Michael Okpara University of Agriculture

  Alkaloids, tannins, saponins, steroid, terpenoid, flavonoids, phlobatannin and cardic glycoside distribution in ten medicinal plants belonging to different families were assessed and compared. The medicinal plants investigated were Cleome nutidosperma, Emilia coccinea, Euphorbia heterophylla, Physalis angulata, Richardia bransitensis, Scopania dulcis, Sida acuta, Spigelia anthelmia, Stachytarpheta cayennensis and Tridax procumbens. All the plants were found to contain alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids except for the absence of tannins in S. acuta and flavonoids in S. cayennsis  respectively. The significance of the plants in traditional medicine and the importance of the distribution of these chemical constituents were discussed with respect to the role of these plants in ethnomedicine in Nigeria.   Key words: Medicinal plants, ethnomedicine, phytochemical constituents.

Streptozotocin (STZ) (2-deoxy-2-({[methyl(nitroso)amino]carbonyl}amino)-β-D-glucopyranose) is a naturally occurring diabetogenic compound, produced by the soil bacterium streptomyces achromogenes, that exhibits broad spectrum of antibacterial properties. Streptozotocin functions as a DNA synthesis inhibitor in both bacterial and mammalian cells. In mammalian cells, the actual mechanism and metabolic targets of STZ toxicity that results in cell death is not known. This review identifies four key areas that explain the mechanism of the cytotoxicity of STZ in mammalian cell lines, investigates the practical aspects of using STZ in experimental animals and the potential risks of its exposure to human health.

The search for alternative energy and fuels has motivated researchers to focus on renewable and sustainable means of getting them instead of relying on the conventional way of energy and fuel production. Anaerobic digestion is a biochemical process during which complex organic matter is decomposed in absence of oxygen, by various types of anaerobic microorganisms. The process of Anaerobic digestion is appropriate for all waste water treatment systems given that the solid can be introduced to the system at an acceptable concentration. Biogas, the product of anaerobic digestion process is a clean and renewable form of energy which can be a substitute for conventional sources of energy which are causing ecological-environmental problems and at the same time depleting at a faster rate. This paper reviews the anaerobic digestion process and its complexities; it covers different stages involved in the process, the substrate used in the process, the relationship between the substrate and microorganisms and important operating parameters such as pH, temperature and loading rate.

Soil temperature varies seasonally and daily which may result from changes in radiant energy and energy changes taking place through the soil surface. It governs the soil physiochemical and biological processes and also influences the interspheric processes of gas exchange between the atmosphere and the soil. Environmental factors affect soil temperature by either controlling the amount of heat supplied to the soil surface and the amount of heat dissipated from the soil surface down the profile. Soil temperature alters the rate of organic matter decomposition and mineralization of different organic materials. It also affects soil water content, its conductivity and availability to plants. The paper introduced soil temperature as a major determinant of the processes that takes place in the soil which are necessary for plant growth.

Freshwater is essential for irrigation and the supply of nutrients for plant growth, in order to compensate for the inadequacies of rainfall. Agricultural activities utilize around 70% of the available freshwater. This underscores the importance of responsible management, using smart agricultural water technologies. The focus of this paper is to investigate research regarding the integration of different machine learning models that can provide optimal irrigation decision management. This article reviews the research trend and applicability of machine learning techniques, as well as the deployment of developed machine learning models for use by farmers toward sustainable irrigation management. It further discusses how digital farming solutions, such as mobile and web frameworks, can enable the management of smart irrigation processes, with the aim of reducing the stress faced by farmers and researchers due to the opportunity for remote monitoring and control. The challenges, as well as the future direction of research, are also discussed.

