2020

Participatory rural appraisal surveys aimed at determining farmers’ perception of plantain production constraints in Port Harcourt metropolis (specifically at Rivers State University [RSU], Nkoplu and the Agricultural Development Programme [ADP] farms, Rumuodomaya) have revealed: poor soil fertility, wind, “drought” and “disease” (in that order of importance) as the major militating factors to plantain (or Musa) production in this region.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of synthetic halogenated organic compounds used in a number of polymer-based commercial and home-use products. They are incoporated in the manufacture of electronics devices, furniture and textiles to increase resistance to flames and to meet set out fire safety standards. Generally, PBDEs are characterized by long range atmospheric transport, high bioaccumulation and toxicities. There is a dearth of information on the concentrations of PBDEs and the pattern of distribution at the various e-waste dump and dismantling sites in Nigeria.

The Falcorp mangrove swamp has and is still been exposed to various forms of anthropogenic polluting activities which include; Vandalization of oil pipelines which transverse sections of the swamp. The PAHs and PCBs profile of swamp sediments was investigated. The sediments were subjected to routine PAH and PCB analyses which included; extraction, use of sonicator, GC-ECD and GC-FID analysis. The data were subjected to statistical and multivariate analysis using Microsoft Excel, SPSS version 16.0 and PAST respectively.

Refuse dumpsites often contain materials capable of polluting surrounding soils. In this study, the spatial distribution of metals in soils of refuse dumpsites in three urban towns (Ughelli, Sapele, Orhuwhorun) in Delta State, Nigeria were examined. Soil samples were collected from three dumpsites in the aforementioned towns at depths 0-15 cm, 15-30 cm and 30-45 cm, respectively.

This study investigated and compared the glycaemic rises following administration of various honey samples in rats. Five Nigerian honeys [Abakaliki honey (ABH), Calabar honey (CAH), Ezzamgbo honey (EZH), Lokoja honey (LOH), Okitipupa honey (OKH)] and one Malaysian honey (MAH) were administered to non-diabetic and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) concentrations were measured at 0, 30, 60 and 120 min. Glucose parameters including peak blood glucose, area under curve, percentage variation in blood glucose (BG) and percentage change in BG were estimated.

Herbs are increasingly used across the globe; In fact, the World Health Organization reported that most African countries, including Nigeria, depend on herbal medicines for primary health care, without much documented evidence of adverse effects. Agbo polyhebral extract is popular in Nigeria, especially among (but not limited to) the local populace of the southwestern areas. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of malaria alcoholic herbal extract (Agbo) on renal, liver, oxidative stress markers and hematological parameters on wistar rats.

The occurrence and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were assessed in urban soils of Udu, near Warri in Delta State, Nigeria. The PAHs were quantified with gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) after extraction and clean-up of the extracts with n-hexane/dichloromethane. The concentrations of ∑16 PAHs in the urban soils ranged from 269 µg kg-1 to 853 µg kg-1

The content and risk of nine heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn and Fe) were quantified and assessed in jams consumed in Nigeria. The heavy metal contents were quantified using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) after digesting jam samples with mixture of acids. The quantified content (mg/kg) of the heavy metals in the jams ranged from <0.03 for Cd, < 0.25 for Pb, 0.05-1.55 for Ni, < 0.25-0.50 for Cr, 0.75-7.75 for Cu, <0.25-0.50 for Co, <0.25- 13.3 for Mn, <2.00-14.0 for Zn and 13.1-30.8 for Fe.

 Whey (cassava wastewater) is an industrial residue obtained from the processing of cassava into various fermented products such as garri, fufu and lafun. Cassava whey mycoflora and their antagonistic activity against Escherichia coli were determined in this report. The associated fungi were enumerated and isolated by standard microbiological methods. The pH value of cassava whey samples was determined using an electrode pH meter while titratable acidity was by acid-base titration. Antagonistic effects of the fungal isolates against previously identified diarrheagenic E.

This study was carried out to investigate the microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of  pharmaceutical raw materials used in some non-sterile preparations. A total of 16samples of pharmaceutical raw materials and 3 formulated non sterile preparations were subjected to microbial limit test, isolation and characterization of microbial  contaminants and physicochemical analysis.