Academic Journals - African Journal of Biotechnology - articles (2024)

Marker assisted introgression of opaque2 gene into herbicide resistant elite maize inbred lines

December 2006

Marker assisted selection in combination with conventional breeding can greatly accelerate the introgression of modified opaque2 genotype into herbicide resistant maize. By combining these two approaches, time and costs are greatly minimized. The application of opaque2 allele specific SSR markers was done on materials already undergoing selection in a breeding program for converting herbicide resistant maize...

Author(s):Jedidah W. Danson, Mercy Mbogori, Michael Kimani, Martin Lagat, Alex Kuriaand Alpha Diallo

Development of a simple and powerful method, cDNA AFLP-SSPAG, for cloning of differentially expressed genes

December 2006

A novel plant differentially expressed gene cloning technique called cDNA-AFLP-SSPAG was described. Using this method, Differential mRNA expression was found between high and low heterosis groups of maize. Differential cDNAs were easily obtained from silver stained cDNA-AFLP separated on polyacylamide gels. The cDNA was then reamplified, cloned and fragments were sequenced. Sequenced clones were used as probes in...

Author(s):Minsheng Wu

Antioxidant activity of the methanolic extracts of some species of Phlomis and Stachys on sunflower oil

December 2006

Antioxidant effects of the methanolic extract ofPhlomis bruguieri,P. herba-venti, P. olivieri,Stachys byzantina,S. inflata,S. lavandulifoliaandS. laxaweretested in sunflower oil stored at 70ºC, by mea-suring peroxide values after regular intervals and compared with rosemary-, green tea- and BHA-containing samples. The methanolic extracts ofP....

Author(s):Katayoun Morteza-Semnani, Majid Saeedi and Somayeh Shahani

Purification and characterization of a protease from Thermophilic bacillus strain HS08

December 2006

The purification and characterization of athermophilic neutral protease fromThermophilic bacillusstrain HS08, originally isolated from a soil sample collected from the Tulufan Crater of China, is presented in this paper.The purification steps included ammonium sulfate precipitation, with columns of DEAE-Sepharose anion exchange chromatography and Sephacryl S-100HR on AKTA purifier 100 protein liquid...

Author(s):HUANG Guangrong, YING Tiejing, HUO Poand JIANG Jiaxing

Comparative pesticidal activity of dichloromethane extracts of Piper nigrum against Sitophilus zeamais and Callosobruchus maculatus

December 2006

Piperine a clinically established pesticide was investigated in the seeds, fruit and leaves ofPiper nigrum. The dichloromethane extracts obtained from the parts of the plant were analysed through Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) using silica gel-GF 254 impregnated aluminium plate and various solvent system consisting of chloroform : methanol (8:2), (6:4), ethyl acetate : methanol (9:1), and acetone : hexane (6:4)...

Author(s):O. A. AwoyinkaI. O. Oyewole, B. M. W. Amosand O. F. Onasoga

Occurrence and functioning of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms from oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) rhizosphere in Cameroon

December 2006

Phosphorus replenishment, particularly in smallholder agriculture, remains a challenge as it is mainly fertilizer dependent. While the use of soluble mineral phosphate fertilizers is the obvious best means to combat phosphate deficiency in Cameroon, their use is limited by their high cost and availability at farmer’s level. This study was carried out aimed at maintaining the fertility of Cameroon soils by...

Author(s):Henri Fankem, , Dieudonné Nwaga, Annette Deubel, Lamine Dieng, Wolfgang Merbach and Francois Xavier Etoa

Biochemical evaluation of Cassipourea congoensis (Tunti) and Nuclea latifolia (Luzzi) fruits

December 2006

The fruits ofCassipourea congoensis(Tunti) andNuclea latifolia(Luzzi) were assessed chemically for the presence of mineral elements, vitamins A, B, C, E, and some antinutritional factors. Results obtained showed thatC. congoensishad higher quantities of Cu, Co, Fe, Ca, Mg and Mn ( 0.25±0.02, 0.52±0.01, 6.70±0.13,...

