May 2008
Potential for domestication and commercialization of Hoodia and Opuntia species in Botswana
The species Hoodia (Apocynaceae) and Opuntia (prickly pear) (Cactaceae) are highly efficient in water use and belong to the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) group of plants. These plant species are quite abundant in Botswana especially in the Kalahari Desert, prickly pear being the most dominant even though they have received very little commercial attention in the country. Elsewhere in...
May 2008
Genetically modified food -The dilemma of Africa
The entire subject of GM organisms and GM technology is saddled with different opinions, considerable frustrations, and a growing sense of ethical and environment concerns, globally. The question then is: should opinions and perceptions about GM crops stand the way of technologies that can potentially improve the survival and quality of life for millions of people in Africa? Scientists must help provide an...
May 2008
Haematological studies on the ethanolic stem bark extract of Pterocarpus erinaceus poir (fabaceae)
Pterocarpus erinaceus (fabaceae) is used in the Nigerian folk medicine as well as in other African savanna countries to treat diarrhea, dysentery, urethral discharges, fever, and as an ingredient in abortifacient prescriptions. It is also used in arresting bleeding and as a dressing on ring worm of the scalp. The acute toxicity profile as well as possible haemostatic activity of the ethanolic stem bark...
May 2008
Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of the leaf and bark of Khaya senegalensis
Khaya senegalensis, a member of the family Meliaceae, is a plant commonly used by the local people of Nasarawa State of Nigeria for the treatment of dysentery, mucous diarrhoea and wound infections. The leaves and the bark of the plant were screened for their phytochemical properties and antimicrobial activity. Ethanol was used for the extraction of the active compounds. The test organisms...
May 2008
Antidiarrhoeal activities of aqueous extract of Stereospermum kunthianum (Cham, Sandrine Petit) stem bark in rodents
The antidiarrhoeal effect of the aqueous extract of Stereospermum kunthianum(Cham, Sandrine Petit) stem bark was investigated in in vivo experimentally-induced diarrhoeal models using mice and rats. The extract (100, 200 or 400 mg/kg) dose-dependently reduced castor oil-induced intestinal transit in mice, with the greatest effect observed with the 200 mg/kg body weight of the extract. The...
May 2008
Pharmacokinetic changes of halofantrine in experimentally-induced diabetes mellitus following oral drug administration
It was hypothesized in this study that alterations in plasma lipoprotein profile and disturbed gastrointestinal motility as observed in diabetes mellitus may influence the disposition of halofantrine (HF), a highly lipophilic antimalarial drug. Therefore, using a rat model of diabetes mellitus induced by administration of alloxan monohydrate, the effects of the disease on the pharmacokinetics of HF was...
May 2008
Comparison of some yield and quality criteria in organically and conventionally-grown lettuce
The simplest definition organic farming is a production system, which excludes synthetic inputs and resorts to external inputs only where the system cannot be sustained by internal recycling. Recent studies comparing conventional and organic farming have shown an increase in organic matter, nutrient content, and microbial biomass in organically managed soils. The present study was undertaken to evaluate how...
May 2008
Causes of low seed set in the natural tetraploid Trifolium pratense L. (Fabaceae)
Light and electron microscopic examinations were done at the cell level to research which factors would effect seed formation and the amount of effectiveness of natural tetraploid Trifolium pratense L. variety E2. In this investigation, origin of factors handicapping the seed formation and the results were determined by examining the development of ovule at six different phases to ovary size from...
May 2008
In vitro plant regeneration from embryogenic cell suspension culture of Astragalus chrysochlorus (Leguminoseae)
In vitro plant regeneration was achieved from embryogenic cell suspension culture of Astragalus chrysochlorus. When 30-day-old aseptically grown seedlings were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.1 mg/l α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) plus 1.0 mg/l 6-benzyladenine (BA), friable callus was formed within two weeks from the mesocotyl of the seedling. After three...
May 2008
Research on the effect of phosphorus and molybdenum applications on the yield and yield parameters in lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.)
Lentil is one of the oldest domesticated crops grown and used mostly in human diets in Turkey. The trial was laid out in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Sazak-91 lentil variety was applied at three different phosphorus levels (0, 30 and 60 kg ha-1) and four different molybdenum levels (0, 2, 4 and 6 g/kg seed) in 2005 - 2006 and 2006 - 2007. In the study, the effect of...
