKA). Results obtained revealed no lethality nor any sign of acute toxic reactions following the administration of 2000 mg/kg body weight of the extract. Percent reduction of ...

Bayero Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 2020

The antimalarial efficacy of crude hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous Moringa oleifera leaf... more The antimalarial efficacy of crude hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous Moringa oleifera leaf extract was evaluated on chloroquine sensitive (CQS) strain of Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) in vitro, with a view to validate traditional use of M. oleifera as antimalarial. A dose dependent suppression of parasite growth was observed for all extracts, at microgram per mills (µg/mL) concentrations. At the lowest concentration of extract (6.25 µg/mL), the hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous extracts showed 63.52%, 71.42% and 60.65% suppression of plasmodium growth respectively. The extracts showed potent biological activity at the highest concentration of extract, with a strong inhibition of plasmodium growth (71.31%, 83.06% and 80.36%) observed for the hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous extracts. Although some extracts are observed to be more potent than others, all extracts are observed to be biologically active against the 3D7 strain of P. falciparum (Hexane extract IC50 = 3...

Novel Research in Microbiology Journal, 2017

The antibacterial potency of garlic extract (Allium sativum) against gram positive and gram negat... more The antibacterial potency of garlic extract (Allium sativum) against gram positive and gram negative skin pathogenic bacteria including; Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were studied using agar well diffusion and broth dilution assays. Agar well diffusion assay for aqueous garlic extract (AGE) was characterized with zones of inhibition ranging from 4.40-3.80cm, 4.13-3.57cm, 3.40-2.67cm for S. aureus, S. epidermidis and Strep. pyogenes, respectively, however, Ps. aeruginosa had lesser zone of inhibition ranging from 2.32-1.55cm. Studying the antibacterial potency of AGE against the selected isolates, revealed that it is affected by temperature of storage. Current results showed that storage of AGE at low temperature of-20 o C, does not affect its potency, however, its potency was slightly lost at high temperatures above 37 o C. The broth dilution test was performed to investigate the Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the AGE against the bacterial isolates at 37 o C. Investigating the activity of AGE loaded on Gel dressing revealed that it can have potency when applied on patients with Staphylococcal skin infections. Findings from this study encourage and support the use of AGE in treating bacterial skin infections especially in developing countries like Africa, as it is available, economic and have no side effects.

Scientific Reports, Aug 21, 2023

The need for evidence-based data, to inform policy decisions on malaria vector control interventi... more The need for evidence-based data, to inform policy decisions on malaria vector control interventions in Nigeria, necessitated the establishment of mosquito surveillance sites in a few States in Nigeria. In order to make evidence-based-decisions, predictive studies using available data becomes imperative. We therefore predict the distribution of the major members of the Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Nigeria. Immature stages of Anopheles were collected from 72 study locations which span throughout the year 2020 resulted in the identification of over 60,000 Anopheline mosquitoes. Of these, 716 breeding sites were identified with the presence of one or more vector species from the An. gambiae complex and were subsequently used for modelling the potential geographical distribution of these important malaria vectors. Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) distribution modeling was used to predict their potentially suitable vector habitats across Nigeria. A total of 23 environmental variables (19 bioclimatic and four topographic) were used in the model resulting in maps of the potential geographical distribution of three dominant vector species under current climatic conditions. Members of the An. gambiae complex dominated the collections (98%) with Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles coustani, Anopheles funestus, Anopheles moucheti, Anopheles nilli also present. An almost

Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainst... more Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainstay of managing various ailments in underdeveloped and developing nations globally. Despite the availability of orthodox medicines, communities in low income countries rely largely on herbal preparations to manage and cure diseases. In this study, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted with a view to compile and document traditional medicinal plants and practices of six communities, i.e. three (3) from each of two Local Government Areas of Yobe State, Nigeria. Semi structured questionnaires aided by guided interviews were used to obtain information regarding traditional knowledge from 120 traditional herbalists, their attendants and community members. Results revealed that more males 80 (67%) than females 40 (33%) practice traditional medicines in general terms, with the majority of the respondents 36 (30%) falling in the age range of 51-60 years. Specifically, 28 (23.33%) traditional herbalists were observed to specialize in the treatment of fever and fever-related illnesses. A total of 60 medicinal plants belonging to 28 botanical families were identified and their medicinal values recorded. Out of the 28 botanical families recorded, Fabaceae was the most common family with nine (9) species of medicinal plants followed by Asteraceae and Moraceae families, with four (4) representative medicinal plant species each. Similarly, leaves are the most common parts used followed by stem bark and roots/root bark respectively. There is a need to scientifically validate the traditional claim for the use of medicinal plants reported in the treatment of management of disease conditions.

