Uchechi Onyedikachi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Uchechi Onyedikachi

Science of The Total Environment, 2013

Flourishing private economy caused increasing heavy metal damages. • Leafy and rootstock vegetabl... more Flourishing private economy caused increasing heavy metal damages. • Leafy and rootstock vegetables posed higher hazards. • Cr has the biggest non-carcinogenesis effect while Cd generates the greatest cancer risk. • Negative impacts on humans and the environment may cause additional costs not included in sales expenditures.

Animal Research International, Sep 10, 2021

The usefulness of methanol extract of Curcuma longa in management of benign prostatic hyperplasia... more The usefulness of methanol extract of Curcuma longa in management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats was studied. Twenty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups of 4 rats each. BPH was induced by subcutaneous injection of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol valerate (10:1) daily for 28 days. The normal control (NC) received subcutaneous olive oil (as vehicle) for the same duration. The disease control (HC) and drug control groups (DC) were given subcutaneous olive oil and oral finasteride (standard drug: 5 mg/kg bw) respectively after induction of BPH. Rats in the test groups (T 1 and T 2) were given 100 and 200 mg/kg.bw of C. longa methanol extracts orally for 28 days respectively, following disease induction. Phytochemical constituents of plant extracts, selected biomarkers of BPH, serum electrolyte and hormonal profile were determined using standard methods. Results revealed that C. longa have higher content of flavonoid (4.03 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) with lower concentration of terpene (0.40 ± 0.07 mg/100 g). There was significant decrease (p<0.05) in relative prostate weight and prostate specific antigen (PSA) in T 1 and T 2 compared to the HC group. Calcium and sodium showed significant (p<0.05) decreased following administration of plant extract while chlorine and bicarbonate recorded no (p>0.05) difference. There was a (p<0.05) decrease in serum total testosterone and increase in FSH level, but no difference (p>0.05) was seen in serum estradiol levels within all experimental groups. This study reveals that C. longa may be useful in the treatment and/or management of BPH and its complications.

Annual Research & Review in Biology, 2019

Aim: This study investigated the health risk associated with chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn) and ar... more Aim: This study investigated the health risk associated with chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn) and arsenic (As) through consumption of some food crops in selected industrialized areas located in the south eastern states of Nigeria using the estimated daily intake(EDI), bioaccumulation factor(BCF), target hazard quotient(THQ) and incremental lifetime cancer risk(ILCR). Study Design: Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to assess the concentrations of Cr, Mn and As in the different food crops and soils at the industrialized areas. Place and Duration: Samples were collected around industrial layouts in south east states of Nigeria. Duration was between February 2018 to September 2018. Methodology: Twelve (12) different food crops which included 3 each of vegetables, tubers fruits and nuts and their rhizophere soils were collected from farmlands close to the industries at Osisioma, Akwuuru, Ishiagu, Ngwo, Irete while Umudike was the control site for this study. Results: Mean concent...

Animal Research International, May 5, 2021

Anaemia is a haematological disorder characterized by reduced red blood cells (RBCs) or haemoglob... more Anaemia is a haematological disorder characterized by reduced red blood cells (RBCs) or haemoglobin (HB) or lowered ability of blood to carry oxygen leading to increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The anti-anaemic potential of aqueous extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa seeds (HSS) was evaluated in this study. One-hundred and eighty (180) adult albino rats were divided into twelve groups with three replicates of 5 rats each (n =15) and designated as Group 1 (normal control), Group 2 (positive control, treated with standard drug), Group 3 (negative control, untreated) and Groups 4-6 (treated with 200, 400 and 600 mg.kg-1 of aqueous extracts of raw, HSS respectively), Groups 7-9 (treated with 200, 400 and 600 mg.kg-1 of aqueous extracts of boiled HSS respectively) and Groups 10-12 (treated with 200, 400 and 600 mg.kg-1 of aqueous extracts of fermented HSS respectively). The acute toxicity test revealed no toxic effect of HSS at 5000 mg.kg-1 and haemolytic anaemia was induced with 350 mg.kg-1 b.w of Zidovudine. After 28 days of extract administration, the animals were humanely sacrificed and blood samples collected for haematological analysis using Automated Haematology Analyzer. RBC count, HB concentration and packed cell volume (PCV) decreased significantly (p<0.05) after Zidovudine induction, but the aqueous extracts of raw, boiled and fermented HSS significantly (p<0.05) increased HB, RBC, PCV, white blood cells (WBC) and neutrophil levels when compared with negative control. The results suggest that aqueous extracts of HSS attenuated hematological indices by increasing RBC and haemoglobin production and could be utilized in management of anaemia.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

