Garlic Consumption Alters Testicular Histology and Anti-Oxidant Status In Wistar Rats

Garlic is known for its cell and tissue-protective functions. This study examined the effects of  aqueous garlic extract on the histology of the testes of Wistar rats and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Twenty-four (24) rats with an average weight of 116 g were used. They were randomly grouped into three: Group A Control: was given distilled water; Group B: was given 500 mg/kg/d aqueous garlic extract; and Group C: received 1000 mg/kg/d aqueous garlic extract; all for 28 days. Findings revealed progressive depletion in sperm cell population, reduction in size of seminiferous tubules, and widening interstitial space. SOD activity was significantly reduced in both treated groups in a dose-dependent fashion. These histological observations and the depletion in endogenous anti-oxidant status associated with the administration of garlic could result in significant affectation of male reproductive functions. Keywords: garlic, superoxide dismutase, testis, histolog

Insights into Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in an Urban and a Rural Community in Ghana

The epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus in the community in Ghana was never investigated prior to this study. The aims of the study were: i) to assess prevalence of nasal S. aureus carriage in Ghanaian people living in an urban and a rural area, and ii) to identify phenotypic and genotypic traits of strains isolated from the two communities. Nasal swabs were collected from healthy individuals living in an urban community situated in the suburb of the capital city, Accra (n = 353) and in a rural community situated in the Dangme-West district (n = 234). The overall prevalence of nasal carriage was 21% with a significantly higher prevalence in the urban (28%) than in the rural community (11%) (p<0.0001). The levels of antimicrobial resistance were generally low (<5%) except for penicillin (91%) and tetracycline (25%). The only two (0.3%) MRSA carriers were individuals living in the urban area and had been exposed to hospitals within the last 12 months prior to sampling. Resistance to tetracycline (p = 0.0009) and presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene (p = 0.02) were significantly higher among isolates from the rural community compared to isolates from the urban community. Eleven MLST clonal complexes (CC) were detected based on spa typing of the 124 S. aureus isolates from the two communities: CC8 (n = 36), CC152 (n = 21), CC45 (n = 21), CC15 (n = 18), CC121 (n = 6), CC97 (n = 6), CC30 (n = 5), CC5 (n = 5), CC508 (n = 4), CC9 (n = 1), and CC707 (n = 1). CC8 and CC45 were less frequent in the rural area than in the urban area (p = 0.02). These results reveal remarkable differences regarding carriage prevalence, tetracycline resistance, PVL content and clonal distribution of S. aureus in the two study populations. Future research may be required to establish whether such differences in nasal S. aureus carriage are linked to socio-economic differences between urban and rural communities in this African country

Response of belowground communities to short-term phosphorus addition in a phosphorus-limited woodland

Aims: Soil biota regulate essential ecosystem processes but our understanding of how soil fertility constrains biotic interactions remains limited. We investigated belowground responses to short-term phosphorus (P) fertilization in a P-limited woodland. Methods: Ten Eucalyptus tereticornis were randomly selected and five fertilized with superphosphate equivalent to 50 kg P ha−1 over 6 months. We estimated aboveground (understory) and belowground plant biomass, and collected samples for soil chemistry, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) root colonization, soil fungal abundance and community composition, and extraction of nematodes and microarthropods. Results: P-fertilization increased root biomass, abundance of non-AM fungi, and abundances of Collembola, and altered fungal community structure, but was associated with a decrease in predatory nematodes. Structural equation modelling indicated that effects on Collembola and fungal abundances were mediated by direct effects of the fertilizer treatment and/or indirect effects via root biomass responses. However, fungal community compositional changes and reductions in predatory nematodes resulted primarily due to fertilization-mediated changes in soil pH. Conclusion: Our study shows that understory plant communities and soil biota are P-limited at the study site but that some biotic groups appear to be more sensitive to changes in soil pH than to increases in P availability