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, Oct 15, 2021

Malaria and intestinal helminth infections are of public health concern globally, particularly am... more Malaria and intestinal helminth infections are of public health concern globally, particularly among the risk groups like pregnant women in developing countries. In this study the prevalence of malaria and intestinal helminth coinfection and their relationship with anaemia were assessed. Two hundred (200) pregnant women aged between 16-55 years reporting to Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe (FTHG), Gombe State for antenatal clinics were enrolled at booking. Venous blood and stool samples were collected from each participant who consented to participate in this study, for haemoglobin estimation, determination of malaria parasitaemia and intestinal helminth parasite. Microscopy and Formal-ether concentration technique (FECT) were used to estimate the prevalence of malaria and determine the presence of intestinal helminth parasite, respectively. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to analyse the relationship between prevalence of intestinal helminth infection with Malaria and Anaemia among the participant. Results obtained revealed that 107 (53.5%) who consented to participate in the study are positive for malaria, with 11 (5.5%) infected with both malaria and intestinal helminths. Findings also revealed that more women 116 (58%) had mild anaemia among the study population. Three intestinal helminths Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichiuris trichiura and Hookworms were also recovered. A significant (P≤ 0.05) correlation between the prevalence of malaria, intestinal helminth and anaemia. Findings of this study provides an insight and further improves our understanding of the some clinical factors responsible for anaemia in pregnancy.

International Journal of Herbal Medicine, 2019

The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery a... more The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The heme polymerization inhibitory activity as well as the antimalarial activity of Senna occidentalis, a local medicinal plant used for malaria therapy in Hausa folk medicine in Northern Nigeria was evaluated in in vitro assays. Results obtained revealed a good inhibition of-hematin formation (83.08% and 83.97%) by the methanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of S. occidentalis at 500µg/mL as against the 54.92% inhibition exhibited by hexane extract at the same concentration. Findings of the in vitro antimalarial studies revealed a dose dependent suppression of plasmodium growth. At a concentration of 6.25 µg/ml, 73% suppression of parasite growth was observed for the hexane extract. This suppression of plasmodial growth attains 84.43% at 50 µg/ml with an IC50 of 3.47 µg/ml. Secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, phenols, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids were detected in S. occidentalis. This could be a responsible for the antimalarial activities observed.

International Journal of Research, 2020

Novel Corona virus (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic in 2020. In less than 60 days, the vir... more Novel Corona virus (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic in 2020. In less than 60 days, the virus has rapidly spread across the globe. This is faster than any infectious disease in human history. Although similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in terms of symptoms, COVID-19 is deadlier. Governments around the world alongside WHO are working to reduce if not break the chain of transmission. In this study, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of general public and Health Care Professionals (HCPs) in Yobe State, Northeastern, Nigeria were assessed to understand the nature of compliance to WHO guidelines through online questionnaires. It was established that 100% of HCPs have knowledge of COVID-19, its mode transmission and preventive measures. However, 89.6% of respondents (general public) have heard of the disease and are complying with government and the WHO guidelines on preventive measures. The study further revealed that qualification is playing vital role towards the KAPs of citizens on the novel disease. It is evident that organisations responsible for enlightenment and sensitization have done the needful.

Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases, Aug 24, 2020

Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many p... more Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many parts of the world. Although preventable, malaria has claimed the lives of thousands of individuals in endemic African countries. Antimalarial drug resistance, lack of vaccines in clinical use as well as complexities of malaria parasite genomes remains a serious threat to malaria eradication efforts. The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The specific objective of this study is to establish the acute toxic effect and antiplasmodial efficacy of crude methanolic leaf extract of Senna occidentalis in an in vivo assay. The four (4) days suppressive test was used in Swiss mice experimentally infected with chloroquine sensitive (CQS) Plasmodium berghei (ANKA). Results obtained revealed no lethality nor any sign of acute toxic reactions following the administration of 2000 mg/kg body weight of the extract. Percent reduction of parasite growth obtained was observed to be dose dependent in all groups treated with the herbal extract and ranges between 66% and 73%. Relative to the negative and positive control groups, a significant reduction in parasitaemia (P≤ 0.01) was observed in all groups treated with the plant extracts. A gradual increase in body weight was observed in extract treated

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022

Silver nanoparticles are one of the most extensively studied nanomaterials due to their high stab... more Silver nanoparticles are one of the most extensively studied nanomaterials due to their high stability and low chemical reactivity in comparison to other metals. They are commonly synthesized using toxic chemical reducing agents which reduce metal ions into uncharged nanoparticles. However, in the last few decades, several efforts were made to develop green synthesis methods to avoid the use of hazardous materials. The natural biomolecules found in plants such as proteins/enzymes, amino acids, polysaccharides, alkaloids, alcoholic compounds, and vitamins are responsible for the formation of silver nanoparticles. The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles is an eco-friendly approach, which should be further explored for the potential of different plants to synthesize nanoparticles. In the present review we describe the green synthesis of nanoparticles using plants, bacteria, and fungi and the role of plant metabolites in the synthesis process. Moreover, the present review also descr...

