Antioxidant properties of methanolic extracts of mistletoes (Viscum album) from cocoa and cashew trees in Nigeria

Methanolic extracts of Viscum album leaves from two hosts (cocoa and cashew trees) were subjected to antioxidant assay. V. album from cocoa tree had higher total phenol content (182 mg/100 g) as against that of cashew tree (160 mg/100 g). The result of the study also revealed that the ferric reducing ability, free radical scavenging ability as well as the Fe2+ chelation of the extracts were all dosedependent (0 – 1.0 mg/ml). V. album from cocoa tree had significantly higher ferric reducing and free radical scavenging ability than that from cashew tree, while V. album from cashew tree had significant higher Fe2+ chelating ability than V. album from cocoa tree. Although both methanolic extracts showed promise as a good antioxidant source, the total phenol content and the antioxidant capacity pattern of the two extracts suggest host dependency while the possible antioxidant mechanism of action is by reducing ability, free radical scavenging ability and chelation of Fe2+, a major catalyst in lipid peroxidation

Impact of Prepaid Energy Metering System on the Electricity Consumption in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of Oyo State

Electricity is one of the basic requirements for people and they are widely used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. Every meter is a device that measures the amount of electrical energy consumed by a residence, business or an electrically powered device. This paper presents the impact of prepaid energy metering system on electricity consumption in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of Oyo state. The results of the paper revealed that about 95% of the pre-paid meter users in the local government area are conscious of electricity management, about 74% of the post-paid meter users were just wasting the energy. The introduction of the pre-paid metering system has increased the revenue collection and hence, reduced the revenue generation of the local government area because of the reliability nature of the metering system. The pre-paid metering system has created a positive impact on the electricity consumption as well as the increment in the price tariff of the electricity. Keywords: Energy metering system, Electricity consumption, Post-paid metering system, Pre-paid metering system, Solid state electronic meters (SSEM)

Impact of Embedded Generation on Power Distribution System Voltage Collapse

The term “embedded generation”(EG) refers to electricity generation connected at distribution level rather than transmission level. E.G. can reduce the effect of losses while providing reactive power and contingency reserves to the network. It can also reduce the need for new transmission and distribution facilities consequently reducing overall costs. A distribution system is the system of an overall power system which links the bulk system to the individual customers. Voltage stability is an important performance index which defines the quality of supply. This paper presents the impact of embedded generation (EG) on power distribution system voltage collapse. ABUAD is considered as a case study in the research paper. The voltage stability indices (VSI) are calculated and assessed. The distribution network is reconfigured and the new values of VSI were computed to analyze the optimum configuration. The result of the paper showed that after thee reconfiguration of the system network the maximum KW, KVAR and KVA connected loads on the four selected transformers have increased by 9.11%, 9.04% and 8.44% respectively. The VSI for transformer T1 has increased from 0.0035 to 0.00362 while the VSI for transform T2 also decreased from 0.003845 to 0.0037 after the network reconfiguration. The VSI for transformer T3 and T4 remained constant even after the system network has been modified. The distribution system can be optimized for improved performance indices of which voltage stability is significant. Keywords: Embedded Generation, Voltages Collapse, Stability Index, Distribution Networks, Reconfiguration, Improved Performance, Transformers

Toxicological effects of polyherbal formulations for malaria, yellow fever and haemorrhoids in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria, on male Wistar rats: A comparative biochemical and histological study

This study evaluated the toxicological effects of polyherbal formulations used for the treatment of malaria (Agbo iba, AI), yellow fever (Agbo kojupon, AK) and haemorrhoids (Agbo jedi, AJ) on the function indices and histoarchitecture of liver and kidney of male Wistar rats. Forty rats were randomised into two groups (A and B) of twenty animals each such that the 20 rats in group A were further reassigned into A1, A2, A3 and A4 and administered distilled water (0.5 ml), and AI, AK and AJ at 21 mg/kg body weight respectively for 4 days. Animals in group B were correspondingly assigned and treated like those of group A except that the administration lasted for 10 days. The results revealed that AI, AK and AJ contained alkaloids, saponins, phenolics and flavonoids whilst anthraquinones were not detected. The AI and AK contained tannins whereas AK and AJ contained cardiac glycosides. The AI, AK and AJ reduced the liver- and kidney-body weight ratios, activities of both the liver alkaline phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase, levels of serum total protein, albumin, globulin, total bilirubin and conjugated bilirubin, and increased the activities of liver alanine aminotransferase, serum alkaline phosphatase, serum aspartate aminotransferase, Na+ and Cl- on days 4 and 10. The AK and AJ significantly (p<0.05) reduced the activity of serum alanine aminotransferase and increased K+. The AK, AI and AJ increased serum creatinine content on day 4 whereas only AK increased it by day 10. Serum uric acid was not altered by all the treatment on days 4 and 10. The administration of AK and AJ induced moderately swollen hepatocytes, congested and dilated blood vessels in the liver as well as imposed glomeruli and renal tubules in the kidney whereas the lobules, glomeruli and tubules were within normal liver and kidney histology after the administration of AI. Overall, the AK and AJ exhibited both functional and structural toxicities whilst the AI displayed only functional toxicity at 21 mg/kg body weight and during the 10 days of administration. The Agbo jedi exhibited the highest degree of toxicity whilst the Agbo iba was the least toxic with respect to the dose and duration of the study

