Variation in physico-chemical properties of seed of selected improved varieties of Cowpea as it relates to industrial utilization of the crop

Cowpea is an important food, cash and fodder crop in Sub-Saharan Africa and has potential of becoming an industrial crop. A trial was conducted to evaluate selected improved and popular varietiesof cowpea for physicochemical characteristics that can help to promote commercial production and industrial use. Variations in content were found among varieties for protein (21.3 - 26.9%), carbohydrate(63.37 - 69.56%), fat (1.2 to 1.80%), crude fibre (0.43 to 1.03%), and tannin (0.87 - 1.51 mg/g), also in water binding capacity (91.77 - 108.35%) and gelatinization temperature (79.13 - 84.83oC). High positive correlations (0.86) were observed between the content of fat and crude fibre, ash and protein (0.78), carbohydrate and viscosity of cowpea flour (0.76), and between ash and tannin (0.61) content of cowpea seed, negative correlations were observed between the content of crude protein and carbohydrate (-0.98), ash and fat (-0.78), crude protein and viscosity (-0.76) of cowpea flour, fat and water bindingcapacity of cowpea flour (-0.72) and carbohydrate and tannin (-0.54) in cowpea seed. Seed coat colour plays no significant role in the chemical content of the seed. The physicochemical properties evaluatedgenerally had high broad sense heritability (56 - 99%). Cowpea varieties (IT97K-1101-5 and IT89KD-288) with high protein content could be selected for formulating infant feeds, varieties with lowercarbohydrate, low fat and high crude fibre (IT90K-277-2) would be desirable in making meals for diabetic patients

Evaluation of Rice Brands by Sensory Qualities

A purposively selected 20 member sensory panel was used to do sensory and cooking qualities assessment of locally processed rice brands and popularly imported rice brands consumed by most Nigerians. The local brands are ‘Enyi, Lobi, Eagle and Veetee; while the imported brands are ‘Tomato and Caprice. The results showed that Olam was significantly better and distinguishable from Abakaliki, Tomato and Caprice brands for colour (P<0.05); Olam was significantly better than Caprice for flavour (P<0.05); Olam was significantly better than Abakaliki and Caprice for sogginess (P<0.05); Olam was significantly preferred than Veetee for stickness (P<0.05); Olam was significantly better than the other brands for taste (P<0.05); Olam was significantly preferred to other brands for texture (P<0.05) and significantly better from Tomato for general acceptability (P<0.05). On assessment of rice grains, the results also showed that Enyi and Abakaliki had poor grain colour rating (P<0.05); the general  acceptability of Olam, Caprice and Veetee grain brands were significantly better than the other brands (P<0.05). Generally speaking, the results of the analyses showed that local brands of processed rice competed well with imported brands for sensory qualities.Key words: rice brands, sensory qualities, consumer preference, general acceptabilit

Variation in physicochemical properties of seed of selected improved varieties of cowpea as it relates to industrial utilization of the crop

Cowpea is an important food, cash and fodder crop in Sub-Saharan Africa and has potential of becoming an industrial crop. A trial was conducted to evaluate selected improved and popular varieties of cowpea for physicochemical characteristics that can help to promote commercial production and industrial use. Variations in content were found among varieties for protein (21.3 - 26.9%), carbohydrate (63.37 - 69.56%), fat (1.2 to 1.80%), crude fibre (0.43 to 1.03%), and tannin (0.87 - 1.51 mg/g), also in water binding capacity (91.77 - 108.35%) and gelatinization temperature (79.13 - 84.83oC). High positive correlations (0.86) were observed between the content of fat and crude fibre, ash and protein (0.78), carbohydrate and viscosity of cowpea flour (0.76), and between ash and tannin (0.61) content of cowpea seed, negative correlations were observed between the content of crude protein and carbohydrate (- 0.98), ash and fat (-0.78), crude protein and viscosity (-0.76) of cowpea flour, fat and water binding capacity of cowpea flour (-0.72) and carbohydrate and tannin (-0.54) in cowpea seed. Seed coat colour plays no significant role in the chemical content of the seed. The physicochemical properties evaluated generally had high broad sense heritability (56 - 99%). Cowpea varieties (IT97K-1101-5 and IT89KD-288) with high protein content could be selected for formulating infant feeds, varieties with lower carbohydrate, low fat and high crude fibre (IT90K-277-2) would be desirable in making meals for diabetic patients

Effects of monosodium-L-glutamate administration on serum levels of reproductive hormones and cholesterol, epididymal sperm reserves and testicular histomorphology of male albino rats

This study investigated the effects of administration of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) on serum gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinising hormone (LH), testosterone and total cholesterol (TC), cauda epididymal sperm reserves (CESR) and testicular histomorphology of adult male albino rats. Eighty-four rats, randomly assigned to 7 groups of 12 rats each, were used for the study. Varying low doses (0.25, 0.50 or 1.00 g/kg body weight) of MSG were administered orally or subcutaneously at 48-h intervals for six weeks. Serum GnRH, LH, testosterone and TC, and CESR were evaluated on days 14, 28 and 42 of MSG administration. Testicular histomorphology was evaluated on day 42. The results showed that the mean serum GnRH, LH and testosterone levels, and the CESR of all the treated groups were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the untreated control on days 14, 28 and 42 of MSG administration. The mean serum TC levels of all the treated groups were also significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the control group on days 14 and 28. No lesions were observed on sections of the testes. It was concluded that MSG administration for 14, 28 and 42 days led to significantly lower serum levels of GnRH, LH, testosterone and TC, and significantly lower CESR

