Sourdough Bread from the Blend of Cassava, Sweet Potato, and Soybean Flours Using Lactobacillus plantarum and Pichia kudriavzevii

Sourdough is specialty bread made from a combination of flour, lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts. Composite flour of cassava, sweet potato, and soybean was used for the production of sourdough bread employing autochthonous lactic acid bacteria and yeasts isolated from the composite dough. The flour samples were assessed for functional properties, while the sourdough breads were evaluated for nutritional composition and organoleptic properties. The flour samples possessed good proximate profiles and phenolic contents. The lactic acid bacterium and yeast with the most desirable properties were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum and Pichia kurdriavzevii. Fermentation improved the nutritional indices of the composite sourdough bread samples. Lactobacillus plantarum SLC21 and P. kudriavzevii SYD17 bread had a shelf life of 7 days, while the control bread lasted for at least 4 days. Lactobacillus plantarum SLC21 and Pichia kudriavzevii SYD17 bread had the best overall acceptability. Utilisation of these local crops in a composite blend for sourdough will increase commercial profit for local farmers and developing economy. The composite blend will be of great importance in the preparation of pastries that do not require high gluten content. The strains exhibited great potentials for a better nutritional composition of the composite sourdough bread

Antimicrobial activities and phytochemical properties of Annona muricata leaf

Annona muricata is a well-known economic and traditional plant of Nigeria. The study investigated the properties of constituents and antimicrobial activities of extracts of the leaf of A. muricata. The extracts were tested against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans by the agar well diffusion method at concentration of 20 mg/mL. The methanol (AM2) and ethyl acetate (AM4) extracts were characterized using UV and IR spectroscopy. The morphological structure of the A. muricata leaf was observed at a magnification of 20,000X using SEM and then subjected to EDX analysis. The results of the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, saponins and cardiac glycosides in the extracts. Anthraquinone was found absent. The ethyl acetate extract was found highly active against gram positive bacteria, S. aureus (ZI of 42 mm; AI = 1.31) and ampicillin resistant gram negative P. aeruginosa (ZI of 34 mm; AI = 1.13). The IR spectra of AM2 and AM4 extracts of A. muricata showed peaks at a frequency of 3377 cm-1 to 3440 cm-1 indicating the presence of a phenolic OH stretch. This supports the phenolics detected chemically. The UV spectrum of methanol extract showed peaks that are typical of flavonoids and phenolics.  The SEM revealed the sizes of the leaf particles as inhomogeneous. EDX results showed high oxygen concentration of 73.5 % and carbon concentration of 26.5 %.The findings proved the anti-infective potential of Annona muricata leaf and established physico-chemical markers for the active extracts

Training of trainer manual for production of Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP): planting to harvesting

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) originated in Central America or north-western South America from where it was introduced to Europe, Africa, Asia and North America in more recent times. Sweetpotato is now cultivated in nearly all parts of the tropics and sub-tropics as well as in the warmer parts of the temperate regions (CIP, 2019). This is because Sweetpotato is a dry-land crop, tolerant to a wide range of edaphic and climatic conditions. It is more tolerant of cold than other tropical root and tuber crops, hence, it can be grown at altitudes as high as 2500 m. China is the highest producer of Sweetpotato in the world, followed by Malawi, Tanzania and Nigeria (FAO, 2023). In more than 100 developing countries (including Nigeria), Sweetpotato is a smallholder crop grown with limited inputs on marginal soils. The yields in these developing countries are therefore far below the average for developed countries. Sweetpotato is a rich source of calories, fibre, micronutrients and vitamins when consumed. Its bio-fortification (as a means of addressing Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) through nutrition based approach) led to the development and release of Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP). Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP), rich in β carotene (pro-vitamin A), is one of the well established and documented bio-fortified crops in Africa. It is the only biofortified crop providing up to 100% of daily vitamin A requirements when consumed (Bouis and Saltzman, 2017). Just 125 grams of most OFSP varieties can supply the recommended daily allowance of vitamin for children and non-lactating women (300-700μg RAE). According to Ezeocha, et al. (2010), OFSP are naturally biofortified with β carotene. Its consumption has been reported to improve vitamin A status in children. It can serve as a feasible long-term food-based strategy for controlling VAD in children in developing countries (van Jaarsveld et al., 2005; Korieocha et al., 2009). Strengthening the value chain (production, processing, marketing, and consumption) of OFSP in Nigeria is a key opportunity for addressing malnutrition and improving rural livelihoods. Leaves and peels of OFSP can be fed to animals thereby reducing cost of production of such animals. These can generate additional source of income for the farmers

Antioxidant activities of the leaves of Chrysophyllum Albidum G.

