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The antisickling
effects of two indigenous spices Xylopia aethiopica and
Monodora myristica were investigated. Two hundred grams (200g) of
each powdered sample was divided into two equal parts. One part was used
for crude aqueous extraction (CAE) and the other, for Batch process
extraction, with chloroform, methanol, butanol, and water to yield; the
fat-soluble (FAS), butanol-soluble (BUS) and water-soluble extracts
(WAS) respectively. The FAS, BUS, CAE and WAS fractions exhibited
profound antisickling effectiveness by inhibiting HbSS polymerization to
varying degrees from 70% for FAS to 90% for CAEs in fifteen (15) min.
The CAE and WAS fractions were equally able to improve Fe2+/Fe3+
ratio for CAEs and 13 - 100% for WAS fractions respectively. These
fractions also reversed already sickled erythrocytes, with the WAS
fractions having less time than the CAE fractions. Thin layer
chromatographic (TLC) analysis showed that the extracts generally
contain some antisickling amino acids such as Arg. Tyr and Asp at
varying concentrations. The total free amino acid concentrations of the
samples revealed high concentrations of such, with the CAE fractions of
X. aethiopica and M. myristica having concentrations of
1028 and 1680mg/100g of samples respectively. Results suggest that these
spices when used in combination with other nutritious regimen like
fruits, fish and legumes, may be a promising option for the effective
management of sickle cell disease and a gamut of its pathophysiological
complications.
Key words:
Xylopia aethiopica, Monodora myristica, sickle cell disease, Fe2+/Fe3+
ratio polymerization. |
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