May 2008
Chemical composition of essential oil from the peel of Satsuma mandarin
The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the peel of Satsuma mandarin was analyzed by GC/MS analysis. As a result, 28 components were isolated. Among the 25 components identified, the monoterpenes hydrocarbons group was predominant, accounting for 86.62% (w/w) of the total oil. Of which, limonene was the most abundant (67.44%), followed by β-myrcene (7.15%), 3-carene (4.4%),...
May 2008
Effect of pot size, planting date and genotype on mini-tuber production of Marfona potato cultivar
This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of pot size, planting date and type of genotype on mini-tuber production of Marfona potato cultivar (Solanum tuberosum L.) in greenhouse conditions. Four genotypes (M-129, M-128P, M-127P and M-124P) originated from virus free sprouts and a genotype of the same cultivar (Marfona) originated from apical meristem, in 3 sizes of pot and 3 planting date...
May 2008
Antagonistic activity of selected strains of Bacillus thuringiensis against Rhizoctonia solani of chili pepper
The aim of this work was to determine, in vitro, the antagonistic effectiveness of 60 strains of Bacillus thuringiensis against damping-off and root and stem rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani. The strains were obtained from the International Collection of Entomopathogenic Bacillus at the FCB-UANL. During the in vitro dual culture assay only 16 of the strains displayed an...
May 2008
Adoption of improved agricultural technologies disseminated via radio farmer programme by farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria
The study determined farmers’ adoption of improved agricultural technologies disseminated via radio farmer programme in Enugu State, Nigeria. An interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of 135 farmers. Results show that co-farmers and farm broadcast were the major sources of information to greater proportion of the farmers. Data on relevance of the technologies disseminated showed that...
May 2008
Phylogenetic relationships within and among Brassica species from RAPD loci associated with blackleg resistance
The genus Brassica comprises economically important oilseed and vegetable crops. Their susceptibility to fungal diseases such as blackleg causes yield loss. In this study, thirty accessions from USDA germplasm collection representing two diploid Brassica species (Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea var. virids) and fifteen tetraploid cultivars (Brassica napus) from the...
May 2008
Molecular and pomological diversity among pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars in Eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an important fruit species for Turkey where many cultivars are being cultivated. In this study, we determined the fruit characteristics and RAPD band patterns of six local cultivars from Hatay, Turkey. Our results demonstrated that there is a great level of morphological variation. The principle component analysis of 18 quantitative fruit characteristics revealed that...
May 2008
Isolation and characterization of LHY homolog gene expressed in flowering tissues of Tectona grandis (teak)
Floral initiation of teak through molecular biology approach is being studied for better understanding of teak flower development. Through PCR subtractive hybridization method, LHY homolog gene has been isolated from teak flowering tissues. The full-length cDNA of the gene was 2948 base pair (bp) and potentially encoded for 768 amino acids. It was named Tectona grandis LHY (Tg-LHY), as the...
May 2008
Development of sodium alginate and konkoli gum-grafted-polyacrylamide blend membrane: optimization of grafting conditions
This experiment is a continuation of our effort to develop a blend membrane of sodium alginate and “konkoli” gum-g-polyacrylamide (KG-g-PAAm) for bioremediation of wastewater. The effect of graft reaction conditions on the percentage graft yield in the graft copolymerization was investigated. It was observed that grafting parameters such as acrylamide (AM), ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN),...
May 2008
Pre-screening of filamentous fungi isolated from a contaminated site in Southern Brazil for bioaugmentation purposes
Four Aspergillus sp. strains were isolated from contaminated soil in Rio Grande, Southern Brazil. The biodegradation potential of these strains was evaluated using a simple method involving the determination of colony growth rates on plates containing a specific hydrocarbon or petroleum derivative as the only carbon source. The LEBM1 strain presented a high tolerance level to BTX. It was the only...
May 2008
Preliminary studies on the production of endo-1,4-b–D-glucanases activity produced by Enterobacter cloacae
We report the production and characterization of endo-β-1, 4-glucanase from isolated phytopathogenic bacterium Enterobacter cloacae. The bacterium was grown on different carbon sources including carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and 2% Avicel, for the production of endo-1, 4-β –D-glucanases enzyme. E. cloacaeproduced maximum levels of cellulases after 96 h of fermentation. Higher...
