Browsing by Author "Bakari, G. G"
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Item Effect of resin from Commiphora swynnertonii on white blood cell and selected haematopoietic organs in albino mice (Mus musculus)(2017) Bakari, G. G; Ceaser, G; Max, R. A; Mbasa, G. KCommiphora swynnertonii is among the most commonly used medicinal plants by pastoralist communities especially in northern regions of Tanzania. The effect of resin from this plant on white blood cells (WBC) and haematopoietic organs was studied using albino mice. Sixty adult mice were randomly assigned into four groups (n = 15). G1 acted as control whereas G2, G3 and G4 received oral doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg resin per kg body weight, respectively for 35 days consecutively. Blood samples for differential and total WBC count were collected before treatment and on days 7, 14, 28 and 35 after treatment. Also, three mice from each group were humanely sacrificed before treatment, on day 14 and 35 after treatment. Sternum, liver and spleen samples from sacrificed mice were collected for assessment of any effects of the resin on haematopoietic organs. Results showed that mice in G2 and G4 had a significant increase (P < 0.05) in total WBC counts by day 7 as compared to the control group. This trend was then followed by a gradual decrease towards end of the experiment. No significant changes in total WBC counts were observed in G3 following treatment. The effect of C. swynnertonii resin on differential WBC count was non-specific and insignificant; G1 and G2 mice had their lymphocyte and monocyte counts slightly increasing with time while that of G3 and G4 decreased slightly or remained unchanged. Neutrophils counts decreased significantly in G1 and G2, but there were no significant changes for G3 and G4. Changes in the haematopoietic tissues following exposure to the resin included increased cellularity of sternal bone marrow as compared to spaces occupied by adipocytes. In particular, there were different developmental stages of granulocytes, erythroblasts and all megakaryocytic series. Small patches of erythropoietic series and lymphoblastic cells were observed in the liver and spleen respectively of the mice that received resin. It is concluded that oral administration of C. swynnertonii resin to mice caused a significant but transient increase in total white cell counts as a short- term effect. Prolonged exposure to the resin was associated with changes in the haematopoietic system such as increased cellularity of bone marrow and erythropoietic patches in liver and spleen.Item Effects of Commiphora swynnertonii on weight and plasma cholesterol levels in Rattus rattus(2016-09) Mdegela, R. H; Bakari, G. G; Simon, S; Mosha, T. E. CExperimental studies that aimed to determine the effects of crude aqueous resin extracts of the Commiphora swynnertonii on plasma cholesterol levels and weight changes were carried out in rats (Rattus rattus). A total of 24 experimental rats divided into four groups with equal sample size (n=6) were used. Group one (G1) served as negative control that received 0.5ml of distilled water (0 mg/kg) orally. Groups 2 (G2), 3 (G3) and 4 (G4) received 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight orally on daily basis for 21 days respectively. Results revealed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the body weight and on cholestrol levels between the treated and the control groups in a dose dependent manner (R 2 = 0.89). Commiphora swynnertonii resin lowered cholesterol level by 54, 76 and 79% and weight changes by 18, 31 and 23% for the exposed rats at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg BW respectively. The rats were able to tolerate resin at concentrations lower than 100 mg/kg BW. At higher (>100 mg/kg) doses, few rats showed signs of illness including diarrhoea and finally death. Based on these results, C. swynnertonii has a potential to serve as an anti-cholesterol agent with body weight lowering properties.Item Seroprevalence of canine leptospirosis, in urban and periurban, Morogoro, Tanzania(Academic Journals, 2018-04-23) Said, K; Bakari, G. G; Machang’u, R; Katakweba, A. S; Muhairwa, A. PA cross-sectional study was carried out in the Morogoro region, Tanzania, to determine the seroprevalence of canine Leptospira exposure. A total of 232 sera were collected from apparently healthy dogs in Mvomero, Morogoro Urban and Morogoro Rural districts. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed following standard procedure using panel of six Leptospira serovars. Within the districts, positive reactions against five serovars were detected: Sokoine (4.3%); Pomona (4.3%); Lora (3.0%); Grippotyphosa (2.2%), and Kenya (0.9%). The overall seroprevalence was found to be 9.5%. Male dogs were at significantly greater risk than the female dogs (p < 0.05); but no significant difference in prevalence was observed with respect to age and breed (p>0.05). The growing urbanization, which allows high interaction between different maintenance hosts, may cause infection spill over and consequently a rising prevalence. The presence of Leptospira antibodies suggests that leptospirosis is common in this study area. Therefore, further serological surveys followed by isolation and identification of isolates in this study area and other areas of the country need to be undertaken to report infective serovars in canine population.