Soil Fertility Management, a Tool for Sustainable Disease and Weed Control in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Agro-ecosystem health is built on habitat manipulation and fertility enhancement. Similarly, plant nutrient levels altered by fertilization practices can expose crop plants to pests. In addition, diseases, weeds and other pests are principal agricultural losses all over the world. This is particularly devastating particularly in the developing nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Nigeria. Reduction in these losses will not only improve agricultural production but will enhance food security and economic well-being of society. Sole use of synthetic chemicals is economically not a viable option and does not encourage environmental sustainability while land expansion is equally elusive due to urbanization and different forms of development and not environmentally friendly. The most viable and practicable option is integration of different fertility management alternatives that could produce crops on a sustainable bases while ensuring the safety and sustainability of the environment. Integrated Soil fertility Management (ISFM) has proved to be a promising approach to fertility management and sustainable environment. It could be adopted as it provides the needed nutrients for plants, reduce weeds and disease incidences while safeguarding the environment

Re – Training Needs of Mechanical Engineering Technologists for Improved Performance in Scientific Equipment Development Institutes in Nigeria.

Following constant complains by our schools on short falls in the supply of laboratory apparatus and even when available they are sub – standard, this study was conducted to determine the re-training needs of mechanical engineering technologists who are directly involved in the production of these laboratory apparatus  for improved performance in Scientific Equipment Development Institutes (SEDI) in Nigeria. Two research questions and 2 hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study was conducted in the two Scientific Development Institutes located at Minna and Enugu. A survey research design approach was adopted. The entire population of 82 mechanical engineers and 140 mechanical engineering technologists served as the respondents. No sampling was done. A 50 item structured questionnaire was used to collect the relevant data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, standard deviation, mean and t – test statistics. Results from analysis of data showed that all the 50 proposed items were accepted as retraining needs of mechanical engineering technologists. Specifically, the study revealed that the technologists were most deficient in areas of the use of automatic, NC, and CNC machines. It was recommended that as a matter of urgency government should put in place various strategies of retraining such as partnership with production industries, workshops, seminars and short term trainings outside the country. Key words: Re-training, performance, technologists, industries, scientific equipmen

Respon Klon Karet terhadap Frekuensi Penyiraman di Media Tailing Pasir Pasca Penambangan Timah

Sand tailings derived from tin post-minings activities have high porosity, low water holding capacity, and low organic matter content. These conditions causes soil water deficit, especially in dry season. To increase the successful of sand tailings revegetation with rubber tree, it is important to select some rubber tree clones based on their adaptability on the sand tailings conditions, especially drought stress. This research aimed to study the response of several rubber tree clones to the frequency of watering on sand tailings. The experiment was conducted in a plastic house at the experimental station of Agrotechnology Study Program of Bangka Belitung University, Sungailiat for 4 months. The experimental design was a factorial randomized block design with two factors and three replications. The first factor was the frequency of watering (every day, every 3 days, and every 5 days), the second factor was a combination of recommended rootstock clones and recommended latex clones (clone GT 1 + PB 260, GT 1 + IRR 118, and PB 260 + BPM 24). The results showed that watering every 5 days caused drought stress resulted in impaired growth of rubber in sand tailings media derived from tin post-mining. The combination of rootstocks and scions PB 260 + BPM 24 and PB 260 + IRR118 were categorized as moderately tolerant clones while GT 1 + PB 260 was categorized as sensitive clones to drought stress in the sand tailings media. Keywords: drought tolerance, watering frequency, rubber tree clones, sand tailing

Effect of Aqueous-Methanol Leaves Extract of Cassia occidentalis on Carbon Tetrachloride Induced Hepatotoxic Rat

The indiscriminate usage of different parts of Cassia occidentalis in the management and/or treatment of several diseases has lead to several researches about the plant’s safety, efficacy and probable mode of action. This research investigates the effects of aqueous-methanol leaves extract of Cassia occidentalis on liver function indices (ALT, AST, ALP, Total protein, Albumin, Bilirubin and Globulin) in carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity. A total of twenty five rats divided into five groups of five rats each were used. Group I served as normal control, Group II-V were induced with hepatotoxicity using CCl4 (120mg/kg bodyweight). Group II served as test control, group III and IV were administered with the extract at a dose of 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg while group V were acdministered with standard drug (10mg/kg of livolin), per day for two weeks. The animals were euthanized after 24 hours of last extract administration and liver function indices (ALT, AST, ALP, total protein, Albumin, Bilirubin and Globulin) were assayed A significant increase (p<0.05) in ALT, AST, ALP, Total protein and Globulin was observed in test control group compared to normal control. Administration of the extract lead to a significant decrease (p<0.05) in ALT, AST, ALP, total protein and Globulin in a dose dependent manner compared to test control group. The observed hepatocurative effect of the plant may be due to the presence of phytochemicals. Keywords: Cassia occidentalis;  leaves; carbon tetrachloride and hepatocurative