Malaria remains a major public health concern and a threat to the lives of people living in conti... more Malaria remains a major public health concern and a threat to the lives of people living in continuous malaria transmission regions of the world. While haemoglobin variants results in increased risks of morbidity due to the abnormality of haemoglobin molecules, the possession of these variants provides some degrees of acquired protections against malaria. This research was conducted to determine the common haemoglobinopathies and variation in parasitaemia among malaria infected persons in relation to hospital visits due to malaria in Potiskum Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria. Venous blood was used to determine malaria parasitaemia and genotype of patients with fever related illnesses. Results obtained revealed patients with genotype AA having high parasite load, with 20 (32.79%) having moderate parasitaemia and 39 (63.93%) with low parasitaemia. However, due to low turnout of patients with sickle cell traits (SS), result obtained shows very low 18 (56.25%) to no parasitaem...

International Journal of Research, 2020

Recently, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV-2) associated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS- C... more Recently, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV-2) associated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS- CoV) has emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. This novel coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by pulmonary infection and mostly leads to a wide range of clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic, mild, and moderate to severe. The severe cases present with pneumonia, which can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Despites the containment measures, the spread of this virus is ongoing. In this review, we highlight the epidemiology, symptoms, transmission, treatment and control, of this fatal disease. It is challenge to global public health therefore, a special attention and efforts to protect or reduce transmission should be applied in susceptible populations including children, health care providers, and elderly people. Public health authorities should also keep monitoring the situation closely, as the more we can learn about this novel virus and its as...

Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainst... more Since time immemorial, traditional medicines especially medicinal plants have remained the mainstay of managing various ailments in underdeveloped and developing nations globally. Despite the availability of orthodox medicines, communities in low income countries rely largely on herbal preparations to manage and cure diseases. In this study, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted with a view to compile and document traditional medicinal plants and practices of six communities, i.e. three (3) from each of two Local Government Areas of Yobe State, Nigeria. Semi structured questionnaires aided by guided interviews were used to obtain information regarding traditional knowledge from 120 traditional herbalists, their attendants and community members. Results revealed that more males 80 (67%) than females 40 (33%) practice traditional medicines in general terms, with the majority of the respondents 36 (30%) falling in the age range of 51-60 years. Specifically, 28 (23.33%) traditional her...

International Journal of Research, 2014

Trypanosomiasis is a disease of varying severity, it is caused by a unicellular flagellated proto... more Trypanosomiasis is a disease of varying severity, it is caused by a unicellular flagellated protozoan parasite of the family Trypanosomatidae, and genus Trypanosoma.

During the intra-erythrocytic development of malaria parasites, haemoglobin in the red cell cytos... more During the intra-erythrocytic development of malaria parasites, haemoglobin in the red cell cytosol is ingested and taken to the food vacuole, where it is degraded. Haemoglobin degradation in the malaria parasite results in the formation of heme/haematin, an essentially toxic protein and denatured globin fragments. Due to its toxicity, free heme (Fe +3 ) induce oxidative stress by generating reactive oxygen species, subvert and lyse membranes, as well as inhibit the action of a number of enzymes, thus leading to parasite death. To overcome the toxicity of free heme (Fe +3 ) and avoid death, malaria parasites convert free heme (Fe +3 ) to a non-toxic haemozoin. This research intends to demonstrate the in vitro conversion of haemin to β-haematin/haemozoin through haemin based spectrophotometry and test emetine dihydrochloride hydrate and chloroquine diphosphate for their ability to prevent the conversion of haemin to β-haematin. Results obtained justify the inhibitory activity of chlo...

Background: Malaria infection and complications during and after pregnancy remained a major publi... more Background: Malaria infection and complications during and after pregnancy remained a major public health concern in the tropics and subtropics, with approximately 24 million pregnant women reported. In Nigeria, pregnant women are hard hit by malaria due to their compromised immunity. The focal point of this study was to investigate the influence of malaria parasitaemia on some hematological parameters in pregnant women attending General Hospital Geidam, Yobe State, Nigeria. Methodology: Systemic sampling technique was used to select 288 pregnant women who registered for antenatal clinics and visits the General Hospital Geidam. Informed consent was sought from the pregnant women who participate in the study and was screened for malaria. Result: Malaria prevalence was found to be higher in women between 25-29 years of age (79 1.74) and lower in women between 40-45 years of age (4 ± 0.92). Conclusion: Malaria was found to be prevalent among the study population and it may have an effe...

