Papers by fasakin olamide
Drug addiction is a relapsing and chronic brain ailment that is accompanied by habitual, incontro... more Drug addiction is a relapsing and chronic brain ailment that is accompanied by habitual, incontrollable and pathological pattern of substance seeking and usage despite the associated severe negative social and health consequences. This study evaluated the addictive and neurotoxicological evaluation of Cannabis sativa, male Carica papaya, Nicotiana tabacum and Datura stramonium alkaloid extracts via neuroinflammatory, neurotransmitter and oxidative systems. For 90 days, the alkaloid extracts were orally administered to experimental rats and neurobehavioral paradigms were evaluated on day 91. Rats were sacrificed and striatum homogenate prepared. Expression of addition and neurotoxicity-related genes, alongside biochemical neurotransmitter and cytokine metabolisms were evaluated. Result established the addictive and neurotoxicological potentials of the alkaloid extracts via behavioural paradigms, coupled with inflammatory, monoaminergic, apoptotic, cholinergic, oxidative and glutamate...
Journal of Neuroscience and Behavioural Health, Dec 31, 2017
Journal of Food Biochemistry
Comparative Clinical Pathology
Cannabis sativa, Datura stramonium, Nicotiana tabacum, and Carica papaya are plants that naturall... more Cannabis sativa, Datura stramonium, Nicotiana tabacum, and Carica papaya are plants that naturally grow in Nigeria. They are reportedly rich in neuroactive compounds that are capable of reacting with the nervous system to elicit psychoactive and/or toxic effects that deter predators. However, despite the toxicological potential of these plants, their recreational use is on the rise due to the psychoactivity they proffer and prevalence in Nigeria. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the plants' recreational use, mechanism of actions and toxicities. Relevant published documents on psychoactive plants in Nigeria were obtained from Web of Science between 2002 and 2020. Non-English documents, documents not in Science Citation Index Expanded and Google Scholar were removed while 1186 documents were reviewed. Results showed that the plants are recreationally used in Nigeria with a higher prevalence than the global frequency. They are very addictive and lead to dependence. The plants were also observed to elicit different mechanism of action, though the activation of monoaminergic neurotransmission system was common to all. Regrettably, the plants could be toxic when ingested under non-medical conditions. Conclusively, these plants are addictive with potential toxic effects. Therefore, control of the recreational use of these plants should be revamped and overhauled.
Journal of Food Biochemistry
Natural plants which are effective in Alzheimer's disease (AD) management are of pharmacologi... more Natural plants which are effective in Alzheimer's disease (AD) management are of pharmacological importance, though there is little or no scientific proof for most of their claims. This study sought to evaluate the effect of Hog plum (Spondias mombin) and Ogbo (Parquetina nigrescens) leaves extracts on antioxidant levels and activities of key enzymes linked to cognitive function in scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunctioned rats. Rats were pretreated with S. mombin (SM) and P. nigrescens (PN) leaves extracts (50 and 100 mg/kg), donepezil (5 mg/kg) for 2 weeks via oral administration before induction of memory impairment via single i.p. administration of scopolamine (3 mg/kg body weight). Experimental rats were subjected to behavioral tests to check for cognitive performance before experiment termination. The activities of hippocampal key enzymes linked to cognitive function were determined. Results showed that pretreatment with SM and PN prevented the cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine. Furthermore, increased cholinesterases, adenosine deaminase (ADA), ATP hydrolysis, monoamine oxidase (MAO), and arginase activities induced by scopolamine were significantly reduced in rats treated with SM and PN leaves extract. Additionally, elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels observed in scopolamine-induced rats were reduced significantly in SM- and PN- pretreated rats. Decreased AMP hydrolysis, and nitric oxide and antioxidant level induced by scopolamine were prevented in pretreated rats. This study concluded that SM and PN leave extract effectiveness in cognitive management may be due to their high antioxidant activities and neuromodulatory effects on key enzymes linked to AD. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The use of natural products in the treatment and management of neurodegenerative diseases in Africa is becoming pertinent as the continent is blessed with medicinal plants while the price of synthetic drugs has been observed to be an economic burden on the continent. Parquetina nigrescens and Spondias mombin are examples of such medicinal plants that have been explored in folklore for the management of neurodegenerative diseases but there is a dearth of scientific validation for their use while there is no present data to evaluate possible mechanisms of action employed by these medicinal plants to mediate the therapeutic potential observed in folklore. Therefore, the present study seeks to validate the therapeutic use of P. nigrescens and S. mombin as observed in folklore as well as explore the possible mechanism of actions the plants may employ in mediating the proposed therapeutic potentials in neurodegenerative disease conditions while considering its toxicological effects in experimental animals.
Journal of Food Biochemistry
Comparative Clinical Pathology, 2021
Nicotiana tabacum, Datura stramonium, and Carica papaya are plants that are on the high trend as ... more Nicotiana tabacum, Datura stramonium, and Carica papaya are plants that are on the high trend as substitutes to conventional psychoactive substances due to their legality and the difference in the experiences they offer. The present study was aimed at comparing the neuromodulatory and toxicological potentials of the afore-named plants to an illicit psychoactive plant, Cannabis sativa. Consequently, the effects of the alkaloid extract of the plants were evaluated on critical neuronal enzymes of the monoaminergic, cholinergic, and purinergic (sodium/potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na+/K+-ATPase), ecto-5’-nucleotidase [eNTDase], and ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase [E-NTPDase]) systems of neurotransmission, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and lipid peroxidation in rat brain tissue homogenate ex vivo. Plants’ alkaloids were prepared by solvent extraction method. Results revealed that the extracts inhibited the enzymes in a concentration-dependent manner. However, C. sativa had the highest inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO), eNTDase, and E-NTPDase activities, while D. stramonium had the highest cholinesterase and Na+/K+-ATPase activity inhibition, and ROS production and lipid peroxidation. In conclusion, D. stramonium altered critical neuronal enzymes significantly more than the illicit plant of abuse, while Nicotiana tabacum showed no significant difference in comparison to C. sativa. Therefore, the use of these plants as drugs should be discouraged.
Comparative Clinical Pathology
Datura stramonium and Nicotiana tabacum are plant-based psychoactive substances commonly employed... more Datura stramonium and Nicotiana tabacum are plant-based psychoactive substances commonly employed as alternatives to the illicit plant, Cannabis sativa, during aphrodisiac concoction preparation. The present study compared the effect of illicit (Cannabis sativa) and licit (Nicotiana tabacum and Datura stramonium) psychoactive substances on sexual behavior and several biochemical parameters in the penile tissue of male rats. Alkaloid extracts were orally administered in doses of 5, 50, 500, and 2000 mg/kg bwt for 90 days. On day 90, behavioral studies were carried out, rats were sacrificed, penile tissues removed, and tissue homogenate prepared. Penile tissue homogenates were assayed for phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5), arginase, acetylcholinesterase, angiotensin-1 converting enzyme (ACE) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, nitric oxide (NO), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Findings showed that alkaloid extracts of Datura stramonium reduced the mounting and intromission number, depleted the level of NO, increased the activities of PDE-5, arginase, ACE, and reduced AChE activities, while Datura stramonium and Nicotiana tabacum alkaloids increased ROS levels and inhibited the activity of LDH. In conclusion, the use of N. tabacum as an alternative to C. sativa during aphrodisiac concoction preparation may be justified while D. stramonium inclusion may not be to mediate aphrodisiac effects.
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Papers by fasakin olamide