An in vivo study was carried out to determine the anti-typanosomal effect of aqueous extracts of the bark of Azadiracta indica (neem) in Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense-infected mice. The extracts were orally administered ad libitum twenty four hours post-infection for three days to mice after dose determination and toxicity testing. The effect of the extracts in trypanosome-infected mice was monitored for 20 days by determining changes in the packed cell volume (PCV), parasitemia levels and survival rate. The bark extracts of the neem plant did not show any acute toxicity to the uninfected animals because no significant effect on weight and PCV was recorded. However, infection with T. b. rhodesiense led to a decrease in weight and PCV, the decrease being more in those animals that were given water only and low doses of plant extracts. The extracts produced a dose-dependent effect at delaying onset of parasites appearance in circulation, decreasing level of parasitemia and PCV. Treatment with 1000 mg/kg of plant extract was comparable to and in some cases more effective than suramin, a known trypanocidal drug.

Chlamydia includes organisms formally called Taiwanese Acute Respiratory (TWAR) and the Trachoma Inclusion Conjunctivitis (TRIC) and those responsible for genital tract infections with very serious sequelae. Information regarding relative frequencies of Chlamydia infections in Nigeria are sparse. A total of 300 blood samples were collected from males and females in North East zone of Nigeria and tested for Chlamydia complement fixing antibody (CCFA). All the positive subjects had either endocervical swabs, urethral swabs or throat swabs taken from them and cultured into the yolk sac of embryonated eggs before being tested using the Romanowsky-Giemsa staining technique which acted as a control to the complement fixation test. Statistical analysis was carried out in Microsoft excel and epi-info software. Only 211 samples were positive to CCFA (70.3%) while 201 (95.3%) of the positive samples were positive using the culture method as seen using the Romanowsky-Giemsa staining technique. Of the positive result using the culture method, 120 were positive to Chlamydia pneumoniae while only 81 were positive to Chlamydia trachomatis. From the total of 211 positive samples only 135 were females while 76 were males. The total number of positive symptomatic patients was 127 of which 92 were females and 35 males. The 84 non-symptomatic positive patients, only 20 were males while 64 were females. Age groups 31-35 years had the highest positive cases. There was no significant difference between the number of males and females and there was also no significant difference between the positive samples due to culture and CCFA. A high percentage of positive samples validated by Chi-square test shows that Chlamydia infections are endemic in the population and effort should be made to screen the pathogen early to avoid the serious sequelae posed by these organisms.

The effect of extract of Pseudocedrela kotschi on blood glucose of alloxan induced albino wistar rats was evaluated. Experimental animals received daily oral administration of extract of P. kotschi for 14 days. The effect of 200mg/kg dose was studied during the treatment period. There was a significant reduction in blood glucose concentration (p< 0.05) with the mean blood glucose of the different groups having 5.5 + 0.33 for normal control, 7.0 + 0.40 for diabetic control group and 4.8 + 0.24 for diabetic treated group. The findings of this study suggest that extract of P. kotchi has hypoglycemic effect.

The anti-inflammatory activity of the extract of Vernonia amygdalina was investigated. Inflammatory response was induced by topical application of croton oil dissolved in suitable vehicle on the rat ear. After 6 hrs, cutting out the ear quantitated the response. The cut ear is weighed and the increase in weight relative to controls evaluated. Extract of V.amygdalina when co-applied with croton oil to the rat ear produced a reduction in the inflammatory response produced when croton oil alone was applied to the rat ear. The extract produced 67.10 + 2% reduction of the inflammatory response produced by croton oil alone, this was however lower than the 71.1 + 2% reduction of the inflammatory response produced by acetyl salicylic acid. This finding suggests that extract of V. amygdalina exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and may explain the usefulness of the leaves of this plant in the treatment of inflammatory disease conditions by traditional healers.

The anti-inflammatory activity of the extract of Abrus precatorius was investigated. Inflammatory response was induced by topical application of croton oil dissolved in suitable vehicle on the rat ear. After 6 hrs, cutting out the ear quantitated the response. The cut ear is weighed and the increase in weight relative to controls evaluated. Extract of A. precatorius when co applied with croton oil to the rat ear produced a reduction in the inflammatory response produced when croton oil alone was applied to the rat ear. The extract produced 67.10 + 2% reduction of the inflammatory response produced by croton oil alone, this was however lower than the 71.1 + 2% reduction of the inflammatory response produced by acetyl salicylic acid. This finding suggests that extract of A. precatorius exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and may explain the usefulness of the leaves of this plant in the treatment of inflammatory disease conditions by traditional healers.

We report the case of a 28 year old Greek sailor who presented first with a fever of unknown origin and then with the classical symptoms of trypanosomiasis in Ivory Coast, Greece, the USA and France but who was diagnosed late in the evolution of his disease and suffered incapacitating neurological sequelae despite appropriate treatment.