In spite of the constant innovative approaches adopted by teachers in western world, traditional approaches to teaching and assessments in Nigeria tertiary institutions have constantly been practiced. Most institutions are not able to fully utilize e-learning or get full advantages of it. This failure has hindered most teachers in using innovative teaching methodologies in delivering their lectures, and undertake rigorous research works. The study examines adoption and utilisation of e-learning facilities by lecturers in Nigerian private tertiary institution. The study adopted qualitative approach to investigate the adoption and utilisation of e-learning facilities by lecturers in a Nigerian private tertiary institution using 15 semi- structured interviews from the academic staff of M-University. Raw data gathered were analysed using data driven thematic approach (a similar approach to grounded theory).The findings reveal that M-University’s e-learning facilities are adequate and accessible to users, and most teachers are comfortable with utilisation of various facilities during classes compared to most public tertiary institutions although, the utilisation has not been maximised. However, attitude of users, inadequate internet facility, inadequate training of users affect the successful adoption. The study recommends that e-learning facilities should be constantly upgraded, and that M-University should train their staff continuously to meet the constant advancements of the e-Learning facilities in order to maximize usage.

FARO 44 rice, brown cowpea and African yam bean seeds were processed into flours and their proximate, functional and pasting properties were assessed. Functional properties—loose bulk density, packed bulk density, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, emulsion capacity, foam capacity, gelation capacity and swelling index ranged from 0.63 to 0.69 g/ml, 0.84 to 1.00 g/ml, 0.63 to 1.32%, 0.46 to 1.48%, 42.50 to 56.78%, 10.40 to 18.17%, 50.93 to 57.90°C and 0.45 to 0.67, respectively. Proximate and amylose composition ranged as follows; Moisture: 8% (75% rice:25% African yam bean) to 14% (100% rice); Protein: 12.86% (100% wheat) to 28.13% (50% rice:50% African yam bean); Fat: 1.64% (100% rice) to 5.79% (100% cowpea); Ash: 1% (100% cowpea, 75% rice:25% African yam bean, 50% rice:50% African yam bean) to 1.97% (25% rice:75% African yam bean); Crude fibre: 0.95% (100% wheat) to 6.27% (100% African yam bean); Carbohydrate: 52.62% (50% rice:50% African yam bean) to 72.58% (100% wheat) and Amylose: 17.13% (100% rice) to 28.07% (100% African yam bean). Pasting properties—peak, trough, breakdown, final, peak time and pasting temperature ranged from 128.50 to 245 RVU, 85.08 to 159.25 RVU, 22.08 to 106.75 RVU, 123.58 to 294.33 RVU, 33.50 to 135.08 RVU, 5.18 to 5.92 min and 79.95 to 84.75°C.

Levels of red cell, serum acid, and alkaline phosphatases, serum amylase, alanine and aspartate transferase and bilirubin were examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats treated with garlic oil and compared with the corresponding levels in diabetic control rats, normal rats and normal rats on garlic oil. Values of tissue amylase and total protein were also assessed from the pancreas, liver, and kidney. Treatment of diabetic rats with garlic oil significantly decreased the red cell phosphatase (p < 0.01), serum acid and alkaline phosphatase (p<0.001) when compared to diabetic control rats. Serum alanine and asparate transferases were significantly (p<0.001) decreased as well as serum amylase (p<0.002) in garlic oil treated diabetic rats as compared with diabetic control rats. When treated with garlic oil, however, diabetic and normal rats showed significant increase (p <0.05) in the amylase levels of the pancrease, liver, and kidney.