Author(s):I. I. Nkafamiya, A. J. Manji, U. U. Modibboand H. A. Umaru

Comparative in-vitro studies on antiplasmodial quality of some Nigerian and foreign brands of chloroquine oral formulations marketed in kano

December 2006

The world Health Organization’s committee for the review of medicines encourages a continuous post-marketing surveillance for quality of essential drugs among which chloroquine is one. In compliance with that, samples of oral chloroquine brands belonging to twenty manufacturers both foreign and Nigerian, ten in each case that were on sale in Kano market between January and August, 2004 were investigated for...

Author(s):M.D Mukhtar, M Bashirand A.H. Arzai

A study on gumbo seed grown in Congo Brazzaville for its food and industrial applications

December 2006

Proximate composition, energy content and mineral concentrations of okra seeds grown in two locali-ties of Congo Brazzaville were investigated. The paper also reports the physicochemical characteristics of the oil extracted from the seeds. Ash was highest (5.84±0. 2%) in Dolisie okra seeds (DOS) followed by Brazzaville okra seeds (BOS) with a value of 5.52±0.34%. Protein ranged from 25.48±0.57% in...

Author(s):J.M. Nzikou, A. Boussoukou, A. Goma, E. Matouba, J.M. Ouamba, C. Kapseu, M. Parmentier, S. Desobry

Time-dependent stability of used engine oil degradation by cultures of Pseudomonas fragi and Achromobacter aerogenes

December 2006

Pseudomonas fragi and Achromobacter aerogenes isolated from used engine oil polluted soils were grown in minimal salts medium (MSM) supplemented with used engine oil as sole carbon and energy source to evaluate their ability to biodegrade used engine oil. The two organisms utilized 73.3 and 80.0% of the oil with a degradation rate of 0.073 and 0.08 ml/day respectively. The utilization rate of the mixed culture did not...

Author(s):O. O. Adelowo, S. O. Alagbe and A. A. Ayandele

Histopathological responses of the gill and liver tissues of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings to herbicide, glyphosate

December 2006

African catfish,Clarias gariepinusfingerlings were exposed to sub lethal concentrations of herbicide, glyphosate (0, 0.05, 0.1%, v/v) over 42 days period. The gills showed marked alterations in the epithelia in response to glyphosate treatment. There was fusion in adjacent secondary lamella resulting in hyperplasia, with profound oedematous changes, characterised by epithelial detachment. In the liver, the...

Author(s):OLURIN, K.B., OLOJO, E.A.A., MBAKA, G.O.and AKINDELE, A.T.

The role of biotechnology in the socio-economic advancement and national development: An Overview

December 2006

Biotechnology is any technique which involves the application of biological organisms or their components, systems or processes to manufacturing and service industries to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals or to develop micro-organisms for special uses. Since 1953, when James Watson and Francis Crick identified the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as the genetic basis of all living organisms,...

Author(s):Iheanyi Omezuruike Okonko,Olalekan Peter Olabodeand Oluwafemi Samuel Okeleji

Screening tropical maize lines for the production andregeneration of friable and embryogenic type II callus

December 2006

Twenty two maize lines popularly used by breeders in the Kenyan maize program were screened for their ability to form type II callus. The immature embryos were harvested two weeks after pollination. Two highland lines showed high embryogenic response and formed friable, type II calli. While 16 lines screened showed poor or retarded growth with subsequent death or had no callus formation any at all. There was successful...

Author(s):Jedidah W. Danson, Martin Lagat and Mercy Mbogori

Studies on the inheritance pattern of joints, pod and flower pigmentation in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) walp.]

December 2006

Genetic studies were carried out to elucidate the inheritance pattern of plant, flower and pod-tip pigmentation in cowpea. The parental varieties were selected based on their contrasting plant and flower pigmentation. These varieties were grown in the screen house between May, 2002 and October, 2003, and sufficient number of parental F1, F2, backcross and F3seeds were obtained. The F1, F2, and backcross...

