Anatomical Changes Due to Crude Oil Pollution and its Heavy Metals Component in Three Mucuna Species

The micromorphological response of three Mucuna species in crude oil polluted soil was investigated. This experiment was a factorial (3 x 5) arrangement in a completely randomized design. Factors and levels were three species of Mucuna (M. veracruz, M. jaspodea and M. ghana) and crude oil concentrations (volume/weight) in the soil (0 %, 1 %, 2 %, 3 %, and 4%). The Mucuna species grown in higher concentrations of crude oil provoked soils (3 - 4 %) exhibited greater sinuosity in their epidermal cell walls than those grown in 0 – 1% oil concentrated soils. The stomatal frequency progressively decreased as the oil concentration increased in soil. Cortical parenchyma cells of stems and roots of the three Mucuna species in higher oil polluted soils were flattened tangentially, smaller in size and had reduced intercellular air spaces. Those plants in control soils had large round polygonal cells. Presence of oil droplets on trichomes of leaves was noticed. Also dotted depositions of oil were noticed in the ground tissues, especially around the vascular bundles. The changes in vegetative anatomy of the three Mucuna species in response to crude oil pollution and its heavy metal components were discussed as a possible use in phytomonitoring of crude oil pollution

The influence of water stress (drought) on the mineral and vitamin potential of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum (L).

The influence of water stress (drought) on the mineral and vitamin potential of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum was investigated. Cultivated O. gratissimum plants grown in plastic planting buckets were subjected to mild water stress by irrigating each planting bucket with 500 ml of water once in a week. On the other hand, in the control treatment, each planting bucket was irrigated with 750 ml of water three times in a week. Treatment commenced two months after seed emergence. The leaves of the plants were harvested one month later for analysis. Results obtained indicated that water stress (drought), significantly (

Pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential of some wild Cucurbitaceae species from South East Nigeria

The phytochemical screening of some wild Cucurbitaceae species from South – East Nigeria, was investigated to determine their pharmaceutical and Therapeutic potential. The four plant species used for the study were Lagenaria vulgaris, Trichosanthes cucumerina, Momordica charantia and Luffa cylinderical. The leaves, pericarp and seeds of the plants were investigated. Alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, saponin and tannins were found in all the plant parts analyzed and in all the plant species. Averagely, the phytochemical constituent of the plants are as follows: alkaloid (0.02- 0.07 mg ml-1), flavonoid (0.05- 0.12 mg ml-1), phenol (0.077- 0.978 mg ml-1), saponin (0.04- 0.08 mg ml-1) and tannin (0.283- 0.982 mg ml-1). The leaves of the plants have the highest amount of tannins and phenols, while the seeds contain the highest concentration of alkaloids and flavonoids. The least amount of saponin was found in the seeds of the plants. The results obtained were discussed in respect to the roles of the plants and their phytochemicals in maintenance of good health

The effect of inorganic fertilizer treatment on the mineral and vitamin content of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum (l)

The effect of inorganic fertilizer treatment on the mineral and vitamin contents of the leaves of O. gratissimum  (L) was investigated. Cultivated O. gratissimum  in plastic planting buckets were applied with NPK (15:15:15) fertilizer at 100 kg/ha, 200 kg/ha, 300 kg/ha, 400 kg/ha and 500 kg/ha treatment levels determined using the furrow slice methods, two months after seed germination. Only one application was carried out. The leaves of the plants were harvested for analysis one month after treatment. Fertilizer treatment caused significant increase (P < 0.05) in the potassium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorous and nitrogen contents of the leaves of O. gratissimum . However, fertilizer treatment led to significant reduction (P < 0.05) in the calcium content of the leaves of O. gratissimum.  Although fertilizer treatment generally caused increased concentration of ascorbic acid, riboflavin, niacin and thiamine, such increases were not significant. Generally, the concentration of minerals and vitamins tended to increase as the level of treatment increased