First introduced to check coastal erosion, Nypa fruticans has proven to be much more useful. Given the variety of potentials it possess, we decided to analyse the leaves, husks and midveins of this plant for phytochemical bases and also test the antimicrobial property of various extracts against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids and polyphenols, and absence of tannins and anthraquinones. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the midveins, leaves and husks showed good antimicrobial against all the test organisms. Varying concentrations of the ethanolic extract of the leaves revealed that at concentration of 5% and above gave absolute inhibition of E. coli. There is need to reconsider the re-utilization of Nypa Palm in Nigeria.
The chemical composition of Cola nitida and Cola rostada pods and seeds showed average moisture content of 81.75% whereas the seeds had an average of 54.60%. Crude protein ranged from 9.60-11.91% for the pods and 10.50-11-91% for the seeds. Lipid for both was less than 2%. Fibre of the pod was 15% while that of the seed ranged from 2% to 3.6%. The toxicant levels were generally low. The plants parts had low concentration of heavy metals such as cobalt, cadmium, and lead. The phytochemical components included alkaloids, saponins, tannins, polyphenols, and reducing compounds. The extracts inhibited Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, ?-haemolytic Streptococcus and Klebsiella pneumonia. There is an urgent need to establish the main bioactive agent and to experiment the use of the parts livestock feed.
The nutritive value of mushroom melon cake was investigated. Our study indicates that the raw melon possessed high moisture, protein and fat content of 87.15
The Niger Delta region is notorious for oil and remains the most exploited region. As a result, pollution from anthropogenic sources is on the increase. Heavy metals mercury (Hg), lead(Pb), cadmium(Cd), iron(Fe), copper(Cu) and zinc(Zn) were studied in four species namely Austropotamobius pallipes, Penaeus notialis, Tympanotonus fuscatus and Archachatina maginata at two different periods of three months interval. The samples were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and triplicate results obtained were analysed using ANOVA. Hg and Pb were not detected (<0.0001ppm) in both study periods and species examined. Zn, Fe, Cu and Cd were detected in all species but were all below maximum allowable limits of international guidelines. Thus, all four seafoods studied are safe for consumption. However, there is need to monitor seafoods coming out from the region from to time.
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