Author(s):Othman S. A., Singh B. B.and Mukhtar F. B.

Some properties on the application of Candida utilis TISTR No. 5001 into sequencing batch reactor (SBR) System

December 2006

The mineral content of nine landraces of bambara groundnut cultivated in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland respectively was investigated. The raw seeds were analysed for Ca, K, Mg, Na, P Cu, Fe and Zn. The ranges (mg/100 g dry matter) obtained for the macro minerals are: Ca 37-128, K 1545-2200, Mg 159-335, Na 16-25, P 313-563, and for the micro minerals (ppm): Cu 3.0-13.2, Fe 23.0-150 and Zn 13.9-77.0....

Author(s):Suntud Sirianuntapiboon and Alongkorn Preeyatum

Antioxidant activity of extracts from Acanthopanax senticosus

December 2006

Antioxidants play an important role in inhibiting and scavenging radicals, thus providing protection to humans against infectious and degenerative diseases. Literature shows that the antioxidant activity is high in medicinal plants. Realizing the fact that, this study was carried out to determine the antioxidant activity of water extract ofAcanthopanax senticosus.Water extract (0.5 g/50 ml) ofA....

Author(s):Hae-Ryong Park, Eunju Park, A-Ram Rim, Kyung-Im Jeon, Ji-Hwan Hwang, and Seung-Cheol Lee

pH dependence of sorption of Cd2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and Cr3+ on crude water and sodium chloride extracts of Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera

December 2006

The ability of crude water and sodium chloride extracts of partially defatted powder ofMoringa stenopetala(MS) andMoringa oleifera(MO) to remove heavy metals (Cd2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and Cr3+) from single ion solution was investigated. At initial metal concentration of about 4 ppm, the extracts showed complete sorption for Cd2+, Zn2+ and Cr3+ ions at pH above 7.8, 4.0 and 4.0, respectively, at a dose of 1.0...

Author(s):Sajidu, S. M. I., Henry, E. M. T., Persson, I., Masamba, W. R. L., Kayambazinthu, D.

Antimicrobial activity and phytochemicals of Solanum trilobatum Linn.

December 2006

In this study, aqueous methanol and n-butanol extracts of aerial parts ofSolanum trilobatumL. (Solanaceae) were tested for antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion method. From the results, it was found that extracts from leaves, flowers, stem and fruits revealed antimicrobial activity against Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria. Maximal antibacterial activity was seen againstKlebsiellawith aqueous...

Author(s):P. Swapna Latha and K. Kannabiran

Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of saponins extract of Sorghum Bicolor L. Moench

December 2006

The n-butanol purified saponin extract of sorghum bicolor were screened for anti-bacterial activity against three pathogenic microbes;Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureusandCandida albicans. The extract inhibited the growth of theS. aureus. It was concluded that the saponins have inhibitory effect on gram-positive organism but not on gram negative organism and the fungi.Key...

Author(s):Soetan k. O., Oyekunle M. A., Aiyelaagbe O. O.and Fafunso M. A.

The mineral composition of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc) grown in Southern Africa

December 2006

The mineral content of nine landraces of bambara groundnut cultivated in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland respectively was investigated. The raw seeds were analysed for Ca, K, Mg, Na, P Cu, Fe and Zn. The ranges (mg/100 g dry matter) obtained for the macro minerals are: Ca 37-128, K 1545-2200, Mg 159-335, Na 16-25, P 313-563, and for the micro minerals (ppm): Cu 3.0-13.2, Fe 23.0-150 and Zn 13.9-77.0. There...

Author(s):J.OAmarteifio, O. Tibe and R.M Njogu

The effects of different packaging materials on the shelf stability of garri

December 2006

The effects of different packaging materials; low density polyethelene (LDPE), high density polyethelene (HDPE), Hessian bags and plastic buckets on the shelf stability of garri produced from cassava (Manihot esculentaCrantz) under tropical ambient temperature was evaluated for 6 months duration. Results indicates that total viable bacteria count increased gradually from 3.0 x 101to 9.9 x 103, 1.01 x 103,...

