Wood of Gliricidia sepium as a potential source of dietary fiber

In recent years it has been established that several health problems common in developed societies are connected to a lack of dietary fiber content in the daily meal. Among such health hazards are excessive body weight and its secondary implications, such as atherosclerosis, cancers of the colon, hemorrhoids, appendicitis, colitis and diverticulosis. Therefore, due to the indispensable benefits of dietary fibers intake and the health hazards resulting from their deficiency, nutritional experts have come up with a number of new ideas for food recipes. One of these ideas is related to wood anatomy, i.e. addition of wood fiber to wheat flour to produce or bake breads of low caloric value and a high dietary fiber content. Intake by experimental rats of a feed-supplemented with insoluble wood fiber of Gliricidia sepium during four weeks revealed that wood fiber supplements were acceptable to the rats. There was no significant difference in the blood packed cell volume (PCV) between experimental and control animals. This result indicates that fiber intake did not have any side effect on the blood of experimental animals. Furthermore, incorporation of wood fibers into wheat flour did not adversely affect the physical and baking properties of bread. This study recommends use of the wood of G. sepium as a potential source of dietary fibers

Stomatal complex types, stomatal density, and the stomatal index in some species of dioscorea

Dioscorea alata L. has three stomatal complex types, namely, paracytic, anisocytic, and tetracytic stomata, with percentage frequency values of 50, 18, and 32, respectively. Dioscorea bulbifera has paracytic and anisocytic stomata, with percentage frequency values of 87.60 and 12.40, respectively. Dioscorea cayenensis has anisocytic stomata, with a percent­age frequency value of 100. Dioscorea dumetorum has tetracytic and paractytic stomata, with percentage frequency values of 91.05 and 8.95, respectively. Both D. esculenta and D. rotundata have paracytic stomata, with a percentage frequency of 100. The range of variation of stomatal density is from 10 (lowest value) in D. alata and D. dumentorum to 27 (highest value) in D. bulbifera. The stomatal index also varies, from 24 in D. alata to 47 in D. cayenensis. The size of stomata in all species is small, varying in length from 0.74 μm in D. alata to 1.79 μm in D. dumentorum. An indented dichotomous key based on stomatal features was constructed to distinguish and identify the species

Morpho-anatomical effects of sodium azide and nitrous acid on Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai (Cucurbitaceae) and Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae)

ABSTRACT Chemical mutagens (e.g. sodium azide and nitrous acid) are important tools in crop improvements because they produce resistance against pathogens in crops to improve their yield and quality traits. This study investigates the morphological and anatomical effects of sodium azide and nitrous acid on Citrullus lanatus and Moringa olefeira at various concentrations (1 mM, 2 mM, 3 mM and 4 mM) for 4 hours, and planted in plastic pots for 12 weeks observations. Results showed that sodium azide and nitrous acid have differential influenced on morphological features (stem height, leaf number and root length) in C. lanatus and M. olefeira respectively. Anatomical features (stomatal density, index and size) are more influenced by the sodium azide-treated plants in both plants than in the nitrous acid-treated plants. Both mutagens are more effective in the two plants than the control

Morpho-anatomical effects of sodium azide and nitrous acid on Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai (Cucurbitaceae) and Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae)

<div><p>ABSTRACT Chemical mutagens (e.g. sodium azide and nitrous acid) are important tools in crop improvements because they produce resistance against pathogens in crops to improve their yield and quality traits. This study investigates the morphological and anatomical effects of sodium azide and nitrous acid on Citrullus lanatus and Moringa olefeira at various concentrations (1 mM, 2 mM, 3 mM and 4 mM) for 4 hours, and planted in plastic pots for 12 weeks observations. Results showed that sodium azide and nitrous acid have differential influenced on morphological features (stem height, leaf number and root length) in C. lanatus and M. olefeira respectively. Anatomical features (stomatal density, index and size) are more influenced by the sodium azide-treated plants in both plants than in the nitrous acid-treated plants. Both mutagens are more effective in the two plants than the control.</p></div