The nutritional implication of processed maggot meals, hydrolysed, defatted, full-fat, sun-dried and oven-dried, in the diets of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings were evaluated. The nutrient density, proximate composition, gross energy and mineral constituents of the maggot meals were determined. Five isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets were formulated to provide 40% crude protein in which fish meal in the reference diet was completely replaced by any of the following processed maggot meals: oven-dried full-fat (ODM), sun-dried full-fat (SDM), defatted oven-dried (DODM) and defatted sun-dried (DSDM) maggot meals respectively. Fish were fed ad libitum in triplicate treatments for 56 days in glass tanks. Biological evaluations of the fish were based on growth performance and nutrient utilization indices. The result of the nutrient composition analysis showed that processing methods of defattening and drying influenced the nutrient density of maggot meal, with crude protein content ranging between 43.30% and 46.70% for full-fat sun-dried and hydrolysed/defatted oven-dried maggot meals respectively. The result showed that growth performance and nutrient utilization of fish fed DODM and DSDM dietary inclusions were not significantly different and similar to fish fed the fish meal-based diet. However, fish fed the diet containing SDM exhibited lower daily weight gain, protein efficiency ratio and specific growth. Generally, fish performed better when fed diets containing defatted maggot meals than full-fat maggot meal, and compared favourably with fish fed the fish meal-based diet.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activities of aqueous extract of Schotia latifolia (S. latifolia) bark locally used for the treatment of oxidative stress-induced ailments in South Africa. METHODS: The antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of aqueous extract of the plant was assessed against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and the ferric reducing agent. Total phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols and proanthocyanidins were also determined to assess their corresponding effect on the antioxidant activity of this plant. RESULTS: The activities of plant extract against DPPH, ABTS and NO radicals were concentration dependent with IC50 value of 0.06, 0.05 and 0.05 mg/mL, respectively. The reducing power of the extract was greater than that of butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid which were used as standard drugs in a concentration dependent manner. The total phenolics content of the aqueous bark extract was (193.33±0.03 TE/g), followed by flavonoids (72.70±0.01 QE/g), proanthocyanidins (48.76±0.00 CE/g) and flavonols (47.76±0.21 QE/g). Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of percentage tannin (11.40±0.02), alkaloid (9.80±0.01), steroids (18.20±0.01), glycosides (29.80±0.01) and saponins (6.80±0.00). The results exhibited a positive linear correlation between these polyphenols and the free radical scavenging activities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence that the crude aqueous extract of S. latifolia is a potential source of natural antioxidants and this justifies its uses in folkloric medicines.

Vernonia amygdalina Del, commonly called bitter leaf, is a perennial shrub that belongs to the family Asteraceae and grows throughout tropical Africa. It is probably the most used medicinal plant in the genus Vernonia. Traditional medicine practitioners use the plant as an anti-helminth, anti-malarial, laxative, digestive tonic, appetizer, febrifuge and for the topical treatment of wounds. Scientific research in the last few decades has scrutinized these claims and found that extracts from the plant have numerous phytotherapeutic properties. Extracts from V. amygdalina Del have been shown to have antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal, antiplasmodial etc), anti-cancer/tumor, antioxidant, hypoglycemic/anti-diabetic, oxytocic, hepato- and nephro- protective, serum lipid modulation, and other properties. These properties are believed to be mediated by different phytochemicals found in the plant, acting singly or in concert. This paper critically reviews the present state of scientific knowledge on the medicinal and nutritional potentials of V. amygdalina Del. It concludes that future research must aim at characterizing the active principle(s) responsible for each effect, and determining if they act singly or synergistically with other principles present in the plant.   Key words: Vernonia amygdalina, medicinal uses, nutrient composition.

entering the atmosphere per year while 2.94 to 205.43$ could also be saved at 10-100% rate of usage when compared to diesel fired dryer. The total energy consumption for drying ranges between 5.52 and 35.47 MJ, while the specific energy consumption ranged from 4.3 to 26.2 kWh/kg. The exergy efficiency ranges from 5.6 - 95.13 % during the sunshine hours.