Author(s):Ogiehor, I. S. and Ikenebomeh, M. J.

RAPD markers associated with resistance to blackleg disease in Brassica species

November 2006

Blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, is a serious disease of Brassica species. Genetic analysis of resistance to L. maculans was carried out with 15 accessions from the USDA Brassica germplasm collections, representing diploids (A, C), and tetraploid (AC) genomes, respectively; and 9 cultivars from the National Winter Canola Variety Trials (NWCVT) all carrying AC genomes. All genotypes were screened for blackleg...

Author(s):Anthony O. Ananga, Ernst Cebert, Khairy Soliman, Ramesh Kantety, R. P. Pacumbaba and Koffi Konan

Somatic chromosome counts and yield performance of some accessions of ‘egusi’ melon (Citrullus lanatus)

November 2006

Investigation in 20 accessions ofCitrullus lanatus(‘egusi’ melon) revealed somatic chromosome counts ranging from 18 to 24 with 2n = 22 being the most frequent. Polyploid counts of 2n = 40 and 2n = 44 were made for accessions DD98/4 and L6, respectively. Diploid chromosome counts varying from 2n = 22 suggest aneuploid changes in chromosome number or can be attributed to counting difficulties...

Author(s):E. O. Idehen, O. B. Kehindeand A. E. Adegbite

Municipal landfill leachates induced chromosome aberrations in rat bone marrow cells

November 2006

This study examined the potential mutagenic effects of raw and simulated leachates from Olushosun municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill using rat bone marrow chromosome aberration assay. Raw leachate obtained directly from the landfill and simulated leachate obtained via the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) category-A extraction procedure were examined for their physical and chemical properties. Rats...

Author(s):C. G. Alimba, A. A. Bakare and C. A. Latunji

RFLP of analyses of an intergenic spacer region of chloroplast DNA in some wild wheat species

November 2006

Several studies are being made to get high productive wheats throughout the world because they provide the most of human energy and protein needs. In this study, 11 wheat species ofTriticumandAegilopswere investigated. One of the intergenic regions of cpDNA was studied. This region was amplified with PCR and digested with 6 restriction endonucleases...

Author(s):Ozgul Kucuk, Selma Gulbıttı-Onarıcı andSıbel Sumer

Frequency distribution 0f ABO, RH blood groups and blood genotypes among the cell biology and genetics students of University of Lagos, Nigeria

November 2006

One hundred and fifty students (150) were randomly selected from the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics of University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria for ABO, RH blood groups and 9 haemoglobin genotypes studies. Blood group O was the highest with the percentage frequency of 55.3%, followed by blood group A (25.5%), B (16.7%) and the least percentage frequency was blood group AB which is 2.7%. The RhD distribution...

Author(s):ADEYEMO, Oyenike A and SOBOYEJO, Omolade B.

Interchromosomal connections and metaphase 1 clumping in meiosis of two Capsicum Linn. species in Nigeria

November 2006

The occurrence of interchromosomal connections in two species ofCapsicum;Capsicum annuumL.andCapsicum frutescenceL., from Nigeria is reported. Clumping of metaphase 1 chromosomes is also reported for these two species. The degrees of incidence of the interchromosomal connections and metaphase 1 chromosomes clumping have been determined. The probable relationship between the chromosomal...

Author(s):FALUSI, O. A.

Poly-b-hydroxybutyrate accumulation and releasing by hydrogen producing bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides O.U.001. A transmission electron microscopic study

November 2006

Photosynthetic bacteriumRhodobacter sphaeroidesO.U.001 that is used for photobiohydrogen production can also accumulate poly-b-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) asa by-product when cultivated anaerobically with minimal medium containing L-malic acid, sodium glutamate and some vitamins under illumination. Transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that PHB granules are made of two distinct components: a hom*ogenous...

