International Journal of Biochemistry Research & Review

FTIR Analysis and Antipyretic Activity of Cleistopholis patens (Benth.) Engl. & Diels (Annonaceae)

Ouattara Yodanapliban Jules — 2026-08-06

Aims: This study evaluated the antipyretic activity of the hydroethanolic extract of Cleistopholis patens trunk bark (HECP) and identified the principal phytoconstituent families present in the extract.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in the “Chimie Bio-Organique et Substances Naturelles” and “Botanique et Valorisation de la Diversité Végétale” laboratories at Université Nangui ABROGOUA, and the “Sciences du Médicament, Sciences Analytiques et Santé Publique” laboratory at Université Félix HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY, between June 2022 and February 2023.

Methodology: Antipyretic activity was evaluated by inducing hyperthermia with brewer's yeast in Wistar rats and administering HECP (the test substance) at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg bw, paracetamol® (the reference drug), or distilled water (the negative control), as described by Ouédraogo et al. (2012).The extract also underwent FTIR analysis and qualitative phytochemical screening.

Results: A significant reduction in hyperthermia (p < 0.01) was observed in groups of rats treated with HECP at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg bw and with paracetamol® (ΔT = -1.18 ± 0.03 °C, -0.80 ± 0.09°C, and -0.600 ± 0.009°C, respectively) compared with the control group treated with distilled water (ΔT = -0.180 ± 0.001°C) from the first hour, and this activity persisted until the fifth hour. Quantification of the antipyretic effect showed that HECP at 200 mg/kg had the most promising profile for therapeutic application. The reduction in fever was significant (86.76 ± 7.43%) within the first hour, comparable to that of paracetamol®, peaking at the second hour (135.29 ± 8.27%) and lasting until the fifth hour (117.65 ± 2.94%). Finally, FTIR analysis revealed functional groups associated with phytoconstituents that may belong to families such as polyphenols (flavonoids) and alkaloids; these findings were confirmed by qualitative phytochemical screening.

Conclusion: C. patens demonstrated antipyretic activity, reported in this study for the first time, thereby supporting its traditional use as a febrifuge. This study also indicated that C. patens could be a source of renewable phenolic compounds and alkaloids.

Combined Effect of Pulverized Costus afer Stem and Cow dung Amendment on Contaminants of Concern in Crude Oil–Contaminated Soil

K. T. Nwauche — 2026-08-13

This study investigated the combined effect of pulverised Costus afer stem and cow dung amendments on contaminants of concern (heavy metals, PAHs, and TPHs) in crude oil-contaminated soil. Non-polluted soil samples were obtained from farmland along Mini Orlu Road, near Ada George, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, and divided into groups. Twenty kilograms of soil was contaminated with 1,000 mL of crude oil. Fresh whole stems of Costus afer were pulverised using an electric blender, measured, and introduced into the polluted soil samples, while cow dung was thoroughly mixed with the polluted soil to provide nutrients and hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms. The samples were incubated for 60 days before laboratory analysis. Heavy-metal results indicated that the control sample (Group 1) had a relatively higher cadmium concentration (0.22 mg/kg) than the other groups, whereas the polluted untreated soil (Group 2) contained detectable mercury, lead, arsenic, and chromium. Treatments in Groups 3–9 generally reduced or stabilised heavy-metal concentrations, with no marked increase in the amended soils. PAH concentrations differed among treatments. Group 2 showed elevated phenanthrene and acenaphthene concentrations, whereas Group 5 (polluted soil amended with 200 g cow dung) produced the greatest reduction, with several PAHs approaching zero. Combined treatments (Groups 8 and 9) produced mixed outcomes. Group 2 also recorded the highest TPH concentrations across the C9–C14 fractions. In Group 5, TPH concentrations decreased substantially, including a reduction in C9 to 0.26 µg/L. Group 4 (100 g cow dung) showed a smaller reduction, while treatments containing Costus afer and combined amendments produced inconsistent responses.