Proximate composition, functional, and sensory properties of kadal (fermented grain flour) produced from whole and decorticated maize and pearl millet grains

Kadals are normally prepared from fermented cereal grains and the kadal flours are usually transformed into stiff dough called tuwo and consumed as staple food in many West African countries. Pearl millet (Mi) and maize (Mz) grains were decorticated and each of them was divided into four portions. The first portion was unfermented and the other portions were soaked in water separately for 48h (K2), for 72h (K3) and 96h (K4). Four portions each of whole maize and millet were subjected to the same soaking time, respectively. At the expiration of soaking time, each portion was washed, thoroughly rinsed, sun dried, milled and sieved to produce kadal flours. The unfermented whole and decorticated millet and maize flours served as the experimental controls. The functional properties and proximate compositions of twenty samples were evaluated using standard procedures and the organoleptic properties of the tuwo (kadal dough) prepared from them were evaluated without soup, and with okro soup. Results revealed significant variations (p<0.05) existed in the functional properties and proximate composition of kadal flours as well as the sensory attributes of the tuwo. Wettability of the kadal flours improved with soaking time, water absorption capacities decreased with fermentation time, as well as bulk densities though marginally. Dispersibility of the kadal flours were generally high (70.50-77%) and no significant difference was observed. Ash, protein and fat contents of the whole grain kadal flours were higher than that of decorticated, and there was slight decrease in these nutrients with soaking time. Again, moisture and carbohydrate were lower in whole grain kadal flours than in decorticated counterparts. On sensory attributes of the various tuwo produced, colour improved with soaking time more in the decorticated millet kadals. Decorticated millet had greater desirable flavor, which was not significantly different from that of whole millet kadals. Texture of 4th day kadal tuwo was better, with whole millet kadal tuwo rated better than that of the decorticated, unlike the texture of maize kadal tuwo. Control tuwo in general had poorer flavour, colour, texture and taste. The overall acceptability of the kadal tuwo was generally higher than the control. Millet kadal tuwo progressively improved with soaking time. The bottom line was that nutritional values were sacrificed to the improvement of sensory properties of the prepared kadal flours

Proximate Composition, Phytochemical and Elemental Analysis of Some Organic Solvent Extract of The Wild Mushroom- Ganoderma lucidum.

Brief about the title: The crude extract powder of Ganoderma lucidum harvested from Lafia, Nassarawa State of Nigeria during the rainy season was analyzed for proximate contents, phytochemical constituents and mineral composition using various standard methods. Description of the experiment and procedures: The harvested Ganoderma lucidum was air dried at 370C and grinded to powder; this was preliminary analyzed for proximate contents, phytochemical constituents. The crude powder was subjected to soxhlet extraction at 400C using Methanol, Ethylacetate and N-butanol to obtain different organic solvent fractions, these were then concentrated in vacuo at 240C for 48 hours to obtain different solvent extract fractions. These extracts were then analyzed for phytochemical contents using standards methods. Results: Analysis for proximate constituent showed Moisture contents was 10.54%, Total ash 5.93%, Protein 17.55%, Crude Fats 2.60%, Crude Fiber 30.25%, Carbohydrates 33.13%, and Nitrogen 23.52%. Phytochemical screening from unprocessed G.lucidum powder reveals the presence of:  Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Reducing sugars, Tannins, Cardiac glycosides, Anthraquinones, Saponins, Volatile oils and Steroids. However, variations in the presence and concentrations of these phytochemicals were observed in the partitioned portions separated by Methanol, Ethyl acetate and N-butanol. Analysis of Total ash reveals in (mg/kg) the presence of Ca (322.6), K (317.1), P (197.1), and Na (193.5) in high quantity, while C (68.2), Fe (44.6), and Zn (14.65) and Mg (8.7.0), were found to be in moderate quantity. However, Si (4.10), Mn (1.83), As (1.23), Cu (0.84), Cr (0.14), Pb (0.106), Mo (0.09), Ni (0.095), F (0.0039), Al (0.20) and Co (0.026) are very low in concentration, but Se (0.00) was completely not detected. Conclusion: The presence of these essential nutrients and minerals found in G.lucidum implies that it can be utilized for its medicinal values in healthcare delivery systems, and the medicinal importance are thus highlighted in this work. Keywords: Ganoderma lucidum, Fruiting body, proximate analysis, Phytochemical and Mineral, Healthcar

