Biochemistry-Scholarly Publications

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    Open Access
    Anti-diabetic and hypoglycemic properties of fibre-enriched cake in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
    (Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2013) Erukainure, O.L.; Ebuehi, O.A.T.; Adeboyejo, F.O.; Okafor, E.N.; Hafizur, R.M.; Elemo, G.N
    Studies have provided evidence of the hypoglycemic properties of fiber-containing foods compared to fiber-free foods. In this study, the hypoglycemic properties and beneficial effects of fiber-enriched cake in alloxaninduced diabetic rats were reported. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of alloxan. Fiberenriched cake was produced from selected fruits and fed to the treatment group. The rats were monitored daily for food intake, and body weight. Their blood glucose levels were monitored on weekly basis. Treatment lasted for 14 days, after which the rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Blood was collected by cardiac puncture and centrifuged to obtain serum which was analyzed to evaluate serum insulin level. Histological study was carried out on the pancreatic tissues. There was no significant difference in diet intake and body weight among the experimental groups. Feeding on the formulated cake led to 68.75 % reduction of the blood glucose level compared to the diabetic group. Significant increase (p\0.05) in serum insulin level was observed in the cake-fed group. Feeding on the formulated cake led to restoration of pancreatic b-cells. The fiberenriched cake had a therapeutic protective effect against diabetes which can serve as a functional food in the treatment and management of the disease.
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    Open Access
    Nutrigenomic studies of orange juice and vitamin c on gene expressions in neuronal tissues of Sprague Dawley rats.
    (African Journal of Biochemistry Research, 2013) Ebuehi, O.A.T.; Salami, Y.; James, A.B.; Mgbeadichie, I.N.
    Nutrigenomics, a nascent field in nutrition and molecular biology plays a pivotal role in understanding the influence of bioactive dietary components on the structure, integrity and functions of the genome. In this study, the comparative effects of vitamin C (Vit C) and Nigerian local orange juice on the gene expression levels of superoxide dismutase (sod), tumour necrosis factor receptor (tnfr), p53 protein (p53), estrogen receptor (esr) and progesterone receptor (pgr) genes were evaluated in rat neuronal tissues. 5 ml/Kg bodyweight of freshly extracted orange juice and 20 mg/Kg bodyweight Vit C were administered orally to Sprague Dawley rats distributed into orange, vitamin C and control groups, respectively. Expressions of sod, tnfr, p53, esr and pgr genes were measured by relative quantification PCR using SYBR green chemistry. Data were analyzed using Applied Biosystems SDS software 1.4 and Graphpad prism 5.0. A 57.01 ± 6.37 fold significant (P<0.01) increase in tnfr gene was observed in the orange juice administered male group compared with the vitamin C (2.53 ±0.74 fold change) and control groups. Other genes investigated (sod, p53, pgr and esr) also showed different expression patterns but the mean differences between the test groups was not significant (P>0.05). Orange juice has been shown to posses the ability to increase significantly mRNA expression levels of tnfr gene in the brain neuronal tissues of male rats. The increase is probably mediated by other bioactive components in the orange juice rather than vitamin C.
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    Open Access
    Effect of sertraline and thioridazine on the metabolism of 5-hydroxy tryptamine in rabbit brain, liver and heart.
    (African Scientist, 2004) Ebuehi, O.A.T.; Sanya, A.O.; Lewis, O.A.
    The effect of sertraline and thioridazine on the metabolism of 5-hydroxy tryptamine in rabbit brain, liver and heart were investigated. 5ml of 0.5mg/kg sertraline or 5ml of 0.5mg/kg thioridazine or 5ml of 0.89% NaCl/kg were orally administered to rabbits for 30 days. The rabbits were sacrificed by decapitation, after starving them overnight, their brains, livers and hearts were quickly excised. Brain, liver and heart protein and serotonin concentrations and monoamine oxidase activities were determined. Results indicate that sertraline and thioridazine potentiated protein and serotonin in the brain, liver and heart, but had no significant effect on monoamine oxidase activity. Data of the study suggest that sertraline and thioridazine may alter some neutral functions mediated by serotoninergic neurotransmission.
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    Open Access
    Physical and sensory attributes of iron-fortified and unfortified Nigerian and Foreign rice varieties.
    (International Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, 2010) Ebuehi, O.A.T.; Oduwole, M.O
    The physical and sensory attributes of iron-fortified and unfortified Nigerian and foreign rice varieties were investigated. The physical characteristics of three indigenous Nigerian rice namely ‘Ofada’, ‘Abakaliki’ and ‘Nwakuka’ and two foreign rice varieties namely ‘Aroso’ and ‘China-fortified’ rice were determined. The length, width, weight, colour, shape, chalkiness, appearance, dispersability, breakage, swelling capacity and cooking time were evaluated. The rice varieties were fortified using Ferrazone® (NaFeEDTA) as the iron fortificant. The effectiveness of the iron fortificant was determined by detecting iron in the endosperm of rice varieties by using Perls Prussian blue solution. The concentrations of iron in the rice varieties were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The sensory attributes of the unfortified and iron-fortified Nigerian and foreign rice varieties were evaluated based on a nine-point hedonic scale. The indigenous rice varieties ‘Ofada’, ‘Nwakuka’ and ‘Abakaliki’ were round and shorter in shape, opaque in chalkiness as compared to the foreign rice ‘Aroso’, which was thin, longer in shape and translucent in chalkiness, while the ‘China fotified’ rice was curved in shape and opaque in chalkiness. The fortification of all the milled rice varieties using Ferrazone® significantly (p<0.01) increased iron content of the rice by 20-30 mg/kg. The sensory evaluation showed that the unfortified and fortified ‘Aroso’ rice was the most preferred rice variety as compared with other rice varieties investigated while the least unfortified and fortified rice was ‘Ofada’. Data of the study indicated that fortification of both indigenous and foreign rice varieties using Ferrazone® enhance the sensory attributes of these rice varieties without altering their physical characteristics.
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    Open Access
    Therapeutic Effect of Vernonia Amygdalina Aqueous Leaf Extract on Salmonella Typhimurium-Infected Female Wistar Rats.
    (International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical Science, 2022) Amushie, Ifeanyi; Ebuehi, O.A.T.
    This study investigated the therapeutic effects of Vernonia amygdalina aqueous leaf extract administration on Salmonella typhimurium infected Wistar rats. Rats were infected orally by a single dose administration of Salmonella typhimurium (1.5 x 108 CFU). Negative control groups were infected and treated orally with vehicle (distilled water), neutral control group were not infected, while the four test groups were treated up to 24 days with 50 mg/kg. 100 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg body weight of aqueous leaf extract of V. amygdalina respectively. The effects of leaf extract administration on serum markers (amino transferase activities, total protein, creatinine and bilirubin levels), as well as histopathology of the liver and kidney tissues were also investigated. Following in vivo studies, the 50 mg/kg dose of aqueous leaf extract of V. amygdalina was effective in alleviating liver damage as seen in the amino transferase activity. Infection resulted in a significant increase of amino transferase activity. The drug and plant extract helped to alleviate liver and kidney damage from infection as observed in the organ weights and their protein content. Findings from this study showed that the administration of this aqueous leaf extract at higher doses resulted in the ameriolation of the tissue damage caused by the S. Typhi bacteria (from histological studies). These results support the ethnomedicinal use of V. amygdalina, and posits that its leaves can be used in antibacterial phytomedicine.