Petroleum ether

The main objective of this review is to describe the health effects of commonly used laboratory volatile solvents in institutional laboratories. The most commonly used laboratory solvents such as petroleum ether, methanol, diethyl ether, benzene, acetone, mercury, etc. are having moderate to severe health effects on user. The mode of exposure and duration exposure of volatile solvents has greater effect on user. In a laboratory, when students/ researcher doing experiment unknowingly they are getting exposed with volatile solvents which has grater health (adverse) effect. The severity of the adverse effect varies based on type of exposure and duration exposure. The undesired effects of laboratory volatile solvents are sometime irreversible and may cause life-threatening problems.
Keywords: Toxin, petroleum ether, methanol, diethyl ether, benzene, acetone, mercury.

Globimetula braunii is a parasitic plant (mistletoe)
used to treat diabetes and hypertension by Nupe speaking people
of Niger Sate, Nigeria.Extracts of petroleum ether and n-hexane
showedthe presence of steroids, terpenes,and phenols.Rats of
both sexes, weighing (135-244)g were randomly allotted to five
groups of four rats each. Rats in group one (control) were the
normoglycaemic (administered 10 ml distilled water daily),while
those in groups two, three, four, and five were rendered diabetic
by the administration of 100mg/kg bodyweight of alloxan
monohydrate.

Background: Extracts of Curcuma longa rhizome extracts were investigated for their biological activity.
Methodology: The presence of phytochemicals and antitrypanosomal activities were investigated.
Results: The extracts contained the phytochemicals (Alkaloid, Anthraquinone, Carbohydrates, Cardiac Glycosides, Flavonoid, Glycosides, Phenols, Saponin, Steroid, Tannin and Triterpenes) in table 1 and 2. The extracts showed very good activity against the parasite
from figure 1, 2 and 3.
Discussion: The presence of the phytochemical confirms their medicinal potentials. The crude extracts of Curcuma longa were analyzed in vitro for trypanocide activity on Trypanosoma brucei brucei at concentration 100.0 mg/ml, 50.0 mg/ml, 25 mg/ml, 12.5 mg/
ml and 6.25 mg/ml. The best activity was seen in Petroleum ether extract, followed by the ethanol extract, then Chloroform which
was still impressive.
Conclusion: The results obtained from this study show that the turmeric contains potential antimicrobial components which will be
of great use for the advancement of remedies by pharmaceutical industries as a therapy against various diseases.
Keywords: Curcuma longa; Petroleum Ether; Chloroform; Ethanol; Antitrypanosomal Activity; Trypanosoma brucei brucei