Author(s):DEMET ÇETÄ°N, Uf*ck GÜNDÜZ, Ä°NCÄ° EROÄžLU, MERAL YÜCELand LEMÄ° TÜRKER

Mycological evaluation of a ground cocoa-based beverage

November 2006

Cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao)are processed into cocoa beverage through fermentation, drying, roasting and grounding of the seed to powder. The mycological quality of 39 samples of different brand of these cocoa – based beverage referred to as ‘eruku oshodi’ collected from 3 different markets in south – west Nigeria was determined by serial dilution using the pour plate method on Potato...

Author(s):T.O. OYETUNJI

Microorganisms associated with the preparation of plantain pudding in Western Nigeria

November 2006

The microbiological and physico-chemical quality of plantain pudding was evaluated during processing and storage under ambient temperature (30.5°C) for 120 h duration. Results indicates that the total viable bacteria count decreased from 1.36 x 105cfu/g (raw sample) to 0.3 x 101cfu/g after cooking and thereafter increase steadily to 1.05 x 108cfu/g while the total fungi count decreased from 2.70 x...

Author(s):Ohenhen, R. E., Enweani, I. B., Ogiehor, S. I. and Uwabor, K.

Studies on bacterial flora and biological control agent of Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

November 2006

In the present study, in order to find a more effective and safe biological control agent againstCydiapomonella, we investigated the bacterial flora and tested them for insecticidal effects on this insect. According to morphological, physiological and biochemical tests, bacterial flora were identified asProteus rettgeri (Cp1), Eschericia coli (Cp2), Pseudomonas stutzeri (Cp3), Pseudomonas aeroginosa...

Author(s):Ömer Ertürk and Zihni DemirbaÄŸ

The effects of seedbed types on yam-minisetts yield: A case study of Ushongo local government area of Benue state of Nigeria

November 2006

The effects of seedbed types on yields of yam-minisetts were studied in field trials at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi Research farm in 2002 and 2004 cropping seasons. The results indicated that the raised flattened top beds improved yam minisett emergence count by 22%, establishment by 23%, total tuber number by 24%, and yield of minisetts by 21% over the ridge system. Generally, higher number of ware yam...

Author(s):IJOYAH, M.O., ABA , J.AND UGANNYAN, S.

Isolation of low erucic acid-containing genotype of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea Czern. and Coss.) through F1 hybrid anther culture

November 2006

Reciprocal crosses were done between two cultivars; cv. RJ15 and cv. RLM198 of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea). Anther derived lines designated as A1plants, were raised through anther culture from these F1hybrid plants. 45% germination was obtained from distinctly shriveled and small A1seeds and grown along with the F2plants in the same agro-climatic conditions. Subsequently the lines were...

Author(s):Amitava Roy#and P. K. Saha

In vitro vegetative growth and flowering of olive tree in response to GA3 treatment

November 2006

The phytohormone gibberellin is involved in the regulation of many physiological process including flower induction and shoot growth. In this study, gibberellic acid (GA3) was used in order to induce the reversion of olive tree vegetative buds towards a floral onesin vitro. For this, six varieties (Marsaline, Chemchali, Picholine, Chemlali, Zalmati and Oueslati) was tested and explants, consisting of a...

Author(s):A. Chaari-Rkhis, M. Maalej, S. Ouled Messaoudand N. Drira

Inhibitory activity of Lactobacillus curvatus CWBI-B28 against Listeria monocytogenes and ST2-verotoxin producing Escherichia coli O157

November 2006

A bacteriocin-producing strain ofLactobacillus curvatusCWBI-B28 isolated from raw meat was shown to inhibitListeria monocytogenesand pathogenic strains ofEscherichiacoliby the well diffusion assay. To confirm whether the bacteriocin was involved inE. coliO157 inhibition, growth of the pathogen was monitored in the neutralized cell-free supernatant (NCFS) pre-treated with...