Fermented foods play an important socio–economic role in developing countries as well as making a major contribution to the protein requirements of natural populations. In general, traditional fermented foods are made under primitive conditions, which result in low yield and poor quality. This paper outlines the present status of some indigenous fermented foods and beverages with some information on the microbiology and biochemistry of the fermentations. Among these are ogi, a fermented cereal gruel used as a weaning food, pito and burukutu, alcoholic cereal beverages. Dawadawa from fermented oil seeds is also popular as nutritious non–meat protein foods, while serving as a condiments and flavors in soups. Traditionally, women carry out fermented food processing activities. The production is craft-based despite the dawn of science and technology. The techniques they use are labour intensive, time consuming and have low productivities, with success depending upon observation of good manufacturing practice. Factors contributing to lack of consumer appeal of indigenous manufactured foods will be also considered. In the change from craft to a technology based production system, several strategies should be adopted. These include the use of starter cultures, stabilization of spontaneous fermentations, and production of food processing enzymes. In view of the considerable range of technologies for improving traditional bioprocessing, the challenges and potential application of biotechnology in upgrading these foods will be discussed. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (5), pp. 375-380, 2005

Oxidative stress plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome including diabetes mellitus (DM). The inhibition of alpha-amylase is an important therapeutic target in the regulation of postprandial increase of blood glucose in diabetic patients. The present study investigated the alpha-amylase inhibitory and antioxidant potential of selected herbal drugs used in the treatment of DM by the traditional healers in Isiala Mbano and Ikwuano regions of southeastern Nigeria. Antioxidant activity was evaluated in terms of free radical scavenging, reducing power, and total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) in consonance with the TLC profiling. The results showed that methanol crude extracts from Anacardium occidentale (AO) and Ceiba pentandra (CP) recorded higher TPC and TFC, potent free radical scavenging, and efficient reducing power (RP) as compared with other plant samples. All the plant extracts exhibited a relative alpha-amylase inhibition apart from Strophanthus hispidus (SH) extract with a negative effect. We discovered a mild to weak correlation between alpha-amylase inhibition or antioxidative capacity and the total phenol or flavonoid content. At least in part, the results obtained in this work support the traditional use of certain plant species in the treatment of patients with DM.

The huge amount of healthcare data, coupled with the need for data analysis tools has made data mining interesting research areas. Data mining tools and techniques help to discover and understand hidden patterns in a dataset which may not be possible by mainly visualization of the data. Selecting appropriate clustering method and optimal number of clusters in healthcare data can be confusing and difficult most times. Presently, a large number of clustering algorithms are available for clustering healthcare data, but it is very difficult for people with little knowledge of data mining to choose suitable clustering algorithms. This paper aims to analyze clustering techniques using healthcare dataset, in order to determine suitable algorithms which can bring the optimized group clusters. Performances of two clustering algorithms (Kmeans and DBSCAN) were compared using Silhouette score values. Firstly, we analyzed K-means algorithm using different number of clusters (K) and different distance metrics. Secondly, we analyzed DBSCAN algorithm using different minimum number of points required to form a cluster (minPts) and different distance metrics. The experimental result indicates that both K-means and DBSCAN algorithms have strong intra-cluster cohesion and inter-cluster separation. Based on the analysis, K-means algorithm performed better compare to DBSCAN algorithm in terms of clustering accuracy and execution time.

The corrosion inhibition of mild steel in H 2 SO 4 in the presence of methocarbamol was studied using thermometric and gasometric (hydrogen evolution) methods. The study revealed that the corrosion rate increases with temperature, time and concentration of H 2 SO 4 . Addition of methocarbamol to the corrodent solution lowered the corrosion rate of mild steel. Inhibition efficiency (%I) of methocarbamol was found to increase with concentration and decreased with temperature. Adsorption of methocarbamol molecule on mild steel surface was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The phenomenon of physical adsorption is proposed from the obtained thermodynamic parameters.

Fusarium fungi are common plant pathogens causing several plant diseases. The presence of these molds in plants exposes crops to toxic secondary metabolites called Fusarium mycotoxins. The most studied Fusarium mycotoxins include fumonisins, zearalenone, and trichothecenes. Studies have highlighted the economic impact of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium. These arrays of toxins have been implicated as the causal agents of wide varieties of toxic health effects in humans and animals ranging from acute to chronic. Global surveillance of Fusarium mycotoxins has recorded significant progress in its control; however, little attention has been paid to Fusarium mycotoxins in sub-Saharan Africa, thus translating to limited occurrence data. In addition, legislative regulation is virtually non-existent. The emergence of modified Fusarium mycotoxins, which may contribute to additional toxic effects, worsens an already precarious situation. This review highlights the status of Fusarium mycotoxins in sub-Saharan Africa, the possible food processing mitigation strategies, as well as future perspectives.

