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ABSTRACT Biodiesel  was  produced  from  the  seed  oil  of  Luffa  cylindrica.  The  oil  obtained  was transesterified to produce methyl-esters and glycerol. The percentage oil yield of 36.32% was obtained from Luffa cylindrica seed. Biodiesel properties of methyl-esters were determined using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standards and compared with that of petrodiesel. The methyl-ester yield of 92.06 % was obtained from Luffa cylindrica seedoil. Higher viscosity at 40oC ...

ABSTRACT Glucoamylase  was  isolated  from  Aspergillus  niger  and  purified  using  ammonium sulphate precipitation and  gel  filtration respectively.  The  purified  enzyme was then characterized to determine the optimum conditions required by the produced enzyme. A fourteen day pilot study was carried out to determine the day of isolation of crude with highest glucoamylase activity. Day 5 and 12 had highest glucoamylase activity. The specific activities for the crude enzyme were found ...

ABSTRACT Anaemia is a common blood disorder that affects people of all ages, though people at greater risk are the elderly, young women and infants. Different drugs are used but many depend mainly on plants and herbal products for its treatment. In this study, the aqueous leaf extract of Justicia carnea was used. The percentage yield of the extract was 18.43. The proximate constituents of the extract were 4.61 ± ...

ABSTRACT This  study  was  carried  out  to  investigate  the  phytochemical  constituents  of  the methanol extract of the stem (bark) of Alstonia boonei (MEAB), in vitro antioxidant activity of the extract and its possible antidiabetic  and antioxidant  potential using alloxan- induced diabetic rats as model. The qualitative analysis of the extract showed a  wide   range   of   phytochemicals,   which   could   be   physiologically   potent   in ameliorating several diseases. Quantitative  phytochemical  analysis revealed that ...

ABSTRACT Processed  foods  have  been  noted  to  be  generally,  high  in  sodium  but,  low  in potassium. Some  of these foods such as snacks often provide a quick bite at work and school and often do not provide the needed nutrients such as calcium and iron needed in  adequate  quantities.   The  food  categories   sampled   were   biscuits,   sausages, cakes/pastries   and   breakfast   cereals.   Sodium,   potassium,    calcium   and   iron concentrations were determined within and ...

ABSTRACT This work was done to ascertain the efficacy of the seed of Tetracarpidium conophorum on hydrogen peroxide induced oxidative stress in Wistar albino rats. Thirty five (35) male wistar albino rats weighing (120- 140g) were distributed into seven (7) groups of five  rats each. Groups 2-6 were administered with hydrogen peroxide (1.0 ml/kg), while group 1 served as the normal control while group 2 serves as positive control Groups ...

ABSTRACT The increase in agricultural practices has necessitated the judicious use of agricultural wastes into value added products. In this study the ability of selected cellulosic substrate to induce cellulase production by Aspergillus niger and the ability of the induced enzyme to hydrolyze the cellulosic substrate were assessed. The enzyme was produced by submerged fermentation technique in which grape bagasse was the cellulosic substrate which served as a carbon source. ...

ABSTRACT Cooking was a breakthrough for mankind that improved the flavor, digestibility and quality of food. This breakthrough is seen in a lot of cooking methods such as boiling, poaching, stewing, baking, roasting, microwaving and deep frying. Heat treatment is an operation widely used in food processing. People especially in developing countries believe in the need to manage resources, while giving less attention to the risk associated with what is ...

ABSTRACT In this study,  the production  of tiger  nut suspension  was  carried  out using a  proteolytic enzyme  (papain)  isolated  from  the  latex  of  C.  papaya.  The  crude  papain  isolated  was subjected  to three steps purification  system  of 80% ammonium  sulphate  saturation using sephadex G50 and G200 filtrations at pH 7.2 and 37oC. The protein concentration  of  the crude enzyme obtained was 136 µg/ml, while its specific activity was 1.15U/mg. After ...

ABSTRACT This study was aimed  at the production  of glucoamylase  which can be utilised  for  starch hydrolysis. A fourteen days experimental study was carried out to determine the day of highest glucoamylase activity. Day five and day twelve of the fourteen days experimental study had the highest glucoamylase  activity.  The specific  activity for the crude enzyme  was found  to be 729.45  U/mg for glucoamylase  isolated  from Aspergillus  niger  in submerged ...

