The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites among HIV-positive/AIDS patients. A control group comprising 30 apparently healthy HIV-negative individuals was included. Of the 60 samples collected from the patients and examined, 34 (56.7%) presented with diarrhoea, while 26 (43.3%) had no reported cases of diarrhoea at the time of study. Seventeen (50%) of the parasites detected in the 34 patients (those with history of diarrhoea) were diarrhoea-related causative agents. However, 17 (50%) of the parasites detected were not diarrhoea-related causative agents. In relation to diarrhoea, Cryptosporidium parvum had the highest prevalence (10%), followed by Giardia intestinalis (8.3%), Entamoeba histolytica (6.7%), Isospora belli (3.3%) and Blastocystis hominis (3.3%) in that order. This study showed a significant prevalence (P<0.05) of intestinal parasites in HIV-positive/AIDS patient. Also, the prevalence of intestinal parasites was higher (P<0.05) in HIV-positive/AIDS patients than in HIV-negative subjects. Although the study is limited in scope, however, it does reflect the importance of evaluating the prevalence of intestinal parasites in HIV-positive/AIDS patients especially at the local level where antiretroviral therapy is not available. The results of this study thus provide vital information for health professionals who are managing these patients. This could lead to improvement in patients' management and care.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic condition that can lead to significant complications and a high fatality rate worldwide. Efforts are ramping up to find and develop novel α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors that are both effective and potentially safe. Traditional methodologies are being replaced with new techniques that are less complicated and less time demanding; yet, both the experimental and computational strategies are viable and complementary in drug discovery and development. As a result, this study was conducted to investigate the in vitro anti-diabetic potential of aqueous acetone Helichrysum petiolare and B.L Burtt extract (AAHPE) using a 2-NBDG, 2-(N-(7-Nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino)-2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake assay. In addition, we performed molecular docking of the flavonoid constituents identified and quantified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) from AAHPE with the potential to serve as effective and safe α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors, which are important in drug discovery and development. The results showed that AAHPE is a potential inhibitor of both α-amylase and α-glucosidase, with IC50 values of 46.50 ± 6.17 (µg/mL) and 37.81 ± 5.15 (µg/mL), respectively. This is demonstrated by a significant increase in the glucose uptake activity percentage in a concentration-dependent manner compared to the control, with the highest AAHPE concentration of 75 µg/mL of glucose uptake activity being higher than metformin, a standard anti-diabetic drug, in the insulin-resistant HepG2 cell line. The molecular docking results displayed that the constituents strongly bind α-amylase and α-glucosidase while achieving better binding affinities that ranged from ΔG = -7.2 to -9.6 kcal/mol (compared with acarbose ΔG = -6.1 kcal/mol) for α-amylase, and ΔG = -7.3 to -9.0 kcal/mol (compared with acarbose ΔG = -6.3 kcal/mol) for α-glucosidase. This study revealed the potential use of the H. petiolare plant extract and its phytochemicals, which could be explored to develop potent and safe α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors to treat postprandial glycemic levels in diabetic patients.