Aqueous wood-ash extract of Parkia biglobosa causes reproductive toxicity in female mice

Background: The traditional culture of eating wood-ash extracts in some countries has led to many health problems.The study assessed the anti-fertility effects of the aqueous wood-ash extract of Parkia biglobosa on female Swissalbino mice. Methods: Healthy female albino mice were procured and randomly grouped into four groups (5/group)where control, 5, 50 and 100 mg/kg doses of the extract were orally administered for 20 days and microscopy ofvaginal smear carried out daily to determine anti-ovulatory activity. Oestrus cycle, including metestrus, diestrus andoestrus phases and histopathology of the uterus were examined daily and at the termination of the experiment.Results: At the end of the study, the highest number of circles (4.80 ± 0.20) was recorded in the control group,administered distilled water, while the lowest number of circles (3.00 ± 0.32) was in the 100 mg/kg dose group.Oestrus (5.80 ± 0.37) also is highest in the control group and lowest (1.20 ± 0.37) in the 100 mg/kg dose group. Thegroup administered 100 mg/kg dose of the aqueous wood-ash extract of Parkia biglobosa had the highest diestrusindex of 45, while the lowest of 17 was obtained in the control group. Histopathology of the uterus tissues shows afew degenerate epithelial cells in 50 mg/kg group and moderate dilatation of lumen and glandular epithelial cells in100 mg/kg group. Conclusion: The study revealed dose-dependent anti-fertility effects of the aqueous wood-ashextract of Parkia biglobosa on female albino mice, which implies its potential reproductive toxicity in humans.

Sub-chronic toxicity of the aqueous wood-ash extract of Parkia biglobosa in Mus musculus

Considering the possible health hazards associated with consumption of aqueous wood-ash extracts,this study investigated the sub-chronic toxicity of aqueous wood-ash extract of Parkia biglobosa on Mus musculus.Parkia biglobosa(5 kg)were collected and aqueous extracts of wood-ash were prepared by percolation method.Doses of 0(control),5,50 and 100 mg/kg,once a day,were administered to mice(n=10/treatment)90 days.Blood was collected by retro-orbital phlebotomy and assayed for serum creatinine,aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase,and the kidney and liver were excised for histopathology using standard methods.Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA atα0.05.Serum creatinine(mg/dL),aspartate aminotransferase(UI/L)and ALT(UI/L)increased with dosage and peaked at 100 mg/kg:2.1±0.2,128.8±8.0 and 58.0±2.9 compared to the control:0.8±0.1,89.8±5.1 and 28.5±1.4.Tubular degeneration and necrosis in the kidney,hepatocyte atrophy and dissociation of cords in the liver were observed at the 100 mg/kg dose level,while control organs had normal tissue architecture.Aqueous wood-ash extracts of P.biglobosa showed sub-chronic toxicity in Mus musculus.

Genetic variation and cryptic lineage diversity of the Nigerian red-headed rock agama Agama agama associate with eco-geographic zones

Nigeria is an Afrotropical region with considerable ecological heterogeneity and levels of biotic endemism.Among its vertebrate fauna,reptiles have broad distributions,thus,they constitute a compelling system for assessing the impact of ecological variation and geographic isolation on species diversification.The red-headed rock agama,Agama agama,lives in a wide range of habitats and,thus,it may show genetic structuring and diversification.Herein,we tested the hypothesis that ecology affects its genetic structure and population divergence.Bayesian inference phylogenetic analysis of a mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA)gene recovered four well-supported matrilines with strong evidence of genetic structuring consistent with eco-geographic regions.Genetic differences among populations based on the mtDNA also correlated with geographic distance. The ecologicalniche model for the matrilines had a good fit and robust performance. Population divergence alongthe environmental axes was associated with climatic conditions, and temperature ranked highestamong all environmental variables for forest specialists, while precipitation ranked highest for theforest/derived savanna, and savanna specialists. Our results cannot reject the hypothesis that nicheconservatism promotes geographic isolation of the western populations of Nigerian A. agama.Thus, ecological gradients and geographic isolation impact the genetic structure and population divergenceof the lizards. This species might be facing threats due to recent habitat fragmentation,especially in western Nigeria. Conservation actions appear necessary.