Mineral Elements Content of some Coarse Grains used as staple Food in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Analysis of mineral elements were carried out on some coarse grains used as staple food in Kano metropolis. The levels of Magnesium, Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Copper and Zinc were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), and that of Sodium and Potassium were obtained using flame photometer (FES). The result of the study shows that the mean results of the mineral elements ranged in mg/kg from 62.50±0.55 - 84.82±0.74 sodium, 73.33±0.35 - 317±0.10 magnesium, 89.22±0.26 - 193.33±0.19 potassium, 70.00±0.52 - 186.67±0.29 calcium, 1.00±0.11 - 20.50±1.30 manganese, 25.00±0.11 - 80.50±0.36 iron. 4.00±0.08 - 13.00±0.24 copper and 15.00±0.34 - 50.50±0.24 zinc. There was significant difference (p<0.05) in levels of sodium, potassium and calcium between the varieties of coarse grains whereas no significant differences (p>0.05) occur in levels of magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc between the varieties of coarse grains. In comparison with Recommended Dietary Allowances of essential and trace metals set by international standard organizations, the coarse grains analyzed in this work contribute little to the provision of essential and trace elements requirements.Keywords: Mineral Elements, Coarse Grains, Staple Food, Kano, Nigeria

Lead and Cadmium Levels of Five Commonly and Widely Consumed Leafy Vegetables in Kano State, Nigeria

The levels of the hazardous metals (Pb and Cd) in five different leafy vegetable plant samples ( viz: Hibiscus cannabinus, Cassia tora, Vernonia amygdalina, Corchorus olitorius, and Corchorus tridens) consumed by Kano inhabitants were investigated and found to be at concentration below the environmental lead action level set by US EPA/WHO. Cadmium was not detected in the samples. Low concentration of Pb and absence of Cd in all the plant samples analyzed are clear indication that these may not exhibit toxicity effects due to any of these metals. The consumers are therefore safe from their toxicity effect.Keywords: Lead, Cadmium, Leafy Vegetables, Kano, NigeriaNigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science (2011), 19(2): 304-30

Physicochemical Properties of Oil Extracts from Sesamum Indicum L. Seeds Grown in Jigawa State – Nigeria

Many physical and chemical properties of fats and oils have been investigated. In this study the oil content, Iodine value, specific gravity and some chemical analyses on oil extracted from the white and red seeds of sesame seeds were determined and compared with those reported by the other workers. The white and red sesame seeds have mean percentage oil contents of 48% and 50%, mean iodine value of 103 and 116gI2/100g and specific gravity of 0.915 and 0.923g/cm3 respectively. The chemical analysis carried out on the oil of white and red sesame seeds have the following properties: acid value of 0.5 and 0.45 mg KOH/g, saponification value of 189 and 191 mg KOH/g and peroxide value of 8 and 7.45 meq KOH/g respectively. The high oil content of the sesame seeds obtainedin this study strongly indicates its prospects for commercial extractio

Analysis of some metals in some brands of tea sold in Kano, Nigeria

Tea leaves can be a source of mineral components and trace elements as well as some undesirable substances due to exposure to the environment. In this study, Mg, Fe, Ca, Zn, Mn, Cu and Pb were analyzed by Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), K and Na were also determined by flame photometer. Among the metals analyzed, K was the most abundant, ranging from 30.00mg/dm3 in china sample to 34.60 mg/dm3 in Srilanka sample, followed by Mg with 9.03 mg/dm3 in India sample to 9.21 mg/dm3 in Srilanka sample. Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn, Na and Cu were also found in reasonable amounts. Fortunately, toxic heavy metal (Pb) had the lowest concentration in all the tea samples with concentration ranging from 0.04 mg/dm3 in India and Srilanka samples to 0.09 mg/dm3 in China sample. Keywords: Essential metals, Trace metals, Tea, Kan

Comparison of Levels of some Metals in the Water and Sediment from Challawa Gorge Dam, Kano, Nigeria

Level of some Metals (Cd,Cr,Mn,Pb,Zn,Na and K) was seasonally determined in the water and sediments of Challawa Gorge dam.The result obtained showed that the values of the metal contents were generally higher in the dry season than the wet season. The metal contents of the water and sediment were obtained using the nitric acid digestion method. All the metals analyzed except Na and K were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (flame emission spectroscopic method). Variations in concentrations were found for the heavy metals ranging between (0.01and1.41mg/l) in water and (1.0 and 1.64 mg/kg) in the sediments. Sodium and potassium were found in concentrations ranging between 7.65±0.28 and 11.32±8.62mg/l in water and between 50.32±18.08mg/l and 144.19±12.09mg/kg in the sediments respectively. The statistical comparison of the values between the wet and dry season in water as well as those in sediment shows no significant difference at P>0.05. All the metals were found to be within the permissible limits as recommended by WHO/NOAA for quality water and sediments except for the levels of iron (Fe) in water which was found to be above the acceptable limit. The sediments contained higher concentration of heavy metals than the water. This may be attributed to the fact that sediments usually serves as repositories in an aqueous environment.Keywords: Heavy metals, sediment, wet season, dry season, water

Effect of Bone Marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Umbilical Cord Blood-CD34+ cells on Experimental Rat liver Fibrosis

Background and Objective: Liver disease is one of the major causes of death in many countries. Hence, the development of effective therapies for liver fibrosis is a major aim of medical research. So this study was designed to investigate the therapeutical role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) transplantation in the experimental rat liver fibrosis. Design and Method: Bone marrow-derived MSCs were isolated from femoral and tibial bones of male albino rats, then were grown and propagated in culture for 2 weeks and were characterized morphologically and by detection of CD29 by real time-PCR. Human umbilical cord blood cells were obtained after full-term caesarean delivery from healthy donors after written informed consent. Low-density mononuclear cells were separated over Ficoll- Paque (Gibco-Invitrogen, Grand Island, NY), and then CD34+ HSC was isolated using a magnetic cell sorter (MiniMACS; Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany). The cells were then infused intraperitoneally in rats that received CCl4 injection to induce liver fibrosis. Rats were divided into 4 groups: control, CCl4, CCl4 plus MSC, and CCl4 plus CD34+. Liver tissue was examined histopathologically for all groups. The expression of collagen I and metalloproteinase-2 genes as a marker of liver fibrosis was measured by real time RT- PCR. Results: The results of the present study showed that both MSCs and CD34+ have a significant antifibrotic effect as evidenced by the significant decrease in liver collagen gene expression as well as the decrease in MMP-2 (p < 0.05) compared to the CCl4 group