Abdullahi Abubakar Biu

Honey is a food substance produced by honeybees Apis mellifera adansonii with its quality based on its origin and is widely acknowledged for its nutritional and medicinal uses. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the proximate composition of wild honey harvested from Shani Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, Nigeria and its anti-trypanosomal efficacy on Trypanosoma brucei brucei infected Wistar Rats using appropriate standard methods. The quality evaluation of honey stock from Shani LGA, Borno State, Nigeria indicated values for the Lokoja/ Gari as dry matter 85.9/85.8%, moisture content 14.2/14.3%, crude protein 0.3/0.25%, crude fat 0.1/0.1%, ash 0.3/0.2%, carbohydrate 84.9/84.8%, crude fibre 0.2/0.3%, pH 3.0/4.3, vitamin C 0.6/0.46mg, vitamin E 0.3/0.27mg. For the In vivo testing there was a significant dose related decreased parasitaemia in honey treated Wistar rats compared with the infected untreated (negative control), although honey was not as effective compared with the diminazene aceturate treated or positive control. Also honey ameliorated fall in PCV or anaemia of the Wistar rats in this study. The proximate contents, pH, vitamin G and E in honey from Shani Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, Nigeria were identified. The moisture and ash values were within CODEX standards conferring high nutritional quality and stability. Also, the In vivo study has shown its anti- trypanosomal efficacy.

The use of synthetic drugs for livestock productivity and health is an expensive venture; hence, plant-based low-cost alternative is sort-out for. Hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of aqueous extracts of Viscum album leaf and stem-bark from host plants Azadirachta indica (neem), Psidium guajava (guava) and Acacia albida as an anti-trypanosomal trado-complementary drug in albino rats. Appropriate standard methods were employed to consider the parasitaemia counts, haematological, and biochemical parameters in test and control groups of the albino rats. Positive control group had the lowest mean parasitaemia, while the negative control had the highest mean parastaemia. However, the test controls showed a decline in parasitaemia which was dose dependent compared to the negative control (D). The mean values of PCV (33.75 ± 4.59b %), RBC(3.48 ± 0.25mm3), Hb(7.04 ± 0.55 g/dL) and WBC(3.33 ± 0.60mm3) declined significantly in the test controls compared to the normal control for A. indica leaf, however the values for PCV, RBC and Hb increased significantly and WBC decreased significantly in the test controls for A. indica stem bark, A. albida leaf and stem bark and P. guajava leaf and stem bark. There was a significant increase in the mean values of AST (34.00 ± 9.64µmol), ALP (67.43 ± 3.61µmol) and ALT (20.66 ± 3.21 µmol) in the negative control compared to the normal, positive and test controls. In conclusion, Viscum album Aqueous Extract of Leaf and Stem from three different plants ameliorates parasitaemia and improves haematological and biochemical markers in T. brucei brucei infected albino rats. The Findings obtained from this study supports the folkloric applications by locals in the control of animal trypanosomiasis in livestock.

Background: Ticks are hematophagous arthropods responsible for maintenance and transmission of several pathogens of veterinary and medical importance. Current knowledge on species diversity and pathogens transmitted by ticks infesting camels in Nigeria is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to unravel the status of ticks and tick-borne pathogens of camels in Nigeria. Methods: Blood samples (n = 176) and adult ticks (n = 593) were collected from one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) of both sexes in three locations (Kano, Jigawa and Sokoto states) in north-western Nigeria and screened for the presence of Rickettsia spp., Babesia spp., Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma spp. and Coxiella-like organisms using molecular techniques. All ticks were identified to species level using a combination of morphological and molecular methods. Results: Ticks comprised the three genera Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus. Hyalomma dromedarii was the most frequently detected tick species (n = 465; 78.4%) while Amblyomma variegatum (n = 1; 0.2%) and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi (n = 1; 0.2%) were less frequent. Other tick species included H. truncatum (n = 87; 14.7%), H. rufipes (n = 19; 3.2%), H. impeltatum (n = 18; 3.0%) and H. impressum (n = 2; 0.3%). The minimum infection rates of tick-borne pathogens in 231 tick pools included Rickettsia aeschlimannii (n = 51; 8.6%); Babesia species, (n = 4; 0.7%) comprising of B. occultans (n = 2), B. caballi (n = 1) and Babesia sp. (n = 1); Coxiella burnetii (n = 17; 2.9%); and endosymbionts in ticks (n = 62; 10.5%). We detected DNA of “Candidatus Anaplasma camelli” in 40.3% of the blood samples of camels. Other tick-borne pathogens including Anaplasma marginale were not detected. Analysis of risk factors associated with both tick infestation and infection with Anaplasma spp. in the blood indicated that age and body condition scores of the camels were significant (P < 0.05) risk factors while gender was not. Conclusions: This study reports low to moderate prevalence rates of selected tick-borne pathogens associated with camels and their ticks in north-western Nigeria. The presence of zoonotic R. aeschlimannii emphasizes the need for a concerted tick control programme in Nigeria.