Factors associated with adoption of indigenous biscuit processing technology by mothers of school-going children in Ogun State, Nigeria

Wheat is the conventional flour in biscuit manufacture. However, the use of wheat is not economical due to the fact that huge foreign reserve is used in its importation in Nigeria. In addition, wheat-based foods are associated with celiac disease, hence the use of non-wheat crops like tubers and legumes in biscuit processing is desirable. A previous study had developed a nutritionally improved biscuit from underutilized crops, such as sweet potato, cooking banana and pigeon pea. The present study examined factors associated with adoption of the indigenous biscuit processing technology using non-wheat flours by mothers of school going children in Ogun State, Nigeria. Amultistage sampling procedure was utilized to select 120 respondents from the list of 1,123 registered farmers in 10 extension blocks in Ogun State. A questionnaire was used to collect data on the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents. Respondents were taught the various stages of biscuit processing through demonstration. Knowledge about the various stages of biscuit processing was measured on a 5-point Likert Scale. The five points used were: extremely understood, moderately understood, somewhat understood, slightly understood and not understood. Level of adoption indicates the psychological stages that an individual passes through before making a final decision to use a particular innovation. Adoption Level was thus measured on Knowledge, Persuasions, Decision, Confirmation and Continuation decision. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance, Chi square, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Results revealed the mean age of respondents to be 40.35 } 10.33 years. Most respondents were traders, and the highest educational qualification was National Diploma (2.5%). The main sources of agricultural information were radio (64.2%) and extension agents (60%). There were high adoption rates in baking/production (87.7%) and flour blending (85.5%). Reasons for technology adoption were affordability (80.8%), availability of ingredients (81.7%) and relative advantage (80.8%). Adoption of technology was associated with age (r = 0.284, p < 0.05), quality of technology delivery (r = 0.267, p < 0.05), marital status (χ2 = 1.081, p < 0.05) and membership of association (χ2 = 12.055, p < 0.05). In conclusion, effective adoption of technology could be achieved among young married mothers

Omics-based molecular techniques in oral pathology centred cancer: Prospect and challenges in Africa

: The completion of the human genome project and the accomplished milestones in the human proteome project; as well as the progress made so far in computational bioinformatics and “big data” processing have contributed immensely to individualized/personalized medicine in the developed world.At the dawn of precision medicine, various omics-based therapies and bioengineering can now be applied accurately for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and risk stratifcation of cancer in a manner that was hitherto not thought possible. The widespread introduction of genomics and other omics-based approaches into the postgraduate training curriculum of diverse medical and dental specialties, including pathology has improved the profciency of practitioners in the use of novel molecular signatures in patient management. In addition, intricate details about disease disparity among diferent human populations are beginning to emerge. This would facilitate the use of tailor-made novel theranostic methods based on emerging molecular evidences

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

A Comparative Evaluation of the Physical and Chemical Properties of Tamarind (Tamarindus Indica L.) Seeds in Nigeria

The physical and chemical properties of tamarind seeds (Tamarindus indica L.) in Nigeria were investigated. Tamarind fruits were randomly collected from 18 towns in the savannah region of Nigeria. The seeds were manually separated from the pulp and membranes, sun-dried andthe physical properties determined. The seeds were then manually removed from the shells to expose the cotyledon. The proximate and antinutritional compositions of the cotyledons were determined in accordance with established analytical methods. Significant differences(p.0.05) were observed in all the quality attributes of the seeds. All the seed shells were black in colour. The length and width of the seeds varied from 10.59-12.64 mm and 8.84-10.87 mm, respectively. The number of seeds per pod, number of seeds per 100 g and density of the seeds ranged between 6 and 10, 202 and 352, and 0.77 and 4.03 g/ml respectively. The hydration capacity, hydration index and swelling capacity of the seeds were 0.21-0.34, 0.42-0.82, and 0.09- 0.37, respectively. The proximate composition of the seeds ranged from 7.87-10.37 % for moisture, 6.50-9.37 % for protein, 15.70-18.67 % for fat, 2.27-5.37 % for ash, 1.10-2.4 % for crude fibre and 55.97-64.07 % for carbohydrate. The seeds contained less than 0.40% tannin, 1.50 % phytate and 0.2 % saponin. The implication of the quality attributes of tamarind seeds in food processing and human nutrition was highlighted

Effects of Carrot Pomace on the Chemical and Sensory Attributes of Ogi, a Nigerian Fermented Food

Objective: This study investigated the effect of carrot pomace on the nutritional and sensory attributes of Nigerian fermented cereal product- ogi. Materials and Methods: White variety of maize grains were cleaned and sorted, steeped, ground, wet sieved and dried to obtain ogi flour. Carrot pomace flour was obtained by blanching, milling and drying cleaned and defect-free carrots. Ogi and carrot pomace flours were blended in the ratios 100:0; 0:100; 90:10; 80:20; 70:30; 50:50. The proximate, carotenoid and mineral compositions of the blends were assessed using standard analytical methods. A 20-member panel, who are regular consumers of ogi gruel, assessed the sensory qualities (colour, taste, smoothness, aroma and overall acceptability) of the products using Hedonic and Multiple comparison tests. Data were analysed using analysis of variance, Duncan’s multiple range test and Least Significant Difference. Results: The moisture contents of the ogi-carrot pomace flour blends ranged between 8.9 and 9.23 %. The protein and fat contents of the blends decreased with increase in carrot pomace. Inclusion of carrot pomace in ogi significantly (p≤0.05) improved the crude fibre, carotenoids and mineral contents of ogi. Except for smoothness, the inclusion of carrot pomace in ogi improved the colour, taste, aroma and overall acceptability of ogi gruel. No significant difference (p≤0.05) occurred in the smoothness of ogi gruel prepared from ogi-carrot pomace blends of 100:0 and 90:10. Blending of ogi with 10 % carrot pomace was most acceptable. Conclusion: The use of carrot pomace in product development should be encouraged, as this is expected to help in alleviating the problem of micronutrient malnutrition and reduce the environmental menace often associated with the disposal of carrot pomace. However, there is need to determine the microbiological status of the flour blends. Keywords: carrot, ogi, proximate composition, pomace, sensory attribute

The Inhibition of aflatoxin production from Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 by ethanol extract of Aframommon danielli flower

The inhibition of Aflatoxin production from Aspergillus parasiticus strain NRRL 2999 was investigated using ethanol extracts of Aframommon danielli flower at concentrations of 250ìg/g, 500ìg/g, 750ìg/g and 1000ìg/g with whole wheat bread as a substrate. Aspergillus parasiticus grew abundantly on whole wheat bread; growth on samples containing 250ìg/g and 500ìg/g extracts were scanty and those of 750ìg/g and 1000ìg/g were not visible. The percentagesaflatoxin (B1 + G1) inhibitions of the flower extract were 25.2% (250ìg/g), 43.5 (500ìg/g), 65.2% (750ìg/g) and 70.2% (1000ìg/g). The percentage inhibition for Tioconazole (100ìg/g) was 88%. The result showed that Aframommon danielli flower ethanol extract can prevent mould growthand aflatoxin production in foods.Key words: Aflatoxin, Aspergillus parasiticus, daniell