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PROJECT TOPIC:  EFFECT OF TELFERIA OCCIDENTALIS AND VERNONIA AMYGDALINA ON ELECTROLYTES (CALCIUM, POTASSIUM, SODIUM AND CHLORIDE) ON BRAIN AND HEART IN HIGH SUCROSE DIET FED RATS
Department:  Bio Chemistry
AMOUNT:  10,000
FORMAT:   MS WORD
PAGES:  80
 
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ABSTRACT

 

Sixty (60) albino rats of the wistar strain were used to investigate the effect different vegetables extracts modified diets; shared into two groups, one part fed with high sucrose diet while others were fed with normal ratchow. Electrolytes status were analysed in the plasma, liver and heart after four weeks of feeding.   Feeding of rats with high sucrose diet revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase in chloride, potassium and calcium in heart and significant (p<0.05) increased sodium level while potassium and chloride were significant (p<0.05) decreased in brain . Thus, vegetables extracts modified diet may be a good approached to improved electrolyte imbalance induced by excess sugar intake.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

A good intake of healthy diets will certainly prevent health issues in the body system (WHO, 2003). Consumption of adequate food substances in so as to generate energy for the needs of the body is known as nutrition. Therefore, when an individual is not taking-in enough food or not taking-in the right sort of food, malnutrition is almost certain to set in (WHO 2003; WHO, 2004). Therefore, malnutrition can be as a result of either over-nutrition or under-nutrition, due to inadequate intake of the right amount of nutrients.

Plants are being used as valuable sources of food and medicine for the prevention of illness and maintenance of human health.    All over the world many indigenous plants are widely consumed as food or home remedies especially in the treatment or management of common diseases (Glombitza et al., 1993). The importance of plants in medicine remains even of greater relevance with the current global shift to obtain drugs from plant sources, as a result of which attention has been given to the medicinal value of herbal remedies for safety, efficacy and economy (Mahabir and Gulliford, 1997). The World Health Organization in a number of resolutions emphasized the need to ensure the quality control of plant products by using modern techniques and applying suitable standards (WHO, 1992).

Previous literatures reported plants use for disease treatments, the Phytochemist on the chemical constituents and the Pharmacologist on the effectiveness of particular plant compound or extracts (Gabriel et al., 2007). Several plants of folkloric medicine are used in the treatment of diseases in developing countries and in Asia in particular. According to WHO (2000), medicinal plants are plants which when administered to man or animals, exert a sort of pharmacological action on them. Herbs make up most of the plant sources for the production of useful drugs that are being utilized by people worldwide (Agbo et al., 2000). Most existing plants have medicinal values, of which steps are being taken by scientific research to properly test and utilize these plants for therapeutic purposes. The role of food crop in human nutrition is based on the primary products of photosynthesis, the carbohydrates, protein and triglycerides (fats and oil). In the case of most drugs, herbs produce essential oils and cosmetics are derived from the secondary products of plant metabolism such as alkaloids, terpenoids and flavenoids (Nwachukwu et al., 2010).

Vegetable plants such as Ugwu (Telfairea occidentalis)  and Vernonia amygdalina extracts are continually being utilized as therapeutic agents in formulations for treating diseases in the traditional ethno-medicinal system because of their medicinal values. In Africa and Asia there are great potentials to alleviate different array of ailments. However, these potentials are usually hampered by the ways and methods in which these plants are consumed, either directly as curative measures for ailments or as food supplements (Nwachukwu et al., 2010). Previous research supports an increase in intakes of vegetables and fruit in the prevention of disease (Ball et al., 1987). Antioxidants have a definite protective effect on the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation, but the relevance of this to cardiovascular disease (Block, 1991). Further research is required to clarify which particular types of vegetables are responsible for protective effects against cardiovascular diseases.

Aims of Research

In view of the various medicinal potentials of vegetables, this research work is aimed at investigating the effect of the processing methods (Juice and Shaft) on oxidative stress induced by high sucrose diet and the research is aimed at:

·        investigating the impacts on body electrolytes (sodium,  potassium, calcium and chloride ions), and

·        Comparing the toxicological effects of Juice and Shaft processing methods, in the heart and brain. 

 

 

 

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