ETHNOTHERAPEUTIC EVALUATION AND ANTI-NUTRIENT CONTENT OF COMMON PLANTS USED FOR MANAGEMENT OF KIDNEY AND LIVER DISORDERS IN ODEDA COMMUNITIES, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

A survey study was carried out on plants used to manage kidney and liver diseases in Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria. A total of hundred (100) questionnaire were administered using stratified sampling method on traditional herbal practitioners. Ethnobotanical data such as, plants and plant parts and methods of extraction used were sought. Anti-nutrients of the frequently mentioned plants were also evaluated. Data were subjected to Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with probability set at p<0.05 and descriptive statistics. Results revealed that 55.5% of the respondents were females while 45.5% were males. Largest percentage (47.9%) were between the ages 41-60years.  Twenty six 26(26.0%) of the respondents were herbalists, 34(34.0%) were herb sellers, 21(21.0%) were Traditional practitioners while 19 (19.0%) were Traditional practitioners and herb sellers. Twenty three (23) of the respondents had 1-5years, 35 had 6-10 years while 42 of them had being in the herbal profession for more than 10 years. Seventy four percent (74%) of plants collated during this study were available both in home garden and markets. Fifty 50 plants species belonging to 37 families were reported being used to manage kidney and liver diseases. Malvaceae and meliaceae were the most frequently mentioned families. Largest number of plants 20(40%) collated were trees, followed by herbs 19(38%) while vegetable 1(2%) was vegetable. The most commonly used plants part were Leaves, barks roots, fruits, seeds bulbs and combination of any of these parts. Decoction, soaking, infusion, grinding, strong heating paste and combination(s) of any of these methods were employed for preparing herbal remedies of these diseases. No significant difference (P>0.05) was recorded in the phytate content of Khaya ivorensis and Kigelia africana leaves. Similar observation was recorded in the oxalate and cyanide content of Chasmantheran dependens and Kigelia africana leaves.. Polyphenol and tannins were significantly different across the leaves of plants under this investigation. No significantly different (P>0.05) was recorded in the quantity of phytate present in Chasmantheran dependens and Kigelia africana, oxalate of  Chasmantheran dependens, Kigelia africana and Azadirachta  indica, and cyanide in root of the plants. Highest phytate (13.00) was recorded in Azadirachta  indica, oxalate (12.33), Polyphenol (9.00) and cyanide (4.33) in Ficus exasperate while tannins (16.00) were recorded in the leaves of Chasmantheran dependens.Keywords: Ethnobotanical data , Anti-nutrient content, Kidney and Liver disorder

Structural breaks, cointegration and demand for money in Nigeria

This paper estimates the money demand function in Nigeria in the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis and examines whether its underlying properties has changed over the years. Specifically, the existence of a stable long-run demand for money function during the period 1991:Q1-2013:Q4, while accounting for the possibility of structural breaks is investigated. The Gregory-Hansen residual based test for cointegration detected both intercept and regime shifts in 2007:Q1 as the null of no cointegration is rejected at 1 per cent significance level, indicating that long run relationship exists between real money supply, real income, real monetary policy rate, exchange rate spread and movements in exchange rate in Nigeria. This estimation technique is robust to structural break, which ensures that the estimated parameters are unbiased. The CUSUMSQ test provides evidence of a stable money demand function before and after the crisis. The paper infers that since the relationship among the variables holds over a fairly long period of time, the estimated money demand model provides important foundations for monetary policy setting in Nigeria

Challenges and opportunities in the design and construction of a GIS-based emission inventory infrastructure for the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

© 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Environmental monitoring in middle- and low-income countries is hampered by many factors which include enactment and enforcement of legislations; deficiencies in environmental data reporting and documentation; inconsistent, incomplete and unverifiable data; a lack of access to data; and technical expertise. This paper describes the processes undertaken and the major challenges encountered in the construction of the first Niger Delta Emission Inventory (NDEI) for criteria air pollutants and CO2 released from the anthropogenic activities in the region. This study focused on using publicly available government and research data. The NDEI has been designed to provide a Geographic Information System-based component of an air quality and carbon management framework. The NDEI infrastructure was designed and constructed at 1-, 10- and 20-km grid resolutions for point, line and area sources using industry standard processes and emission factors derived from activities similar to those in the Niger Delta. Due to inadequate, incomplete, potentially inaccurate and unavailable data, the infrastructure was populated with data based on a series of best possible assumptions for key emission sources. This produces outputs with variable levels of certainty, which also highlights the critical challenges in the estimation of emissions from a developing country. However, the infrastructure is functional and has the ability to produce spatially resolved emission estimates

Ecological divergence of Chaetopteryx rugulosa species complex (Insecta, Trichoptera) linked to climatic niche diversification

Climate is often considered to be an important, but indirect driver of speciation. Indeed, environmental factors may contribute to the formation of biodiversity, but to date this crucial relationship remains largely unexplored. Here we investigate the possible role of climate, geological factors, and biogeographical processes in the formation of a freshwater insect species group, the Chaetopteryx rugulosa species complex (Trichoptera) in the Western Balkans. We used multi-locus DNA sequence data to establish a dated phylogenetic hypothesis for the group. The comparison of the dated phylogeny with the geological history of the Western Balkans shows that lineage formation coincided with major past Earth surface and climatic events in the region. By reconstructing present-day habitat conditions (climate, bedrock geology), we show that the lineages of C. rugulosa species complex have distinct climatic but not bedrock geological niches. Without exception, all splits associated with Pliocene/Pleistocene transition led to independent, parallel split into ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ sister lineages. This indicates a non-random diversification on the C. rugulosa species complex associated with late Pliocene climate in the region. We interpreted the results as the diversification of the species complex were mainly driven by ecological diversification linked to past climate change, along with geographical isolation

Adoption Level of Agroforestry Practices in Katsina State, Nigeria

Unsustainable forest land use practices have resulted in land degradation in Nigeria leading to low crop yield. Agroforestry is a viable option for reversing dwindling crop yields through proper soil management practices. There is notably no sufficient published information on agroforestry practices (AP) in Katsina State. The aim of this study was to assess AP for sustainable land use in the study area. Multistage stratified sampling design was used to select respondents from the study. Three Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected from each of the agro-ecological zones (Sahel, Sudan and Guinea) of Katsina State. Within each of the selected LGAs, one community was randomly selected and forty respondents were randomly sampled from each community. Using structured questionnaire, information was sought on socio-economic and AP. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Based on the results, multipurpose trees on farmland (79%), windbreaks (50%), woodlots (49.7%), improved fallow in shifting cultivation (32%) and home gardens (24.7%) were the common AP in the study area. Benefits of AP in the area included preservation of the environment (98.5%), provision of fruits and leaves (98%), and improvement of soil fertility (98%), erosion control (98%) and improvement of farmers’ income (96%). Agroforestry practices enrich the soil with important nutrients and prevent soil erosion. The adoption of multipurpose trees on farmland in the study area will help in preventing environmental degradation, desertification and enhance food crop production