In Vitro Antioxidant and Anti-Diabetic Potential of Gymnema Sylvestre Methanol Leaf Extract

Some medicinal plants and their purified derivatives have demonstrated beneficial therapeutic potentials for many centuries. They have been reported to exhibit antioxidant activity, reducing the oxidative stress in cells and are therefore useful in the treatment of many human diseases, including diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. This study evaluated antioxidative activity and enzymatic (alpha-amylase and alphaglucosidase) inhibitory potentials of Gymnema sylvestre methanolic leaf extract (GSMLE) using standard methods. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, steroids, terpenoids and flavonoids. The total phenolics and total flavonoids content in the extract were found to be 6.629±0.745 (µg/ml of catechol equivalent) and 0.004±0.0012 (µg/ml of quercetin equivalent) respectively. GSMLE was shown to have radical scavenging activity against DPPH (290.54 ± 39.72 %), hydroxyl radical (86.507 ± 23.55 %) and hydrogen peroxide (45.25 ± 25.23 %). The level of SOD was significantly decreased in H2O2 induced and H2O2+extract induced when compared with normal control (p<0.05); the level of GSH was significantly increased in H2O2 induced control and significantly decreased in H2O2+extract induced test when compared to normal control. GSH was also decreased significantly in H2O2+extract induced when compared to H2O2 induced control (p<0.05). The extract also demonstrated significant inhibition of alpha-glucosidase (IC50 182.26 ±1.05μg/ml) when compared with standard acarbose (IC50 189.52±0.46) and was more potent than the arcarbose on alpha-amylase inhibition with IC50 of 195.3±4.40 and 200.05±7.16 respectively. These findings may therefore, stress the potentiality of using Gymnema sylvestre as a natural remedy for the management of type 2 diabetes

Electrolyte and oxidative stress profile of healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria, and their relationship with experimental pain response

Background: Electrolyte imbalance and oxidative stress (OS) are known to impair physiological functions, which can alter health and wellbeing. The reactive species produced due to OS are detoxified by endogenous antioxidants to maintain homeostasis. This study investigated the electrolyte and oxidative stress profile of a healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria and their relationship with experimental pain outcome. Method: Participants were apparently healthy adult volunteers between the ages of 20 to 65 years and drawn from the city of Zaria and its environs. Experimental pain was induced using pressure algometry. About 5 ml of blood was collected for determination of serum electrolytes, malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Result: The results showed that serum concentrations of sodium, potassium and chloride as well as oxidative stress profile did not vary with sex, age and ethnicity among the studied population. There was a significant negative correlation between pressure pain threshold and serum concentration of potassium (r = 0.2330, p = 0.003) and chloride (r = 0.2126, p = 0.007), while serum sodium correlated positively (r = 0.3439, p = 0.000). Serum MDA, SOD and GSH did not show statistically significant correlation with pressure pain threshold (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Serum electrolytes, but not oxidative stress markers, correlate significantly with experimental pressure pain threshold among healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria Keywords: Electrolytes, oxidative stress, pressure pain, sex, age, ethnicit

Assessment of Selected Heavy Metal Content on Dumpsites Soil and Vegetables Grown in Muwo Metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria

This study examines the concentration of heavy metals in soil samples and some vegetables (spinach, water leaf, bitter leaf and jute mallow) cultivated around dumpsites in Muwo Metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria. The soil samples and vegetable were analyzed for Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd using AA500 spectrophotometer after acid digestion. Data obtained show that, the Pb (1.684 mg/kg of Jute) content was high compared to other metals study in this work. Concentration of Zn was 1.993, 0.862 and 0.443 mg/kg for water leaf, soil and control sample respectively. The content of Pb was 1.727, 1.738 and ND mg/kg for water leaf, soil and control sample respectively. Also, the concentration of Pb was 1.736, ND and 0.457 mg/kg for spinach, soil and control sample respectively. However, the content of Zn was 0.786, 0.751 and 0.554 mg/kg for spinach, soil and control sample respectively The accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils is of increasing concern because of, potential health risks, food safety as well as its detrimental effects on the soil ecosystem and human health. The pollution indexes of Ni contents are 0.439, 0.378, and 0.083 for jute, soil and control sample respectively. While Zn concentration was 1.117, 0.858 and 0.492 for jute, soil and control sample respectively. The result of this study shows that Pb concentrations are present in high levels in the study area at the different level of contamination