Author(s):HAKIM GHALFI, PHILIPPE THONART,AND NOREDDINE BENKERROUM

Physiological effect of the toxin from Xanthom*onas retroflexus on redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus)

November 2006

A new toxin fromXanthom*onas retroflexuscould cause a series of physiological responses on seedlings of redroot pigweed. The experimental results revealed that respiratory ratio first increased 106% after treatment with the CFS (concentrated centrifugal fermentation supernatants) ofX. retroflexusfor 2 h, and decreased after treatment for 3 h; peroxidase (POD) activity increased 30% and 50% after...

Author(s):Zi-Ling Sun, Ming-Zhi Li, Jie Chen and Yong-Quan Li

Screening of UV-irradiated and S-2-aminoethyl-L-cysteine resistant mutants of Bacillus megaterium for improved lysine accumulation

November 2006

The screening of UV irradiated and aminoethyl-l-cysteine resistant (AECR) mutants ofBacillus megateriumstrains for improved lysine accumulation was conducted. The mutants, MR-10 and MR-25 derived form irradiated cultures ofB.megateriumSP 76, and MS-3 and MS-5 derived formB.megateriumSP 86 produced higher lysine levels than the parent strains. In contrast, however, lysine...

Author(s):I. A. Ekwealorand J. A. N. Obeta

The antimicrobial properties of Ocimum gratissimum extracts on some selected bacterial gastrointestinal isolates

November 2006

The antimicrobial efficacy of cold and hot water, hexane and methanolic extracts of fresh and dried leaf ofOcimum gratissimumagainstSalmonella typhimurium,E. coli,Yersinia enterocolitica,Bacillus cereus,andAeromonas hydrophilawere determined using the Agar gel diffusion method. The zones of inhibition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal...

Author(s):JUNAID, S. A., OLABODE, A. O., ONWULIRI, F. C., OKWORI, A. E. J.and AGINA S. E.

Antimicrobial potential of extracts and fractions of the African walnut, Tetracarpidium conophorum

November 2006

Antibacterial and antifungal evaluation of the leaf, stem bark, kernel and root methanol extracts as well as the hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol fractions of the leaf ofTetracarpidium conophorum, the African walnut, were investigated using the agar cup diffusion and agar broth dilution techniques. Extracts and fractions were tested against four clinical strains of 2 Gram positive, 2 Gram negative...

Author(s):E. O. Ajaiyeobaand D. A. Fadare

The effect of some fixatives on the staining ability of Sorghum bicolor extracts on tissue sections

November 2006

The effect of some fixatives on the staining reactions of the extracts ofSorghum bicoloron tissue sections was studied in order to identify the most appropriate fixative for the stain. Tissue sections taken at postmortem were fixed in 10% formol saline, Carnoy’s fluid, Bouin’s fluid, Formol sublimate, Heidenhain’s susa and Zenker’s fixative. The sections were subsequently stained with...

Author(s):AVWIORO O. G., ALOAMAKA C. P., ODUOLA T., KOMOLAFE A. O.

Effects of some processing methods on the toxic components of African breadfruit (Treculia africana)

November 2006

A variety of breadfruit (Var africana) was evaluated for the presence of some anti-nutrients. It was found to contain some hydrogen cyanide (26.45 mg/kg), tannin (184.10 mg/g), starchyose (1.8%) and rafffinose (1.01%). Different methods of processing such as fermentation, boiling, autoclaving and germination was found to have effect on the anti-nutritional factors. Fermentation for 48 h reduced hydrogen cyanide...

Author(s):Ugwu, F. M. and Oranye, N. A.

Assessment of the quality of ogi made from malted millet

November 2006

Ogi, a cereal fermented paste was produced from millet containing different levels (0, 5, 10%) of millet malts. Proximate composition of the ogi samples determined using the AOAC method showed increase in moisture, protein, ash and crude fibre contents with increasing malting levels. The increased protein value is a striking observation that could be advantageously utilized to improve nutrition of infants, and children...