Assessment of Interleukin-6 and Hepcidin in the Therapeutic Follow-up of Inflammatory Anaemia in Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis and Haemodialysis Patients in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Bahi Gnogbo Alexis — 2026-08-14

Background: Inflammatory anaemia complicates multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and chronic renal failure (CRF), and altered iron availability may contribute to persistent anaemia despite iron supplementation or erythropoietin therapy.

Aim: This study evaluated interleukin-6 (IL-6), hepcidin and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRPus) as biochemical markers relevant to therapeutic follow-up in these conditions.

Methods: A prospective experimental study included 30 MDR-TB patients receiving treatment and iron supplementation, 30 haemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease receiving recombinant erythropoietin, and 30 controls. CRPus was measured by latex-enhanced immunoturbidimetry, while IL-6 and hepcidin were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Principal component analysis, the Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn’s post-hoc comparisons were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Mean IL-6 concentrations were 107.70 ± 43.68 pg/mL in MDR-TB patients, 132.70 ± 113.90 pg/mL in CRF patients and 3.36 ± 0.92 pg/mL in controls. CRPus was highest in MDR-TB patients (41.90 ± 45.19 mg/L), compared with CRF patients (5.95 ± 6.31 mg/L) and controls (3.65 ± 3.14 mg/L). Hepcidin concentrations were similar in MDR-TB and CRF patients (41.24 ± 3.02 and 40.82 ± 3.10 µg/L, respectively) and higher than in controls (22.97 ± 3.69 µg/L).

Conclusion: The findings indicate distinct inflammatory biomarker profiles in MDR-TB and CRF. IL-6 and hepcidin may be useful candidates for further evaluation in monitoring inflammatory anaemia.

Beyond HbA1c: Integrating Fasting Plasma Glucose, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Time Points and Continuous Glucose Monitoring across the Diabetes Care Continuum

Ashraf T. Soliman — 2026-08-10

Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) has become the dominant summary measure of glycaemic exposure because it is convenient, standardised and linked to long-term complication risk. Its clinical authority can nevertheless obscure a basic measurement problem: HbA1c is an indirect, time-averaged signal that cannot identify fasting versus post-load dysglycaemia, reveal hypoglycaemia or describe day-to-day glucose dynamics. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), individual oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) time points and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) interrogate different physiological domains and therefore should not be treated as interchangeable competitors. This critical narrative review evaluates how these measures can be integrated from risk identification and diagnosis through treatment monitoring, pregnancy, chronic kidney disease, ageing and other settings in which HbA1c may be insufficient or misleading. Literature published from 1993 to 2 June 2026 was selected through transparent searches of accessible biomedical indexes, full-text repositories and professional guidance sources, followed by citation searching and reference-level verification. The evidence supports HbA1c as an outcome-validated measure of chronic glycaemia, FPG as a pragmatic index of basal glucose regulation, and the OGTT as a challenge test capable of exposing impaired early secretion, delayed glucose disposal and post-load phenotypes missed by fasting measures. One-hour plasma glucose is increasingly supported for earlier risk stratification and diabetes detection, but threshold harmonisation, repeatability and implementation evidence remain incomplete. CGM adds clinically actionable information on time in range, time below range, time above range, variability and temporal patterns, with the strongest therapeutic evidence in insulin-treated diabetes. It is not yet a validated replacement for laboratory diagnosis. An integrated framework should therefore select the measure according to the clinical question, use discordance as a trigger for explanation rather than automatic averaging, and preserve laboratory confirmation where diagnostic classification carries durable consequences. Progress depends on outcome-anchored validation of OGTT and CGM phenotypes, interoperable data standards, equitable access and trials that test whether multi-metric decisions improve outcomes beyond HbA1c-centred care.

