November 2005
Variation in diosgenin level in seed kernels among different provenances of Balanites aegyptiaca Del (Zygophyllaceae) and its correlation with oil content
Balanites aegyptiaca (Zygopyllaceae) is a widely grown desert plant with multi-use potential. It is found in most of the African continent, the Middle East, and South Asia; however, this plant remains one of the most neglected plant species. Its seed kernel is used for oil extraction and the oil is used for human consumption and cosmetics. However, the oil cake is regarded as unsuitable for feeding...
November 2005
Multiple shoot induction from embryo derived callus cultures of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata l.) Walp
The production of whole plant of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) L. Walp from calli is an efficient, reliable and rapid strategy. This provides a faster method of micro propagation. Seeds of the pea were surface sterilized, and then the embryo axes were dissected and germinated. Callus growth was induced on the cut surface of the embryo of V. unguiculata. Root development in the cells was promoted by the action of...
November 2005
Environment, health and risk assessment: a case study of the use of an abandoned municipal waste dump site for agricultural purposes
The study was carried out on abandoned municipal waste dump site which has been converted to agricultural land. Three profile pits each of 100 cm depth were dug along a toposequence on the land. The profile pit P1 was dug on the crest while P2 and P3 were on the middle and down slope (valley bottom), respectively. Soil samples were collected at 10 cm interval from each profile and cassava (Mannihot esculenta Cranz)...
November 2005
16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic tree of lactobacillus species from the vagina of healthy Nigerian women
Lactobacilli are ubiquitous in nature and in humans they play a very significant role in the general health maintenance of the host. Identification of lactobacilli has previously been based on culture-dependent methods and recently molecular techniques involving gene sequencing are now the ‘gold standard’. Scarce information exists in Africa on the real identity of Lactobacillus species, albeit...
November 2005
Genetic variability and relatedness of the Asian and African pigeon pea as revealed by AFLP
Amplified fragment length polymorphism was used to study genetic variability and relatedness between African and Asian pigeon pea cultivars. Forty-one samples, 32 African and 9 Asian varieties were subjected to the analyses. The genetic data was subjected to phenetic and analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA). Phenetic analysis revealed no major clusters and indicated limited genetic variability among the samples....
November 2005
Phylogenetic diversity and relationships among 40 rice accessions using morphological and RAPDs techniques
Morphological characterization of 40 rice accessions using 14 agro-botanical traits was done in a field experiment in an augmented randomized complete block design. The aim of the work was to study variations and to select lines that can be used as potential parents in a future breeding program. The single linkage clustering, the Principal Components Axes and a morphological dendrogram were used to group the accessions....
November 2005
Tracking sexual dimorphism in Telfairia occidentalis Hooker f. (Cucurbitaceae) with morphological and molecular markers
Morphological (foliar features) and molecular (DNA fingerprinting) markers were used to characterize sexual dimorphism in Telfairia occidentalis Hook. f. (Cucurbitaceae). A total of thirty strains comprising fifteen males and fifteen females from market-sourced fruits bred to the third generation were used for the investigation. The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique was combined with...
November 2005
Effect of genotype on callus induction and plant regeneration from leaf explants of sugarcane (Saccharum sp.)
Nine sugarcane genotypes (CP59-73, CP63-588, CP80-314, SP71-1081, F160, L62-96, CP70-321, CP57-614 and Clone III) were evaluated for their callus induction capacity, embryogenic callus production and plant regeneration ability. Leaf cylinders were used as explants using Murashige and Skoog (MS) based medium supplemented with 3 mg l-1 2,-4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Plant regeneration was accomplished on...
November 2005
Genetic relationships among Ethiopian mustard genotypes based on oil content and fatty acid composition
Quantification and classification of genetic diversity among genotypes is essential for parental selection in breeding programs. The objective of this study was to classify and cluster Ethiopian mustard genotypes according to their fatty acid composition, and to assess the genetic relationship between the genotypes. This study revealed wide variation in fatty acid composition. Principal component analysis showed that...
November 2005
Species and gender differentiation between and among domestic and wild animals using mitochondrial and sex-linked DNA markers
In many African countries accurate and reliable identification of poached wildlife products like carcasses or meat presents a big problem when morphological characters such as skin hair or bones are missing. We describe a molecular based approach that has a potential of serving as a forensic tool in game meat identification in Africa. A mitochondial DNA marker (mt700) and one restriction enzyme, Rsa1 were used in the...
November 2005
Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses of Ty1-copia group retrotransposons in cultivated Egyptian cotton, Gossypium barbadense L.
The Ty1-copia group retrotransposons have been characterized in cultivated Egyptian cotton, G. barbadense L., using degenerate PCR primers for their reverse transcriptase (RT) domains. Comparative nucleotide and amino acid sequences analyses showed thatG. barbadense Ty1-copia RT sequences are heterogeneous and this heterogeneity is resolved into 11 distinct families. The high ratio of synonymous to...
November 2005
Production of Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass in papaya extract medium
Extracts of papaya fruit were used as substrate for single cell protein (SCP) production using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A 500 g of papaya fruit was extracted with different volumes of sterile distilled water. Extraction with 200 mL of sterile distilled water sustained highest cell growth. Biochemical analysis of dry biomass revealed the following composition: 35.5% protein, 40.7% saccharide, 4.09% lipids, 0.04%...
November 2005
The effect of the interaction of various oil types with different culture media on biomass production of Psathyrella atroumbonata Pegler
Psathyrella atroumbonata, an indigenous mushroom species, was cultured on six different media that were inoculated separately with three different grain spawns and amended with six different oils at five different rates. The results revealed that the interaction of the various oils with the different culture media produced a highly significant effect (p<0.01) on the dry weights and stipe and pileus diameters...