Author(s):C. U. INYANG and C. A. IDOKO

Properties of in situ Escherichia coli β-D-glucuronidase (GUS): evaluation of chemical interference on the direct enzyme assay for faecal pollution detection in water

November 2006

A study of the activity ofEscherichia coliβ-D-glucuronidase (GUS) in polluted stagnant and running water samples was performed with an objective of assessing the viability of direct marker enzyme assays as a suitable alternative to membrane filtration for the indication of faecal pollution in water intended for drinking purposes. The effects of temperature, pH and the presence of different ions on...

Author(s):Chamunorwa Aloius Togo, Victor Collins Wutor and Brett Ivan Pletschke

Detection of Bacillus thuringiensis genes in transgenic maize by the PCR method and FTA paper technology

November 2006

We optimized the PCR method to detect genetically engineeredBacillus thuringiensis(Bt) maize in open quarantine fields in Kenya. Many factors affect the extraction of the DNA from plants, such as the amount of tissue available, the condition of the plant material, the numbers of steps involved in the extraction procedure, and the required purity needed. We tested the application of the FTA paper technology...

Author(s):Jedidah W. Danson, , Michael Kimaniand Mercy Mbogori

Ultrastuctural study of the phagocytic activities of splenic macrophages in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

November 2006

The main stages of the phagocytic process after the intraperitoneal injection of colloidal carbon to tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), was ultra-structurally documented. Carbon particles were initially in diffuse form in the cytoplasm but they gradually formed discrete electron dense bodies that later fused with cyto-plasmic granules to form phagolysosomes. Ultra structural results demonstrate that colloidal...

Author(s):Samuel Adewumi AGBEDE, Olanike Kudirat ADEYEMO, Olufemi Bolarinwa ADEDEJI, Abdulkadir Usman JUNAID

Plasmodium and host glutathione reductase: molecular function and biological process

November 2006

Glutathione (GSH) is a cysteine-containing tripeptide with reducing and nucleophilic properties which play an important role in cellular protection from oxidative damage of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. Glutathione reductase (GR) is an NADPH-dependent enzyme that reduces oxidized glutathione (GSSG) to GSH. Naturally, GR is present in human and in Plasmodium spp. However, the function of the GR in malarial...

Author(s):Viroj Wiwanitkit

Cellular response of Murine Osteoblasts to Cryopreservation: the influence of attachment to Hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds

November 2006

This paper presents data relevant to the rational design of cryopreservation processes for tissue-engineered bone. The effects of cell-scaffold interactions and cell-cell interactions on osteoblast viability and attachment to hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds following cryopreservation processing are defined experimentally. It is found that cryopreservation processing detaches osteoblasts from the HA scaffold and that cells...

Author(s):Bao Lin LIU, John McGRATH, Laura McCABE, Melissa BAUMANN

Ethnobotanical and phytochemical studies on some species of Senna in Nigeria

November 2006

An ethnobotanical search on five species of Senna within and around Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria showed their relevance in the local herbal medicine. These plants include Senna tora, S. occidentalis, S. alata, S. podocarpa and S. siamea. The phytochemical screening of their leaves revealed some major groups of pharmacological importance including alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phlobatannins, saponins and...

Author(s):A.T.J. OGUNKUNLE and TONIA A. LADEJOBI

Determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in selected water bodies in the Niger Delta

November 2006

Several water bodies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where extensive crude oil production activities take place were analyzed for the presence of 16 US EPA priority polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) namely: naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene,...

Author(s):Chimezie Anyakora and Herbert co*ker

Laboratory evaluation of four medicinal plants as protectants against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Mots)

November 2006

The petroleum ether extract of four medicinal plants; Aristolochia ringens (Vahl), Allium sativum (L), Ficus exasperata (L) and Garcinia kola (H), were evaluated as grain protectant against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Mots) in the laboratory at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% (w/v) concentrations. Parameters assessed were adult mortality, rate of adult emergence, grain damage effect and weevil peforation index (WPI). There...

Author(s):S. T. Arannilewa, T. Ekrakene and J. O. Akinneye