Arsenic, Mercury and Nickel in Nigerian Seafood: A Critical Appraisal of Exposure Estimation, Speciation and Risk Characterisation

Ibioku, Elekima — 2026-08-11

Seafood supplies a substantial share of animal protein in Nigeria, and the aquatic systems from which it is harvested receive inputs from petroleum extraction, artisanal gold processing, industrial effluent and untreated urban waste. A large Nigerian research effort has responded by measuring trace elements in fish and shellfish and converting those measurements into hazard quotients and lifetime cancer risks. This review examines what that literature can and cannot support for three elements whose toxicology diverges sharply: arsenic, mercury and nickel. The three are treated together not because they behave alike but because they are routinely pooled into a single additive hazard index, a practice that obscures the differences on which any defensible conclusion depends. Evidence was assembled through direct querying of a bibliographic metadata registry and general scholarly web searching, with every retained source verified against its registered record. The synthesis identifies a recurring structural problem. Nigerian assessments almost universally determine total element concentrations, then apply toxicity reference values derived for specific chemical species: an inorganic arsenic reference dose applied to total arsenic that is predominantly organic in marine organisms, a methylmercury reference dose applied to total mercury, and oral cancer slope factors applied to nickel for which oral carcinogenicity has not been established. These substitutions bias arsenic and mercury estimates upward, while nickel risk statements rest on a quantitative basis that authoritative evaluations do not endorse. Consumption rates, body weights and processing losses are typically imported from unrelated populations, and results are presented as point estimates without uncertainty bounds. The consequence is a literature in which measured concentrations below regulatory limits coexist with hazard indices above unity and cancer risks above one in ten thousand, and in which the direction of the discrepancy is set by analytical and parametric choices rather than by exposure. Confidence is highest for the conclusion that Nigerian seafood mercury concentrations are generally low by international standards and lowest for any quantitative statement about arsenic or nickel risk. Priorities are speciation analysis on Nigerian samples, nationally representative consumption data, bioaccessibility measurement on locally prepared foods, and probabilistic characterisation of the resulting exposures.

Redox-responsive Polymeric Nanocarriers for Controlled Anticancer Drug Delivery: A Critical Appraisal of Trigger Biology, Design Evidence and Translational Constraints

Riswat F. Musbau — 2026-08-20

The difference in thiol concentration between the cytosol of tumour cells and the extracellular compartment has served for approximately two decades as the organising principle for a large family of polymeric nanocarriers designed to remain intact in circulation and to disassemble after cellular internalisation. Disulfide, diselenide and thioketal linkages have been placed in polymer backbones, at the junction between hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks, within cross-linked cores and directly between carrier and cytotoxic agent, and the resulting micelles, polymersomes, nanogels and self-assembling prodrugs have been reported in several thousand preclinical studies. This review examines whether the accumulated evidence supports the confidence that is routinely expressed about the approach. Literature was identified through structured searching of biomedical, multidisciplinary and open-access scholarly indexes, supplemented by backward and forward citation searching, and appraised for design adequacy, comparator quality, transport plausibility and reporting completeness rather than for reported potency alone. Three findings recur. First, the biological premise is weaker than usually acknowledged: glutathione concentrations in human tumours are heterogeneous, overlap substantially with those of adjacent normal tissue, and are rarely measured in the same systems in which responsive carriers are tested. Second, the experimental evidence for redox-selective release is dominated by dissolution studies performed in strong reducing buffers that do not represent the intracellular environment, and matched non-responsive comparators are frequently absent, so the contribution of the trigger to any observed antitumour effect is often unidentifiable. Third, the quantity of drug that reaches tumour tissue is constrained by transport processes that operate upstream of any responsive chemistry, which limits the benefit that trigger optimisation alone can deliver. Redox-responsive architectures nevertheless offer a defensible route to improved carrier stability during circulation, and the strongest evidence supports this stabilising function rather than tumour-selective activation. Priorities include paired measurement of tumour redox status and carrier activation, mandatory non-responsive controls, reporting of released and encapsulated drug fractions, and evaluation in models that reproduce human tumour transport barriers.