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Introduction:the most recently discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) that causes COVID-19, subjected the entire world in turmoil health-wise and economically. With higher burden of malaria in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries coupled with fragile healthcare system and delivery, these may pose a threat in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 patients co-infected with malaria. Free radicals have been implicated in the progression and pathogenesis of malaria and COVID-19 through Fenton’s reaction and cytokine storm respectively. Methods:the current research comprises of seventy-four (74) participants; 20 apparently healthy controls and 54 COVID-19 patients (34 among which were co-infected with malaria). Serum levels of 8-iso PGF2α and Alphatocopherol were determined among the study participants using ELISA technique and colorimetric assay, respectively. Results:results revealed statistically significant elevation of 8-iso PGF2α in COVID-19 patients co-infected with malaria compared to COVID-19 patients only, and this may be due to increase production of free radicals. Furthermore, a significant decrease of Alphatocopherol was observed in COVID-19 co-infected with malaria compared to COVID-19 patients due to increase utilization of antioxidants in counterbalancing the negative effect of free radicals generated. Conclusion:conclusively, SARS-COV-2 patients co-infected with malaria might be predisposed to oxidative stress and low Alphatocopherol. The increase in oxidative stress is proportional to malaria parasite density and inversely related to Alphatocopherol levels. This implies that oxidative stress is notably higher and such patients may have a severer form of the COVID-19. Increased 8-iso-PGF2α in co-infection and decreased alphatocopherol levels can reflect the severity and adverse outcomes compared to COVID-19 naïve because of their tremendous involvement in the pathogenesis and progression of diseases.

The increase in multidrug resistance malaria cases necessitates the need to search for new cost effective drugs. QSAR and molecular docking studies were performed on a data set of forty nine Pyrrolones antimalarial agents against Plasmodium falciparum. Forty two molecules were used as training set and seven as test set. The molecular descriptors were obtained by Density Functional Theory (DFT) (B3LYP/6-31G**) level of calculation. The QSAR model was built using Genetic Function Algorithm (GFA) method. The model with the best statistical significance (N = 42, R2ext = 0.700, R2 = 0.933, R2a = 0.916, Q2cv = 0.894, LOF = 0.417, Min expt. error for non-significant LOF (95%) = 0.250 was selected. The docking experiment was carried out using AutoDock Vina of PyRx and Discovery Studio Visualizer. Docking analysis revealed that three of the studied compounds with binding affinity values of -10.7 kcal/mol, -10.9 kcal/mol and -11.1 kcal/mol possess higher potency than standard antimalarial drugs with binding affinity of values of -8.8 kcal/mol, -9.5 kcal/mol and -9.0 kcal/mol. It is envisioned that the wealth of information provided by the QSAR and molecular docking results in this study will offer important structural insights for further laboratory experiments in the future design of novel and highly potent antimalarial from Pyrrolones.

The kaolin sample from Alkaleri in Bauchi State was analyzed to ascertain its metal and metal oxides content and to investigate their potential use for industrial purposes. Neutron activation analysis technique was used for the metals while the turbimetric and Molybdenum Blue methods were used to determine the sulphates and phosphates respectively. The result showed that the Alkaleri kaolin with Fe (1.3 x 10-3%), K2O(0.53%), Na2O( 0.018%), TiO2 (4.6x10-4%), meets the specification for paper, ceramics, rubber, porcelain, pharmaceutics, cosmetics and glaze production but its alumina content is slightly below the minimum requirement for these uses except for rubber for which the content is within the specified value and for tiles for which the value is slightly above the specification. The combination of sulphate and phosphate contents which are 4.71% and 2.18ppm respectively could increase their absorbing property and makes them more useful for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. The pH value of the kaolin was found to be 4.3 which makes it unsuitable for most industrial purposes, e.g. rubber and plastic production, the pH need to be increased to 5-7 range (the preferred value for most industrial uses). The nitrate and chloride contents indicated values of 18ppm and 0.3ppm respectively.