Effect Of Air Pollution On Concentrations Of Lead, Cadmium And Chromium In Ready To Eat Foods In Some Major Towns Of South-Western Nigeria

The concentrations of heavy metals in Ready-to-Eat foods offered for sale in some major towns of South-West Nigeria were assessed.   Ready-to-Eat food samples were collected in triplicate from various vendors’ locations with varying degree of air pollution measured by traffic flow.   The samples were dried, milled, digested to ash and analysed for cadmium, lead, and chromium using Graphite-furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer.   Results showed that Lead concentration in Ready-to-Eat food ranged between 3.8 and 23.6mg/100g of sample.   Fried ready to eat foods were also found to contain higher Lead (6.9-23.6mg/100g of sample) and Cadmium concentrations (2.7-28.3/100g of sample) than non-fried ones.   Deposition of Cadmium was noticeable in samples obtained from industrial locations.   Chromium concentrations in all the locations (2.1-38.5mg/100g of sample) tend to approach acute toxicity values. The findings point to deposition of heavy metals on ready to eat foods at levels that could be hazardous on a long-term basis. Keywords: Air Pollution, Concentration, Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, South-West Nigeria

The Kinetics of Ascorbic Acid Degradation in Ogbono Soup during Cooking

Degradation kinetics of ascorbic acid was investigated in ‘ogbono’ soup during cooking at different temperatures between 60oC and 80oC. The results confirmed that mixed order kinetics (of zero- and first-order model) is adequate in describing the degradation reactions. The rate constant increased with temperature according to an Arrhenius-type relationship. The activation energy was 34KJ/mol and at the average temperature of the range tested, the rate constant was 4.2 x 10-4/hr. Keywords: Ascorbic acid, Cooking, Degradation, Irvingia gabonensis, Mixed order kinetics

Sensory Evaluation of Ogbono (Irvingia Gabonensis) Soup Formulations

Particle size of dikanut seeds milled using attrition and hammer mills were submitted for sensory evaluation in three ogbono soup formulations.   Sensory attributes of the freshly prepared ogbono soup classified by the three formulas, percent dikanut concentration and temperature of soup preparation were assessed.   Consumer test showed preference for Oguntona’s formula and consumer’s acceptability was optimized when dikanut concentration lies between 10 – 11%.  Objective measurement (consistency index) correlated well with subjective response (overall acceptability).   A model was developed relating consistency index to temperature of preparation and dikanut concentration. Keywords: Dikanut seeds, soup, sensory formulation

Studies on Some Physical Properties of Dikanut Seeds

The physical properties of dikanut seeds sold in Nigerian markets were determined.   The dried seeds were evaluated for the principal dimensions, weight, volume, true density, bulk density, and porosity, angle of repose, static coefficient of friction and specific heat capacity.   The average three principal dimensions were 2.375, 1.592 and 0.778cm.  The seeds had an average weight of 1.904g, volume of 2.38cm3, density of 0.832g/cm3, bulk density of 0.475g/cm3, porosity of 43%, and surface area of 3.468cm2.   Angle of repose and coefficient of friction varied quadratically with moisture content.   The specific heat capacity of dikanuts was measured at four moisture contents and eight temperatures.   The specific heat of dikanut varied from 1.9333J/g?C to 6.075J/g?C for moisture contents between 3% and 30% and those that were used to model multiple simple regression equations expressing specific heat as a function of moisture content. Key words: Dikanut, seed, dimension, specific heat capacit

Studies on Some Physical Properties of Dikanut Seeds

The physical properties of dikanut seeds sold in Nigerian markets were determined.   The dried seeds were evaluated for the principal dimensions, weight, volume, true density, bulk density, and porosity, angle of repose, static coefficient of friction and specific heat capacity.   The average three principal dimensions were 2.375, 1.592 and 0.778cm.  The seeds had an average weight of 1.904g, volume of 2.38cm3, density of 0.832g/cm3, bulk density of 0.475g/cm3, porosity of 43%, and surface area of 3.468cm2.   Angle of repose and coefficient of friction varied quadratically with moisture content.   The specific heat capacity of dikanuts was measured at four moisture contents and eight temperatures.   The specific heat of dikanut varied from 1.9333J/g?C to 6.075J/g?C for moisture contents between 3% and 30% and those that were used to model multiple simple regression equations expressing specific heat as a function of moisture content. Key words: Dikanut, seed, dimension, specific heat capacit

Levels of Heavy Metals in Street Vended Fried-Cocoyam (Xanthosoma Sagittifolium) Chips Sold along Sango - Oshodi Expressway Nigeria

Heavy metals have been reported to have positive and negative roles in human life. Eighty samples were purchased from vendors, twelve samples of raw materials and thirty six samples were collected along processing line. The samples were digested carefully and metal elements were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Analyzed iron, lead, cadmium and arsenic in raw materials used by the three processors ranged from 0.000 to 16.010, 0.000 to 0.013, 0.000 to 0.155 and 0.250 to 0.809mg/Kg respectively. Heavy metal contents of samples taken along the processing line ranged from 0.00, 0.222 to 0.226, 0.758 to 0.959 and 0.00 to 0.801 mg/Kg  for lead, arsenic, iron and cadmium respectively. The content of iron, cadmium and arsenic of street vended samples ranged from 0.653 to 0.8, 0.00 to 0.10 and 0.221 to 0.225 mg/kg respectively The results of the present study showed that metal elements except arsenic were within the NIS maximum permitted level (0.1mg/kg for lead, cadmium and arsenic; 1.5mg/kg for iron) by Nigerian Industrial Standard and Codex Alimentarius for street vended food. Keywords: Heavy metals, Street vended food, health, contaminants, Cocoyam, Xanthosoma sagittifolium

