Vol 16, No 2 , 2015-1, African Scientist

Physostigma venenosum Balf., known as Calabar beans (Fabaceae family) is a very poisonous plant with reported therapeutic properties. Many studies have shown its use in medicine for eye problems, glaucoma, constipation, epilepsy, cholera, hypertension and tetanus. In this study, quantitative phytochemistry, proximate analysis and mineral constituents of the ethanol extracts of Physostigma venenosum seeds were investigated using standard analytical chemical procedures.

The first and the most essential step in any genetic analysis is the extraction of good quality DNA. In this study, comparison of five different protocols of isolating total genomic DNA from Cowpea plant (Vigna unguiculata) was carried out. A total of 10 varieties of cowpea (V. unguiculata) were collected from IITA and planted in pots in a screenhouse in the Department of Botany, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

The Effects of Aqueous Extract of Ficus sycomorus leaves on the testis, epididymis and sperm parameters in adult male Wistar rats was investigated. Eighteen [18] adult male rats were used for the experiment. The rats were randomly assigned into three groups; control group (A) and two treatment groups (B and C) with each containing six rats (n=6/group).

The mortality of adult D. maculatus on fish treated with palm oil, groundnut oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil at 2.5ml / kg, 5.0ml / kg and 10.0 ml kg respectively was monitored over a 15 day period. The highest mortality of 40% was recorded in groundnut oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil at 10ml / kg treatment respectively at the end of the period. Lowest mortalities of 3.3% were recorded in the palm oil groundnut and coconut oil treatments at 2.5 ml/kg and 5.0 ml/kg respectively.

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 1 suggesting health concern for individuals consuming these jams regularly.

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.

The effects of flood on five genotypes of Cassava (Manihot esculenta), TMEB419, 011371, I98058I, I30574 and 91934 was investigated for a period of twenty (21) days. The plants were subjected to flooding two months after establishment. Results revealed that there are three homogenous groups for chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B. It was observed that the effect of flooding on chlorophyll content of the various genotypes is dependent on time. The longer the duration of flooding the less quantity of chlorophyll in the plant.

This study investigated the compatibility of selected isolates of the medicinal mushroom, Daldinia concentrica of southern Nigeria origin. The pure cultures of the mushroom were prepared on Potato Dextrose Agar. Compatibility was done by pairing the isolates in the Petri dishes. Five millimetre agar block of each of isolate was inoculated in a Potato Dextrose Agar plate in dual cultures with a distance of 2 cm apart. Five replicate plates were prepared for each paired isolates. The controls were the pairs from the same plate of isolate.