Traditional Fermented Condiments Modulate Biochemical Indices in High Cholesterol Diet-Fed Rats

Hypercholesterolemia is implicated in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and is identified as a common cause of mortality in this degenerative condition. Hence, CVD management strategy should include control of hypercholesterolemia. This study describes the effect of some legume condiments on biochemical indices in hypercholesterolemia rat model. Adult male Wistar rats were used for this study and hypercholesterolemia was induced by inclusion of 1% cholesterol in the rat feed. The animals were divided into five groups containing six animals each and were fed with diets supplemented with 16% fermented soybean, bambara groundnut and African locust bean. The study lasted for 30 days after which plasma was analyzed for the lipid profile and liver function marker enzymes and the liver tissue analyzed for malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Elevated plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and MDA content showed significant (p<0.05) reduction in the rats fed with fermented legume condiment-supplemented diets, with a concomitant increase in plasma HDL-cholesterol as compared with the hypercholesterolemia control rats. This study revealed that fermented legume condiment-supplemented diets attenuate hypercholesterolemia and protect the liver of the experimental rats from oxidative damage, with African locust bean condiment displaying the best biological potential

Effects of drying on cholinesterases and angiotensin‐I converting enzyme inhibitory potential and phenolic constituents of African mistletoe (Loranthus bengwensis L) leaves from kolanut host tree

This study investigated the most appropriate drying method (sun drying, oven drying, and shade drying) for mistletoe leaves obtained from kolanut tree. The phenolic constituents were characterized using high performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector, while the inhibitory effect of the aqueous extracts of the leaves on cholinesterases and angiotensin‐I converting enzyme (ACE) and antioxidant activities were determined in vitro. The extracts inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and ACE in dose‐dependent manner. However, extract from sun‐dried sample exhibited the highest AChE, BChE, and ACE inhibitory effect while extract from shade‐dried sample had the least. Likewise, sun‐dried sample exhibited the highest antioxidant properties as exemplified by Fe2+‐chelating, 1,1‐diphenyl‐2 picrylhdrazyl, OH, and nitric oxide radical scavenging abilities. This study also revealed the presence of 20 phenolic compounds with caffeic acid being the most predominant. Conclusively, kolanut host tree mistletoe leaves can be used as therapeutic agent in the management of Alzheimer's disease and hypertension

Economic Analysis of Cassava Production in Saki-West Local Government Area of Oyo State

This study focused on analyzing the economics of cassava production in Saki–West LGA of Oyo state, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 121 cassava farmers. Descriptive statistics and regression model were employed as analytical techniques. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, to identify the constraints being faced by the cassava farmers and the type of cropping system they practiced. Budgetary and regression analyses were used to determine the profitability of cassava production in the study area. The result of the descriptive analysis of the respondents revealed that their mean age is 50.71 years, 84.3% of the farmers were male while the rest percentages (15.78%) were female, a large percentage (86%) of the cassava farmers were married  and most (68.7%) of the respondents have family size ≤ 10. From the BCR analysis, the benefit cost ratio of 1.7 showed that cassava production was highly profitable in the study area. The result of the regression analysis showed that farm size and Family labour were statistically significant at 1% and had positive influence on farmer’s revenue. This is because the larger the farm size, the longer the hours spent on farming activities by the household and the higher the revenue. However, the age, labour cost, cost of cassava cuttings and years of farming experience were not statistically significant to the farmer’s revenue. Policies that will make more land available to farmers will increase the farmer’s revenue and total output, thus reducing the plague of poverty and unemployment. Keywords: Benefit Cost Ratio, Cassava, Constraints and Profitabilit