Impacts of Dietary Chrysophyllum albidum Fruit Pulp on Brain Cholinesterase Function in High-Fat Diet/Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Epidemiologic studies have shown strong correlations between Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes mellitus. The exact mechanism through which this happens remains unclear. However, the dependence on glucose for brain function has been proposed as one possible mechanism. Hence, this study investigated the neuroprotective potential of Chrysophyllum albidum fruit pulp (CAPP) with hypoglycaemic properties in diabetic rats induced with high-fat diet/streptozotocin (STZ). The animals were grouped into seven units as follows: control, STZ-induced, STZ + metformin (positive control), STZ + 5% CAPP, STZ + 10% CAPP, control + 5% CAPP and control + 10% CAPP and each group was made up of six rats. The animals were first placed on normal diet (non-diabetic groups) and high fat diet (diabetic groups) for a fortnight, respectively before induction with STZ and were treated with diets containing 5 and 10% CAPP for 14 days. After the experiment, the rat brain cholinesterase and antioxidant activities were determined. The results revealed that acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butylcholinesterase (BuChE), arginase, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and antioxidant activities were altered in STZ-diabetic group in comparison to the control. However, a significant decrease at p < 0.05 was found in the activities of AChE, BuChE, arginase and ADA. In addition, there was a concomitant rise in the levels of antioxidant in all the groups administered supplemented diets and the group treated with metformin in comparison to the STZ-diabetic group. Conclusively, we can suggest that the fruit pulp prevents neurological damage in diabetic rats via anticholinesterase activity and improvement of brain antioxidant status

Turmeric-Fortified Cow and Soya Milk : Golden Milk as a Street Food to Support Consumer Health

We studied plant-based milk from soya beans as a means to release and convey the bound antioxidants in turmeric to benefit consumer health. This was compared to cow milk as a carrier because soya milk consumption as an alternative to cow milk is increasing globally. Hence, turmeric paste was added to milk to investigate the release of turmeric antioxidants when changing the matrix (cow vs. soy), the amount of turmeric paste (0%, 2%, and 6%), and the effect of heating (with and without). Proximate, physicochemical, and mineral analysis were carried out for all samples. The total phenol content (TPC) and total antioxidant activity were measured using Folin–Ciocalteu and Quencher methods. Protein ranged from 2.0% to 4.0%, and minerals ranged from 17.8 to 85.1, 0.37 to 0.53, and 0.29 to 0.30 mg/100 mL for calcium, iron, and zinc, respectively. TPC ranged from 0.01 to 0.147 GAE (g/kg) and antioxidant activity from 7.5 to 17.7 TEAC (mmol Trolox/kg sample). Overall, turmeric added nutritional and chemical value to all the samples with and without heat treatment. However, turmeric-fortified soya milk samples showed the highest protein, iron, zinc, TPC, and antioxidant activity. This study identified a cheap, additional nutrient source for developing-countries’ malnourished populations by utilizing soya bean milk to produce golden milk

Genetically modified and biofortified crops and food security in developing countries: A review

Purpose: In recent times, science and technology has taken a front seat in revolutionizing agricultural production and food processing globally with noticeable impact on food, nutrition and family health. This study was carried out to have a critical review of genetically modified (GM) foods and the use of GM and biofortified crops for food security in developing countries where foods are not adequately available and people are not food secured. Design/methodology/approach: A critical review of GM foods was undertaken and the use of GM and biofortified crops for food security in developing countries where foods are not adequately available and people are not food secured was carried out. Findings: Currently, there are no recent patents on GM and biofortified crops and this shows that there are more works to be done by policymakers, regulatory agencies, consumers and right organizations on environmental, health and biosafety of GM and biofortified crops. Advances in science and technology have changed our relationship with nature which enables crops to be modified and improved through selective breeding to obtain more stronger and productive crops. However, despite the benefits and improvements from GM and biofortified crops, controversy and arguments have continued to trail the consumption of GM and biofortified crops because of the perceived safety issues. Although genetic engineering has helped in developing fast-growing and pest-resistant crops, as well as reduction in use of pesticides, however, its impact on the environment and the consumers cannot be overemphasized. In conclusion, this study showed that the role of GM and biofortified crops for food security is the subject of public controversy; however, genetic engineering has the potential to improve world food production, increase food availability and influence farmers’ income and thus their economic access to food but the attendance potential risks related to food safety and avoidable environmental hazards should not be overlooked. There is need for comprehensive information on the impact of GM and biofortified crops on environment, human health and biosafety of the crops. Research limitations/implications: Few available literatures on the subject matter were critically reviewed. Practical implications: The paper helps in creating awareness for more in-depth research on GM and biofortified crops and their impacts on food security in developing countries where foods are not adequately available and people are not food secured. Originality/value: This research is of value to the researchers, policymakers and regulatory agencies in developing countries on food safety.</p