Overview of citric acid production from Aspergillus niger

Citric acid has high economic potential owing to its numerous applications. It is mostly produced by microbial fermentation using Aspergillus niger. In view of surges in demand and growing markets, there is always a need for the discovery and development of better production techniques and solutions to improve production yields and the efficiency of product recovery. To support the enormous scale of production, it is necessary and important for the production process to be environmentally friendly by utilizing readily available and inexpensive agro-industrial waste products, while maintaining high production yields. This article reviews the biochemistry of citric acid formation, choices of citric-acid producing microorganisms and raw materials, fermentation strategies, the effects of various fermentation conditions, citric acid recovery options and the numerous applications of citric acid, based on information drawn from the literature over the past 10 years

Neuro-endocrine effects of aqueous extract of Amaranthus viridis (Linn.) leaf in male Wistar rat model of cyclophosphamide-induced reproductive toxicity

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is a widely used cytotoxic alkylating agent with antitumor and immunosuppressant properties that is associated with various forms of reproductive toxicity. The significance of natural antioxidants of plant origin should be explored, especially in a world with increasing incidence of patients in need of chemotherapy. The neuro-endocrine effects of aqueous extract of Amaranthus viridis (Linn.) leaf (AEAVL) in Wistar rats with CP-induced reproductive toxicity was determined. Forty rats were used for this study such that graded doses of the extract were administered following CP-induced reproductive toxicity and comparisons were made against control, toxic and standard (vitamin E) groups at p < 0.05. The synthetic drugs (CP, 65 mg/kg i.p. for 5 days; Vitamin E, 100 mg/kg p.o. for 30 days) as well as the extract (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o. for 30 days) were administered to the rats at 0.2 mL/100 g. CP induced reproductive toxicity as evidenced by significantly lowered levels of FSH, LH and testosterone, perturbation of sperm characterization, deleterious disruptions of the antioxidant system as evidenced by decreased levels of GSH as well as elevation of TBARS activity. Histopathological examination showed hemorrhagic lesions with scanty and hypertrophied parenchymal cells in the pituitary while the testis showed ballooned seminiferous tubules with loosed connective tissues and vacuolation of testicular interstitium. These conditions were significantly reversed (p < 0.05) following administration of the graded doses of the extract. It was, therefore, concluded that AEAVL could potentially be a therapeutic choice in patients with CP-induced neuro-endocrine dysfunction and reproductive toxicity. Keywords: Cyclophosphamide, Neuro-endocrine dysfunction, Reproductive toxicity, Rats, Amaranthus viridi

A dataset of customer loyalty and variation in perception of customers across demographic characteristics In healthcare sector of Nigeria

The data depicted on customer loyalty in the healthcare sector was concentrated on the variation in perception across demographic characteristics on the subject matter. The data focused on selected private hospitals adjudged to be the best four in Lagos State, Nigeria. In this data article, the variables for customer loyalty were categorized into (repeat purchase, brand insistence, switching restraint and customer satisfaction) for healthcare service sector in Nigeria. The data made used of the personal profile of the respondents as the independent variables to establish a link between the aims of the study and the demographic characteristics via the quantitative method. Data were gathered from 365 respondents through the use of structured questionnaire. The Kruskal Wallis Test was carried out to investigate and identify what accounted for the variation in the customers’ perception on the subject matter. The SPSS (22) was utilized to analysed the data. This dataset is presented openly for easy accessibility for a greater critical examination. Keywords: Customer, Loyalty, Perception, Demography, Healthcar