Interventions to reduce pesticide exposure from the agricultural sector in Africa: a workshop report

Despite the fact that several cases of unsafe pesticide use among farmers in different parts of Africa have been documented, there is limited evidence regarding which specific interventions are effective in reducing pesticide exposure and associated risks to human health and ecology. The overall goal of the African Pesticide Intervention Project (APsent) study is to better understand ongoing research and public health activities related to interventions in Africa through the implementation of suitable target-specific situations or use contexts. A systematic review of the scientific literature on pesticide intervention studies with a focus on Africa was conducted. This was followed by a qualitative survey among stakeholders involved in pesticide research or management in the African region to learn about barriers to and promoters of successful interventions. The project was concluded with an international workshop in November 2021, where a broad range of topics relevant to occupational and environmental health risks were discussed such as acute poisoning, street pesticides, switching to alternatives, or disposal of empty pesticide containers. Key areas of improvement identified were training on pesticide usage techniques, research on the effectiveness of interventions targeted at exposure reduction and/or behavioral changes, awareness raising, implementation of adequate policies, and enforcement of regulations and processes

Identification of a gene signature for discriminating metastatic from primary melanoma using a molecular interaction network approach

Understanding the biological factors that are characteristic of metastasis in melanoma remains a key approach to improving treatment. In this study, we seek to identify a gene signature of metastatic melanoma. We configured a new network-based computational pipeline, combined with a machine learning method, to mine publicly available transcriptomic data from melanoma patient samples. Our method is unbiased and scans a genome-wide protein-protein interaction network using a novel formulation for network scoring. Using this, we identify the most influential, differentially expressed nodes in metastatic as compared to primary melanoma. We evaluated the shortlisted genes by a machine learning method to rank them by their discriminatory capacities. From this, we identified a panel of 6 genes, ALDH1A1, HSP90AB1, KIT, KRT16, SPRR3 and TMEM45B whose expression values discriminated metastatic from primary melanoma (87% classification accuracy). In an independent transcriptomic data set derived from 703 primary melanomas, we showed that all six genes were significant in predicting melanoma specific survival (MSS) in a univariate analysis, which was also consistent with AJCC staging. Further, 3 of these genes, HSP90AB1, SPRR3 and KRT16 remained significant predictors of MSS in a joint analysis (HR = 2.3, P = 0.03) although, HSP90AB1 (HR = 1.9, P = 2 × 10−4) alone remained predictive after adjusting for clinical predictors

Variation in physico-chemical properties of seed of selected improved varieties of Cowpea as it relates to industrial utilization of the crop

Cowpea is an important food, cash and fodder crop in Sub-Saharan Africa and has potential of becoming an industrial crop. A trial was conducted to evaluate selected improved and popular varietiesof cowpea for physicochemical characteristics that can help to promote commercial production and industrial use. Variations in content were found among varieties for protein (21.3 - 26.9%), carbohydrate(63.37 - 69.56%), fat (1.2 to 1.80%), crude fibre (0.43 to 1.03%), and tannin (0.87 - 1.51 mg/g), also in water binding capacity (91.77 - 108.35%) and gelatinization temperature (79.13 - 84.83oC). High positive correlations (0.86) were observed between the content of fat and crude fibre, ash and protein (0.78), carbohydrate and viscosity of cowpea flour (0.76), and between ash and tannin (0.61) content of cowpea seed, negative correlations were observed between the content of crude protein and carbohydrate (-0.98), ash and fat (-0.78), crude protein and viscosity (-0.76) of cowpea flour, fat and water bindingcapacity of cowpea flour (-0.72) and carbohydrate and tannin (-0.54) in cowpea seed. Seed coat colour plays no significant role in the chemical content of the seed. The physicochemical properties evaluatedgenerally had high broad sense heritability (56 - 99%). Cowpea varieties (IT97K-1101-5 and IT89KD-288) with high protein content could be selected for formulating infant feeds, varieties with lowercarbohydrate, low fat and high crude fibre (IT90K-277-2) would be desirable in making meals for diabetic patients

Effects of drying of cowpea grains on consumer acceptability of moin-moin

A drying test was conducted on wet de-hulled cowpea grains to ascertain the effects of drying at 60oC, 70oC, 80oC, and 90oC on the physico-chemical properties and sensory evaluation (consumer acceptability) of moin-moin from different flours. Chemical analyses were conducted on the flour to ascertain the effect of different levels of drying on the protein, carbohydrate and water binding capacity of the flours. A fifteen member trained panelist was purposively chosen to assess the quality of the moin-moin produced. The results of the analysis revealed that temperature of drying affected the protein, carbohydrate and water binding capacity of cowpea flour. The different drying scenarios also affected the acceptability of moin-moin by consumers. The study showed that moin-moin produced from a 60oC dried cowpea grains was sensorily preferred and accepted by consumers. Key words: drying, cowpea flour, moin-moin, consumer preference Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences Vol. 4 (2) 2006: pp. 125-13