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, 2020

Poverty and lack of access to health facilities had necessitated the less privileged to depend on... more Poverty and lack of access to health facilities had necessitated the less privileged to depend on herbal remedies to treat a number of diseases including malaria. The successes recorded from the discovery of novel antimalarials from plant sources had paved the way for the search of antimalarial compounds from traditional pharmacopeia. Phytochemical analysis as well as GC-MS analysis of crude leaves extract of Senna siamea was conducted, with a view to identifying compounds with biological activities. Further antimalarial assessment of the crude extracts was also performed in an in vitro assay. The phytochemicals; phenols, tannins, anthraquinones, alkaloid and flavonoids were detected from hexane and methanol extracts. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of Saponins specifically, triterpenoids (Lupeol, α-amyrin), Sesquiterpene (Octadecane), Diterpenes (Eicosane), Esters of pthalic acids (Diethyl phthalate) Squalene, α-Tocopherol (a fat soluble Vitamin E) and hexadecanoic acid buty...

The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery a... more The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The heme polymerization inhibitory activity as well as the antimalarial activity of Senna occidentalis, a local medicinal plant used for malaria therapy in Hausa folk medicine in Northern Nigeria was evaluated in in vitro assays. Results obtained revealed a good inhibition of β-hematin formation (83.08% and 83.97%) by the methanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of S. occidentalis at 500μg/mL as against the 54.92% inhibition exhibited by hexane extract at the same concentration. Findings of the in vitro antimalarial studies revealed a dose dependent suppression of plasmodium growth. At a concentration of 6.25 μg/ml, 73% suppression of parasite growth was observed for the hexane extract. This suppression of plasmodial growth attains 84.43% at 50 μg/ml with an IC50 of 3.47 μg/ml. Secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, phenols, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids were detected...

Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases, 2020

Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many p... more Malaria is a life threatening infectious disease that has affected economic development in many parts of the world. Although preventable, malaria has claimed the lives of thousands of individuals in endemic African countries. Antimalarial drug resistance, lack of vaccines in clinical use as well as complexities of malaria parasite genomes remains a serious threat to malaria eradication efforts. The search for antimalarials from plant sources has yield significant success in drug discovery approaches. The specific objective of this study is to establish the acute toxic effect and antiplasmodial efficacy of crude methanolic leaf extract of Senna occidentalis in an in vivo assay. The four (4) days suppressive test was used in Swiss mice experimentally infected with chloroquine sensitive (CQS) Plasmodium berghei (ANKA). Results obtained revealed no lethality nor any sign of acute toxic reactions following the administration of 2000 mg/kg body weight of the extract. Percent reduction of ...

Bayero Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 2020

The antimalarial efficacy of crude hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous Moringa oleifera leaf... more The antimalarial efficacy of crude hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous Moringa oleifera leaf extract was evaluated on chloroquine sensitive (CQS) strain of Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) in vitro, with a view to validate traditional use of M. oleifera as antimalarial. A dose dependent suppression of parasite growth was observed for all extracts, at microgram per mills (µg/mL) concentrations. At the lowest concentration of extract (6.25 µg/mL), the hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous extracts showed 63.52%, 71.42% and 60.65% suppression of plasmodium growth respectively. The extracts showed potent biological activity at the highest concentration of extract, with a strong inhibition of plasmodium growth (71.31%, 83.06% and 80.36%) observed for the hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous extracts. Although some extracts are observed to be more potent than others, all extracts are observed to be biologically active against the 3D7 strain of P. falciparum (Hexane extract IC50 = 3...

Novel Research in Microbiology Journal, 2017

The antibacterial potency of garlic extract (Allium sativum) against gram positive and gram negat... more The antibacterial potency of garlic extract (Allium sativum) against gram positive and gram negative skin pathogenic bacteria including; Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were studied using agar well diffusion and broth dilution assays. Agar well diffusion assay for aqueous garlic extract (AGE) was characterized with zones of inhibition ranging from 4.40-3.80cm, 4.13-3.57cm, 3.40-2.67cm for S. aureus, S. epidermidis and Strep. pyogenes, respectively, however, Ps. aeruginosa had lesser zone of inhibition ranging from 2.32-1.55cm. Studying the antibacterial potency of AGE against the selected isolates, revealed that it is affected by temperature of storage. Current results showed that storage of AGE at low temperature of-20 o C, does not affect its potency, however, its potency was slightly lost at high temperatures above 37 o C. The broth dilution test was performed to investigate the Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the AGE against the bacterial isolates at 37 o C. Investigating the activity of AGE loaded on Gel dressing revealed that it can have potency when applied on patients with Staphylococcal skin infections. Findings from this study encourage and support the use of AGE in treating bacterial skin infections especially in developing countries like Africa, as it is available, economic and have no side effects.