FUDMA JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

The body during normal metabolic function produces free radicals which are highly reactive specie... more The body during normal metabolic function produces free radicals which are highly reactive species. Free radicals could also be introduced into the body from the environment. The oxidation induced by reactive oxygen species can result in DNA mutation, membrane protein damage and cell membrane disintegration. The present study assayed the preliminary phytochemicals, total phenolics and total flavonoids and free radicals scavenging ability of methanol extract of Jatropha tanjorensis leaf. Standard methods for determining phytochemicals, reducing power, nitric oxide scavenging, hydroxyl radical, and lipid peroxidation scavenging activity were employed. The phytochemical screening result revealed the presences of phenols, flavonoids, saponin, alkaloids, tannins, terpernoids and steroids. The total phenolic content of methanol extract of Jatropha tanjorensis leaf measured by Folin-Ciocalteau reagent in terms of gallic acid equivalent was 11.35±0.82mgGAE/g. The flavonoid content of the p...

Analele Universităţii "Ovidius" Constanţa: Seria Chimie, 2019

This study investigated the potential health risk due to dietary exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic ... more This study investigated the potential health risk due to dietary exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) for the populace living around selected industrial areas in the south eastern states of Nigeria. The concentrations of PAHs were measured in edible food crops using Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID). The mean concentration of PAHs in food crops collected ranged from < 0.01 to 2.64 ± 0.02, 5.27 ± 0.04, 0.96 ± 0.02, 8.94 ± 0.01 and 1.95 ± 0.06 in mg/kg for Osisioma, Ishiagu, Irete, Akwuuru, and Ngwo respectively. PAHs distributions in food samples analyzed in this study showed vegetables to be significant higher (p ≤ 0.05) in the order vegetables > fruits > nuts > tubers. Total PAHs (∑PAHs) concentrations in most crop samples had highest values 14.49, 36.29, 4.59, 23.36 and 21.8 mg/kg for Chyrysophyllum albidum, Telferia occidentalis, Vernonia amygdalina, Talinum triangulare and Elaies guinnensis for Osisioma, Akwuuru, Irete, Ishiagu and Ngwo respectively. The low molecular weight-PAHS/ high molecular weight-PAHS were < 1 with values 0.76, 0.18, 0.28, 0.91 and 0.12 for Osisioma, Irete, Akwuuru, Ishiagu and Ngwo respectively. 58.3% and 71.7% of ∑B(a)P and ∑PAHs in food samples in the study areas exceeded the permissible limits set by DPR and EU. The estimated daily intake of PAHs via the ingestion of food crops were within the tolerable range. The carcinogenic risk values for the food crops were within the predicted permissible lifetime risks of carcinogen (10-6-10-4) for adults and children in Osisioma, Akwuuru, Ishiagu and Enugu respectively. Therefore, this study suggests that the populace around industrialized areas in South Eastern Nigeria, may be at risk due to PAHs exposure through food consumption.

The essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus (EOCC) has found use in medicine, food and chemical ind... more The essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus (EOCC) has found use in medicine, food and chemical industry. This study attempts to provide evidence of its suitability for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory therapy. Total phenol and total flavonoid of EOCC was 49.83±0.39mg GAE/g of extract and 352.82±3.45 µg QEC/g of extract respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of its essential oil (EOCC) showed 25 peaks with myrcenyl acetate (9.703%), caryophyllene (8.997%), citronella (6.383%) been the most abundant. The in vitro anti-inflammatory assay using human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane stabilization shows that at 200µg/mL, the percentage inhibition of EOCC was significantly higher compared to diclofenac both for heat-induced and hypotonic induced haemolysis. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays showed a comparable and dose-dependent increase from 50 to 400 μg/mL in relation to vitamin C. Half maximal inhibitory ...

Annual Research & Review in Biology

Ovidius University Annals of Chemistry

Journal of Chemical Health Risks, 2019

This study investigated the cancer risk exposure of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in So... more This study investigated the cancer risk exposure of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils from industrial areas in South Eastern States of Nigeria. PAHs concentrations in soil samples from study sites ranged from below the limits of detection (0.01±0.00) in Ishiagu to 2.67±0.02 in Akwuuru. Total PAHs (∑PAHS) concentrations in most crop samples had values 13, 9.55, 22.12 <0.01, 5.85 Mg/kg for Abia, Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu Soils respectively. The diagnostic ratios indicated both pyrolytic and petrogenic sources of pollution suggesting that there is no point source of pollution in the industrialized areas. The secondary evaluation on carcinogenic PAHs in soil for Akwuuru and Osisioma showed significant dominance above other soils analyzed for the different states. Estimated daily intake of PAHs in soils was within the interval of 2.54819E-06mg/kg/body to 8.57844E-05 mg/kg/body (Adults) and 2.67993E-06 mg/kg/body to 9.02193E-05 mg/kg/body for children. The summation...