May 2008
Biodegradability of diesel and biodiesel blends
The biodegradability of pure diesel and biodiesel and blends with different proportions of biodiesel (2% (commercial); 5% and 20%) was evaluated employing the respirometric method and the redox indicator 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) test. In the former, experiments simulating the contamination of natural environments (soil from a petrol station or water from a river) were carried out in Bartha...
May 2008
Study of heavy metal in sewage sludge and in Chinese cabbage grown in soil amended with sewage sludge
The study was performed to investigate the heavy metal content and availability for crops in sewage sludge and its accumulation in Chinese cabbage grown in sewage sludge amended soil. We determined the total and chemical fraction of As, Cr, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mg and Mn in sewage sludge and the total content of these metals in Chinese cabbage grown in soil amended with sewage sludge. Total content of all...
May 2008
Antioxidative and antibacterial activity of the methanol extract of Artemisia anomala S. Moore
The antibacterial and antioxidative activities of the methanol extract of Artemisia anomala S. Moore were investigated. The methanol extract was subjected to screening for their possible antioxidative activities by using 2, 2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene bleaching methods. In the former case, the methanol extract was found to have better antioxidative activity than...
May 2008
Nutritional survey, staple foods composition and the uses of savoury condiments in Douala, Cameroon
Malnutrition and micronutrients deficiencies are serious public health problems in Cameroon as in other developing countries. Proteins, lipids, crude fibres and carbohydrates content of 15 recipes selected after a survey of 500 families were determined. Total contents ranged between 9.25 ± 0.53 and 16.86 ± 8.85 g/100 g DW for...
May 2008
Production and refining of Dacryodes edulis “native pear†seeds oil
The suitability of native pear Dacryodes edulis seeds as a source of good quality vegetable oil was investigated. Oil was extracted from the dried seeds by simple solvent extraction process with hexane. Extracted oil was degummed using 0.2% H3PO4 or Na2CO3 solutions, and then bleached with activated carbon. Chemical (acid value (AV), saponification number (SN), peroxide value (PV), and...
May 2008
Phenotypic variability among strains of Pasteurella multocida isolated from avian, bovine, caprine, leporine and ovine origin
Phenotypic diversity among 69 field isolates plus 3 vaccine strains previously identified as Pasteurella multocida were investigated by extended phenotypic characterization. The field isolates were obtained in Nigeria from chickens (15 isolates), quail (5 isolates), cattle (31 isolates), goats (7 isolates), sheep (8 isolates), rabbits (3 isolates) and the vaccine strains (3 isolates), which are used...
May 2008
Performance and carcass characteristics of broilers fed boiled cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L Walp) and or black common bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) meal diets
A total of 256 broiler chicks were used to evaluate the effect of replacing meat meal with boiled cowpea and/or black common bean on the performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. At the starter phase, boiled cowpea and or black common bean meal constituted 11% of S1, S2 and a 1:1 ratio of boiled cowpea and black common (S3) diets replacing 100% of meat meal and 25% of fish meal. For the finisher...
May 2008
Effects of Aspergillus niger treated Shea butter cake based diets on nutrient intake and weight gain of Red Sokoto goat
Effects of feed intake, weight gain and digestibility when growing Red Sokoto goats consuming Aspergillus niger treated and untreated shea-butter cake (SBC) were determined. Twenty five Red Sokoto goats in a completely randomized design model with 56 d periods consumed diet A (control, without SBC), B (15%Aspergillus treated SBC), C (15% untreated SBC), D (7.5% Aspergillus treated...
May 2008
Antibacterial substance produced by Streptomyces sp. No. 87
An antimicrobial substance produced by Streptomyces sp. No. 87 was partially purified and studied for its antibacterial characteristics using the swab paper disc technique. The cell-free culture filtrate showed antibacterial activity against several species of pathogens including Gram-positive bacteria, i.e. Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, B. subtilis TISTR 008, B....
May 2008
Kinetic models of cell growth, substrate utilization and bio-decolorization of distillery wastewater by Aspergillus fumigatus UB260
Bio-decolorization kinetic studies of distillery effluent in a batch culture were conducted using Aspergillus fumigatus. A simple model was proposed using the Logistic Equation for the growth, Leudeking-Piret kinetics for bio-decolorization, and also for substrate utilization. The proposed models appeared to provide a suitable description for each parameter devoted to the growth phase. The biomass yield...
Advertisement
Advertisement