November 2005
The alcoholic fermentative efficiency of indigenous yeast strains of different origin on orange juice
The alcoholic fermentative ability of yeast strains; Saccharomyces cerevisiae (isolated from yam), S. cerevisiae (from sugarcane molasses), S. carlsbergensis (from sugarcane molasses) and S. cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus (from orange juice) were examined on orange juice (Citrus sinensis). The quality of the wine produced on the basis of the acidity, ash content, vitamin...
November 2005
Serum malondialdehyde levels during menstral cycle
Oxidative stress theory has been investigated to explain the pathological basis of many medical conditions. This study is thus aimed at examining the oxidative stress pattern during the different phases of physiological phenomenon of menstruation in-relation to the hormonal characteristics. Venous samples form the cubiteal vein was taken from 25 apparently well female subjects after a 12 hour overnight fasting during...
November 2005
Chemical and nutrient characterization of Solanum pseudocapsicum berries
Solanum pseudocapsicum is a poisonous plant, yet it is used in traditional medicine topically for the treatment of boils and gonorrhoea, and orally as male tonic and for abdominal pain. Chemical analyses of the berries were carried out by GC-MS and photometric procedures. Twenty-five components were identified from the GC-MS spectra, constituting 99.80% of the extract composition. The major components were...
November 2005
Drinking patterns: biochemical and haematological findings in alcohol consumers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Effect of drinking patterns on biochemical and haematological parameters was conducted on 200 Nigerian men, categorized into non-drinkers (control), occasional, moderate and heavy drinkers, using standard techniques. Their ages ranged between 20 and 57 years. The values obtained for occasional and moderate drinkers showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) from those of non-drinkers based on their biochemical and...
November 2005
Somatic embryogenesis in two Iranian date palm cultivars
Shoot tips were removed from 3 to 4 year-old offshoots of adult date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L. cv. Khanizi and Mordarsing) and were cultured on medium that consisted of Murashige and Skoog basal salts medium. After 12 months they were transferred to three different treatments of growth regulators. Five months later, cv. Khanizi produced embryogenic callus on a medium containing 453 µM...
November 2005
Biological activities of aerial parts of Paeonia emodi Wall
The ethanolic extract derived from the aerial parts of Paeonia emodi was screened for various in vitro biological activities including antifungal, antibacterial, insecticidal, phytotoxic and haemagglutination activities. General toxicity (brine shrimp lethality assay) of this extract has also been assessed. The extract was found to possess excellent phytotoxicity against Lemna...
November 2005
Comparative assessment of Plasmodium falciparum sensitivity to chloroquine and amodiaquine in vitro
The in vitro sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum isolates to chloroquine and amodiaquine were assessed in children with symptomatic uncomplicated malaria in Ibadan, Nigeria. The WHO standard in vitro micro-test method was employed for the study. A total of one hundred and two children were admitted into the study. Inhibition of schizont maturation at varying concentration of the study...
November 2005
Prevalence and susceptibility pattern of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates among healthy women in Zaria, Nigeria
Multi-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MMRSA) has been commonly reported to be one of the commonest causes of nosocomial infections worldwide. Also, recent reports describe methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) carriage in persons in the community. The study investigated its prevalence in urine of healthy women and its susceptibility pattern to other antibiotics. Urine samples...
November 2005
Comparison of three diagnostic methods for the determination of prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis among residents and pupils of Badagry Area of Lagos State, Nigeria
Studies on the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was carried out in Badagry area of Lagos State, South West Nigeria with a population of about 30,000. The study was conducted in the rainy season between May – September 2004. The detection of some schistosome snail vectors coupled with regular habit of swimming by children, and household washings by adults in local ponds and streams necessitated the...
November 2005
Nutritive value of some Cucurbitaceae oil seeds from different regions in Cameroon
The nutritive value of five species of Cucurbitaceae (egusi) seeds from different bio-climatic regions in Cameroon was studied. These seeds are Cucumeropsis mannii,Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, Lagenaria siceraria and Cucumis sativus. The results show that the nutritional value of these seeds does not depend on the climatic region but on the species. Their moisture, crude fibre and ash...
November 2005
Factors driving the adoption of cooking banana processing and utilisation methods in Nigeria
As part of efforts in realising her aim of introducing cooking banana into Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) mounted training and awareness campaigns on its utilisation in collaboration with Shell and Agip Oil companies between 1991 and 1997. This study looked into the adoption profile of the utilisation methods and the factors that may have influenced it. Data were collected from a...
November 2005
The effect of dietary inclusion of Mansonia altissima on egg production and fertility of laying hens
An experiment was conducted in Port Harcourt to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of Mansonia altissima on egg production and fertility of laying hens, using a total of 45 birds consisting of 36 layers and 9 cocks in a randomized block of groups A, B, C of 15 birds each. Each treatment group was replicated thrice each containing 5 birds of both sexes (4 females and 1 male). Birds in group A were...
November 2005
Larvicidal effects of aqueous extracts of Balanites aegyptiaca (desert date) against the larvae of Culex pipiens mosquitoes
The effect of aqueous extracts of the fruit pulp, seed kernel, roots, bark, and leaves ofBalanites aegyptiaca Del. (Zygophyllacea) against the larvae of the Culex pipensmosquito was investigated. Early fourth instars larvae of C. pipiens mosquitoes were exposed, for up to three days, to a dilution of 0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% aqueous extracts of fruit pulp, seed kernel, roots, bark,...
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