ABSTRACT Biosurfactants are amphipathic compounds produced extracellularly by microorganisms on cell surfaces, or excreted extracellularly.  They contain hydrophilic and hydrophobic  moieties that reduce  surface  and  interfacial   tension  between   molecules  at  the   surface  and  interface respectively.  The  present  study  was  focused  on  development  of  economical  methods  for biosurfactant production by the use of unconventional substrates. The research investigated the potential of utilizing agroindustrial (red cashew pomace) wastes to replace synthetic media ...

ABSTRACT Bacterial biodegradation of xenobiotics has been seen as one of the biological means of bioremediation of polluted site. This study was designed to isolate bacteria from soil and to evaluate their ability to biodegrade glyphosate which is a water soluble, non-selective herbicide used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses known to compete with commercial crops grown around the globe. The bacteria that were able to grow ...

ABSTRACT The  toxic  constituents  of  seed  extracts  of  Azadirachta  indica  A.  Juss  were  isolated  and biochemically  characterised  to  elucidate  the  spectrum  of  toxicity.  The  constituents  were isolated using toxicity-guided technique.Acute toxicity test established an oral LD50 >5 g/kg in mice. Chronic oral administration of the extracts and fractions significantly (P<0.05) increased the activities of ALP, AST and ALT. The methanol extract (ME) did not cause any significant change in bilirubin ...

ABSTRACT The in vitro antioxidant activities, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the methanol extract of Voacanga africana root bark and the n-hexane, ethylacetate and n-butanol subfractions of the methanol extract were carried out in this study. The total phenol content was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteau assay while the the totalflavonoid content was determined by using the aluminium chloride colorimetric assay  method. Total antioxidant activities of the  methanol extract and ...

ABSTRACT Characterization   and   comparative   assessment   of   Cocos   nucifera   and   Tetracarpidium conophorum seeds and the oils were evaluated in this work using standard techniques. The percentage proximate analysis of the samples revealed that the moisture, ash, fibre and protein contents of coconut sample were significantly lower (p<0.05) than that of walnut while the fat, carbohydrate and energy value of walnut sample were significantly lower (p<0.05) than that of coconut sample. The ...

ABSTRACT During the bioprocess of the biosurfactant production (by the consortium), the volume of CO2  evolved was 28.23 ± 5.08 cm3, which is equivalent to 0.056 ± 0.01g CO2  per 100 ml of broth. In terms of gCO2/1000Kg biosurfactant, this gave a value of 4545 ± 817.93g  CO2   in  this  bioprocess.  Following  from  above,  the  life  cycle  impact assessment (LCIA) of biosurfactant production by this consortium, based  on global warming ...

ABSTRACT On the premise that the resistance of malaria is related to the structure of the sickle haemoglobin molecule, a comparative denaturation of haemoglobin A (HbA), haemoglobin AS (HbAS) and haemoglobin S (HbS) in their relaxed states using sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) was carried out at pH 5.0 and 7.2 in the presence of two antimalarial drugs artemether and lumefantrine in both singly and in combination forms and monitored by ...

ABSTRACT The  increased interest in antioxidant activity of plant  phytochemicals has necessitated their determination in rarely consumed fruits. The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant capacity as well as the vitamin and mineral content of the selected commonly consumed and underutilized fruits. Samples of six selected commonly consumed fruits; pineapple (Ananas comosus) and banana (Musa acuminata) and underutilized fruits; soursop (Annona muricata), African canarium (Canarium schweinfurthii), african ...

ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the chloroform and ethanol extracts of Desmodium ramossisimum leaves on castor oil-induced diarrhoea in male albino rats. The percentage yield of the leaf extracts were 45.77g (2.08 %) and 4.8g (0.22 %) respectively. Phytochemical analysis of the chloroform extract   revealed the presence of flavonoids (28.43±5.58%), alkaloids (19.58±0.69%), terpenoids (18.99±2.62%), resins (10.11±0.47%), oils (7.01±0.89%), steroids (4.52±0.11%), tannins (0.65±0.19%) and saponins (0.59±0.29%) ...

ABSTRACT The efficacy of Uvaria chamae plant species in herbal remedies may have come as a result of trial  and  error.  This  could  be  as  a  result  of  poor  information  on  the  phytochemistry, antioxidant and toxicity of this plant parts. The present study compares the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant potentials and toxicities of methanol extracts of Uvaria chamae leaves and roots. Results of in vitro antioxidant potentials revealed ...