Browsing by Author "Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, Kingsley C."

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    Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals and Potential Health Risk through Consumption of Seafoods from Selected Creeks in Rivers State, Nigeria
    (Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 2020-12-29) Orajiaka-Uchegbu, Chizoba; Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, Kingsley C.; Ogbo, Ahiakwo B.
    Excessive oil exploration, pipeline destruction, agricultural activities, and other man-made activities including aerosol sedimentation elevate the levels of heavy metals in the surroundings that leach into the creeks. The seafoods bioaccumulates these metals often times within their body system. This work aimed at using seafood samples, Scylla serrata (crab) Clarias gariepinus (catfish), Oreochromis niloticus (tilapia fish), and Physella acuta (snail) as a bioindicator of heavy metal contamination from Ahoada, Omoku, Ndoni, and Choba creeks in Nigeria. The levels of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Arsenic (As), and Zinc (Zn) were determined in the seafood samples collectedfrom the study creeks during September 2019. Forty-eight (48) samples comprising of S. serrata, C. gariepinus, O. niloticus, and P. acuta were digested and examined for heavy metal concentrations using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The levels of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, As and Zn ranged between 0.310 ± 0.008 to 5.312 ± 0.009 mg/kg; 0.008 ± 0.004 to 1.310 ± 0.010 mg/kg; 2.082 ± 0.012 to 9.013 ± 0.010 mg/kg; 3.014 ± 0.010 to 13.526 ± 0.006 mg/kg; 0.007 ± 0.005 to 0.182 ± 0.005; and 2.015 ± 0.008 to 8.135 ± 0.007 mg/kg respectively. The obtained results were employed in assessing the noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk in human due to the consumption of the mentioned species. The concentrations of trace elements reported in tissue samples were within the known background levels. However, alarming concentrations were found for Pb, Cd, and Cr that recorded higher values than the safe levels according to the FAO/WHO, and USEPA. The present results revealed that the ingestion of tested species is safe and free from non-carcinogenic risks. However, there is a carcinogenic risk may be emerging due to the steady ingestion of Cr via these aqua forms by the populace.
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    Emerging pollutants in Nigeria: A systematic review
    (Egbuna C, Amadi CN, Patrick-Iwuanyanwu KC, Ezzat SM, Awuchi CG, Ugonwa PO, Orisakwe OE. Emerging pollutants in Nigeria: A systematic review. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2021 Jul;85:103638. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2021.103638. Epub 2021 Mar 20. PMID: 33757839., 2021-07) Egbuna, Chukwuebuka; Amadi, Cecilia N.; Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, Kingsley C.
    Emerging pollutants represent a group of synthetic or naturally occurring compounds that are not normally monitored within the environment but can enter into the environment and cause different adverse ecological and health effects. This systematic review identified the various emerging pollutants in Nigeria. The following databases, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and African Journals OnLine (AJOL) were searched to identify studies on pollutants of emerging concerns in Nigeria. A total of 933 articles were identified out of which 30 articles were selected to be eligible for the study. Over 250 emerging pollutants were identified and divided into 9 major groups which are personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, mycotoxins, radionuclides and electromagnetic radiations (Gamma radiation) and other pollutants of emerging concerns such as microbes, microplastics, and particulate matter. These pollutants are found in water bodies and underground waters, soils and sediments, biological systems, and ambient air at different concentrations with seasonal variations. Some of these pollutants act as endocrine disruptors, β-adrenergic receptors agonist blockers, oxidative stress inducers and can cause genetic alterations in DNA and epigenetic reprogramming through global DNA methylation, gene-specific CpG methylation and microRNA expression. Emerging pollutants of public health concern in Nigeria are on the increase and are threat to both ecological and human health.
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    FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) inhibitors with better binding affinity and ADMET properties than sorafenib and gilteritinib against acute myeloid leukemia: in silico studies
    (Taylor and Francis, 2021-09-06) Egbuna, Chukwuebuka; Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, Kingsley C.; Onyeike, Eugene N.
    Over 30–35% of patients down with AML are caused by mutations of FLT3-ITD and FLT3-TKD which keeps the protein activated while it activates other signaling proteins downstream that are involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. As drug targets, many inhibitors are already in clinical practice. Unfortunately, the average overall survival rate for patients on medication suffering from AML is 5 years despite the huge efforts in this field. To perform docking simulation and ADMET studies on selected phytochemicals against FLT3 protein receptor for drug discovery against FLT3 induced AML, molecular docking simulation was performed using human FLT3 protein target (PDB ID: 6JQR) and 313 phytochemicals with standard anticancer drugs (Sorafenib and Gilteritinib in addition to other anticancer drugs). The crystal structure of the protein was downloaded from the protein data bank and prepared using Biovia Discovery Studio. The chemical structures of the phytochemicals were downloaded from the NCBI PubChem database and prepared using Open Babel and VConf softwares. Molecular docking was performed using PyRx on Autodock Vina. The ADMET properties of the bestperforming compounds were calculated using SwissADME and pkCMS web servers. The results obtained showed that glabridin, ellipticine and derivatives (elliptinium and 9-methoxyellipticine),mezerein, ursolic acid, formononetin, cycloartocarpesin, hypericin, silymarin, and indirubin are the best performing compounds better than sorafenib and gilteritinib based on their binding affinities. The top-performing compounds which had better binding and ADMET properties than sorafenib and gilteritinib could serve as scaffolds or leads for new drug discovery against FLT3 induced AM
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    Plant-Derived Food Grade Substances (PDFGS) Active Against Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review of Non-clinical Studies
    (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2021-01-09) Umeoguaju, Francis U.; Ephraim-Emmanuel, Benson C.; Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, Kingsley C.
    Human diet comprises several classes of phytochemicals some of which are potentially active against human pathogenic viruses. This study examined available evidence that identifies existing food plants or constituents of edible foods that have been reported to inhibit viral pathogenesis of the human respiratory tract. SCOPUS and PUBMED databases were searched with keywords designed to retrieve articles that investigated the effect of plant-derived food grade substances (PDFGS) on the activities of human pathogenic viruses. Eligible studies for this review were those done on viruses that infect the human respiratory tract. Forty six (46) studies met the specified inclusion criteria from the initial 5,734 hits. The selected studies investigated the effects of different PDFGS on the infectivity, proliferation and cytotoxicity of different respiratory viruses including influenza A virus (IAV), influenza B virus (IBV), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human parainfluenza virus (hPIV), Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63), and rhinovirus (RV) in cell lines and mouse models. This review reveals that PDFGS inhibits different stages of the pathological pathways of respiratory viruses including cell entry, replication, viral release and viral-induced dysregulation of cellular homeostasis and functions. These alterations eventually lead to the reduction of virus titer, viral-induced cellular damages and improved survival of host cells. Major food constituents active against respiratory viruses include flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, lectins, vitamin D, curcumin, and plant glycosides such as glycyrrhizin, acteoside, geniposide, and iridoid glycosides. Herbal teas such as guava tea, green and black tea, adlay tea, cistanche tea, kuding tea, licorice extracts, and edible bird nest extracts were also effective against respiratory viruses in vitro. The authors of this review recommend an increased consumption of foods rich in these PDFGS including legumes, fruits (e.g berries, citrus), tea, fatty fish and curcumin amongst human populations with high prevalence of respiratory viral infections in order to prevent, manage and/or reduce the severity of respiratory virus infections.