Abstract The toxic effects of anionic dyes such as tartrazine and sunset yellow on humans and the aquatic environment are of serious concern. The need for the removal of these dyes from wastewaters led to the use of adsorption techniques as a cheap and efficient treatment method. Thus, this research was based on the preparation of a low-cost activated carbon derived from cassava sievate designated as CS, which was utilized in the adsorption of sunset yellow and tartrazine from simulated wastewater. The sorption process was carried out under varying process factors in a batch mode. Adsorbent characterization displayed the presence of surface functional groups by the FT-IR and a porous structure as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Optimum dye uptake was recorded at pH (1.0–2.0), temperature (30–40 °C), CS dosage (0.1 g), and dye concentration (150 mg/L). A maximum CS monolayer uptake of 20.83 and 0.091 mg/g was recorded for tartrazine and sunset yellow dyes, respectively. The pseudo-second-order ( R 2 &gt; 0.99) and Freundlich ( R 2 &gt; 0.92) models were most fitted to the kinetics and isotherm data of the uptake of the dyes on CS. The adsorption equilibrium attainment was reached was within 90 min of dye sequestration. The experimental results revealed that both sunset yellow and tartrazine dyes were considerably adsorbed onto the environmentally compatible and low-cost activated carbon derived from cassava sievate.

Abstract The contamination of environmental waters with heavy metals and radionuclides is increasing because of rapid industrial and population growth. The removal of these contaminants from water via adsorption onto metal nanoparticles is an efficient and promising technique to abate the toxic effects associated with these pollutants. Among metal nanoparticle adsorbents, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have received tremendous attention owing to their biocompatibility, affordability, long-term stability, surface characteristics, nontoxicity, and powerful antibacterial activity against microbes found in water. In this review, we considered the adsorption of heavy metals and radionuclides onto ZnONPs. We examined the isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic modeling of the process as well as the adsorption mechanism to provide significant insights into the interactions between the pollutants and the nanoparticles. The ZnONPs with surface areas (3.93 to 58.0 m 2 /g) synthesized by different methods exhibited different adsorption capacities (0.30 to 1500 mg/g) for the pollutants. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were most suitable for the adsorption process. The Langmuir separation factor indicated favorable adsorption of all the pollutants on ZnONPs. The pseudo-second-order kinetics presented the best for the adsorption of the adsorbates with regression values in the range of 0.986–1.000. Spontaneous adsorption was obtained in most of the studies involving endothermic and exothermic processes. The complexation, precipitation, ion exchange, and electrostatic interactions are the probable mechanisms in the adsorption onto ZnONPs with a predominance of complexation. The desorption process, reusability of ZnONPs as well as direction for future investigations were also presented.

The paper provides an insight into the problem of land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa, with emphasis on soil erosion and its effect on soil quality and productivity, and proposes a lowland-based rice-production technology for coping with the situation. Crop yields are, in addition to the degree of past and current erosion, determined by a number of interacting variables. This, coupled with the generally weak database on erosion-induced losses in crop yield in spite of the region’s high vulnerability to erosion, makes it difficult to attain a reliable inference on the cause-effect relationship between soil loss and productivity. Available data suggest, however, that the region is at risk of not meeting up with the challenges of agriculture in this 21st century. Based on the few studies reviewed, methodology appears to have an overwhelming influence on the erosion-productivity response, whereas issues bordering on physical environment and soil affect the shape of the response curve. We argue that the sawah ecotechnology has the potential of countering the negative agronomic and environmental impacts of land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a farmer-oriented, low-cost system of managing soil, water, and nutrient resources for enhancing lowland rice productivity and realizing Green Revolution in the region.