Chrysophyllum albidum G. is a tropical plant and commonly found in Nigeria. It belongs to the sapotaceae family and used in folklore in the treatment of yellow fever, malaria, diarrhea, vaginal and dermatological infections. The study was aimed at investigating the antioxidant properties of this plant by employing the in vitro and in vivo experimental models. The effect of DPPH free radical scavenging activity on the fractions of petroleum ether, ethanol, butanol, ethylacetate, and water of C. albidum was determined. The ethyl acetate fraction was purified in colunm chromatography to obtain myricetin rhamnoside. Structure elucidation was done by NMR and mass spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, ethanol extract was administered to five groups of eight rats per group. The animals in the normal group were administered with vehicle alone for 7 days. The positive control animals were given vehicle on the first four days, and with the vehicle and hepatotoxin (CCl4) on the fifth, sixth and seventh day. The animals in the treatment category were respectively administered with 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/kg b.w. of extract & distilled water for the first four days, and with distilled water, extract and CCl4 on the last three days. Animals were subsequently anaesthetized and blood samples were collected for catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced gluthathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) assays. The petroleum ether fraction showed the least antiradical activity (4057.5 ± 809.6 g/kg) while ethyl ether exhibited the highest activity (414.4 ± 92.0 g/kg). Myricetin rhamnoside also exhibited an excellent radical scavenging activity (314.1 ± 60.2) which was comparable to the positive control. Result from animal study showed that C. albidum exhibited significant (p < 0.05) differences on the activity of CAT, MDA and GSH. The plant could therefore be employed as sources of natural antioxidant boosters and for the treatment of some oxidative stress disorders in which free radicals are implicated

Principles of contract claims management - A review of the Nigerian construction industry

This paper examines the management of contractual claims in the Nigerian construction industry. It explored issues bothering on availability of expertise in the area of managing claims, the principles of claims management, types of claims and their causes are carefully examined with a view to ascertain their potential impact on the execution of construction projects in Nigeria. The research methodology adopted in this paper involves the use of questionnaires administered to various professionals in the industry. The research revealed that there is a form of relationship that exists between pre-contract administration and claims management. The research also shows that administrative and socio-cultural factors, such as, absence of dedicated claims management experts, corruption and poor pre-contract documentation, respectively, amongst others, are mainly responsible for the knowledge gap in the industry. This paper recommends the development and subsequent implementation of a decision support system to aid practitioners in the area of managing construction contract claims

Essential oil of Carpolobia lutea

Without Abstrac

Nutritional rickets in young Nigerian children in the Sahel Savanna

(East African Medical Journal 2001: 78 (11): 568-575

Occurrence of Bacterial Leaf Blight of Cocoyam and Characterisation of the Causal Organism in Northern Nigeria

Aim: To determine the occurrence of bacterial leaf blight of cocoyam and to characterize isolates of the causal organism in Northern Nigeria. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in cocoyam farmers’ fields in Kaduna and Kano States, Department of Crop Protection, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and the Mississippi State University, USA in 2015. Methodology: Field surveys were conducted in Kaduna and Kano States of northern Nigeria to determine occurrence of bacterial leaf blight of cocoyam. Sampling was done using quadrat. Incidence and severity of the disease was assessed on the field. Bacterial isolates obtained from the diseased samples were used for pathogenicity and hypersensitive reaction (HR) tests. Biochemical tests such as Gram, catalase, oxidase, pectolytic, amylolytic and production of acid from glycerol were carried out on the isolates. A nearly full length of the 16S rDNA gene of selected isolates was PCR amplified using 16S rRNA primers. The resulting amplicons were sequenced using Sanger sequencing. The 16S rDNA gene sequences were aligned along with other Xanthomonas sequences imported from the NCBI database using muscle tool from MEGA6. Results: The results showed Kaduna State had higher incidence and severity (50.2%, 13.5%) than Kano State (20.5%, 5.1%) and that bacterial isolates induced blight symptoms on cocoyam and elicited HR reactions on tobacco. Isolates were Gram negative, catalase positive, oxidase negative, amylolytic, pectolytic and produced no acids from glycerol. BLAST search of sequenced genes showed 98-100% homology to Xad. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees constructed for the 16S rDNA gene sequences revealed isolates were identical to the Xad reference strains KP247494, KM576803 and EU203153. Generally, all the isolates obtained were Xad. Conclusion: Bacterial leaf blight of cocoyam occurred in Kaduna and Kano States and the bacterial isolates were identical to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae