http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/600 Published Journal Articles from the department. Sun, 05 Apr 2026 21:14:16 GMT 2026-04-05T21:14:16Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2780 Evaluation of Antifungal Activities of the Crude Leaf Extracts of Mitracarpus vilosus ASOGWA, Ifeoma .S. The antifungal activities of fractions of the leaf extract of Mitracarpus vilosus were evaluated in comparison with some standard antifungal drugs (ketoconazole, clotrimazole, fluconazole, nystatin and tioconazole), against certain isolates of moulds and yeasts. Air-dried pulverized leaves of Mitracarpus vilosus (500 g) were extracted successively with methanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate, using the cold maceration method. The susceptibilities of solutions of the fractions in DMSO (well diluted with sterile distilled water), as well as the standard antibiotics, to some fungal isolates were tested using agar broth dilution method. Subsequently, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using the agar broth dilution method. Their synergism were determined using the Checker-board method. All the fractions and their combinations with standard drugs showed significant antifungal activities against the fungal and yeast isolates used, with the chloroform fraction being the most active against majority of the organisms. The IZDs against A. niger were 15, 35, 27, and 9 mm for the methanolic extract, chloroform, methanolic and ethyl acetate fractions, respectively. The MICs obtained for the chloroform fraction were: 1.56, 6.25, 3.13, 6.25, 1.56, 3.13 and 1.56 mg/ml for the A. niger, Penicillium spp, M. furfur, A. fumigatus, C. albicans 1, 2 and 3 isolates, respectively. At FIC index of 0.21, the combination of the chloroform fraction with ketoconazole (at a ratio 9:1) against Penicillium spp, the highest synergism of all the combinations was observed. However, ketoconazole alone showed the highest activity against A. niger, Penicillum spp., A. fumigatus and all the candida isolates compared to the extracts/fractions, while clotrimazole was the most active against M. fufur. Based on this study, crude extract and fractions of M. vilosus leaves, especially the chloroform fraction, can be used alone or in combination with some standard antifungal drugs for the treatment of superficial mycosis and candidiasis caused by susceptible species of these organisms. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2780 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2779 EVALUATION OF QUALITATIVE PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF Cymbopogon citratus LINN ASOGWA, Ifeoma .S.; ARIAHU, Emmanuel Antibiotic resistance has become a significant public health problem; thus, it is highly essential that new antibiotics continue to be developed. Recentlystudies have been carried out to ascertain the antimicrobial benefits of essential oils and how they can be incorporated into the fight against infections and infectious diseases. This research was carried out with the purpose of verifying the effectiveness of the essential oil of lemongrass for the pathogenic treatment of organisms. Lemongrass oil was investigated for activity against two gram positive organisms (Streptococcus pneumonia and a Staphylococcus aureus), two gram organisms negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) and fungi albicans) (Candida using Diffusion Agar Method and Broth Dilution Method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by the Broth Dilution Method. Lemongrass was found to be effective against all the test organisms. results depicted The that Lemongrass extracted oil generated different inhibition zones diameters (IZDs) that ranged from 6-19.75mm, which were dose independent. The tested organisms were found to be inhibited by lemongrass oil even at low concentrations. Also, the test organisms were inhibited by Lemon grass oil at lower concentrations in Broth Dilution Method as compared to Agar Diffusion Method. Thus, it is concluded that lemongrass oil would be helpful in the treatment of emerging infections caused by susceptible pathogenic organisms. Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2779 2024-06-30T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2778 Molecular characterization and evaluation of phytochemical constituents of endophytic fungi derived from Mitracarpus scaber Zucc. (Rubiaceae) ASOGWA, Ifeoma .S. In quest to ameliorate the issues of recurring incidences of multidrug-resistant organisms and over-exploration of plants, researchers have delved into researches involving endosymbiotic microorganisms, known as endophytes. These are microorganisms inhabiting the internal part of plants, which have been verified to possess great potentials of bioengineering novel products for therapeutic purposes. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify endophytic fungal species present in Mitracarpus scaber, molecularly characterize the pure isolates, and test for phytochemical compounds present. Freshly collected non-diseased leaves of M. scaber were subjected to a four-step surface sterilization. Thereafter, they were sliced into fragments of 1 cm-length, exposing the leaf blades and the midribs, and were aseptically inoculated on sterilized malt extract agar, containing chloramphenicol (500 mg/l), in Petri dishes. Hyphal tips of actively growing fungi from the plant material were harvested and further sub-cultured for purification and isolation. Segments were aseptically cut from the actively growing pure isolates, on malt extract agar and inoculated onto the fermentation medium (sterilized local rice), in 500 ml Erlenmeyer flasks, which were properly sealed with sterile cotton and kept at static condition at 25 oC for 21 days. Ethyl acetate was used to extract the metabolites from the end products of the fermentation processes. Four isolates obtained from the endophytic fungi (EDF), present in the leaf of M. scaber, were subjected to molecular identification. The DNA extraction was done using Zr fungal/bacterial DNA miniprep. The extracted DNA was amplified through PCR, and sequenced. The resultant sequences were compared with GenBank database, using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool. The result of phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins and phenols, in large amounts; terpenoids, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides, in moderate amounts; steroids, hydrogen cyanide and saponins in very low quantities, while that of molecular characterization identified four organisms: Penicillium sclerotiorum, Clasporium cladosporiodies, Cryptococcus nemorosus, and Phyllosticta capitalensis. . Sun, 05 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2778 2024-05-05T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2777 Bacteriophage: Clinical Applications ASOGWA, Ifeoma .S. Bacteriophages, also called phages are viruses that invade bacteria, disrupt their metabolic activities and kill the bacteria by lysing their cell wall. These characteristics have given phages antimicrobial properties and can also serve as good replacement for antibiotics that have an increased record of multiple-antibiotic resistance. Phage therapy involves the treatment of infectious bacteria with lytic bacteriophage. The antimicrobial properties of phages have obvious advantages. Phages are very selective to their host, and this minimizes attack on normal body flora unlike the commonly used antibiotics, which attack infectious bacteria and normal body micro flora, giving rise to opportunistic secondary infections. Phages act at the sight of action, making the required concentration of phages utilized, while antibiotics traverse the gastrointestinal tract making them prone to degradation before getting to the sight of action, thereby reducing the therapeutic effects. Adverse drug reactions, inflammatory effects and side effects that are associated with antibiotics are not found with phages. Resistance may actually occur with phages, but they have their natural way of evolving another phage to counter it. Phages are environmentally friendly. Some already exist in the body, freely. Lastly, it takes time and costs much to develop new antibiotics, but the production of phages is based on natural selection, isolation and identification of bacteria. Bacteriophage’s gene can easily be manipulated by biotechnology approaches. This makes it possible to design bioengineered enzymes (genes) that can have any desired properties. To a large extent, this has addressed the potential clinical disadvantage with the specification of phages to their host bacteria. In this chapter, the utilization of bacteriophages in therapy vis-à-vis antibiotics will be discussed. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2777 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z