Report and Opinion
Volume
2 - Issue 6, Cumulated 12, June 20, 2010, ISSN 1553-9873
Cover
Page, Introduction,
Contents, Call for
Papers, All papers in one file
All comments are
welcome: editor@sciencepub.net
CONTENTS
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Identification And Traditional Uses Of Some Common
Medicinal Plants In Ezinihitte Mbaise L.G.A., Of Imo State, Nigeria
Nwachukwu
C. U. Dept. of Biology1, Umeh
C. N. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Science1,
Kalu I. G. Dept of Biotechnology2
Okere Slyvester
and Nwoko Magnus C.1 Dept.
of Biology1
1.
Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education Owerri Imo State
2.
Federal
University of Technology Owerri, Imo
State
nwachukwucu2005@yahoo.co.uk
ABSTRACT: Medicinal plants are those plants that
are used (parts, extract etc) in treating and preventing
specific ailments and diseases that affect human beings. Hence
the important role of medicinal plants in health care delivery
(services) cannot be over emphasized. This research is on the
identification and traditional uses of some medicinal plants in
Ezinihitte Mbaise
Local Government Area, furthermore the traditional use of
medicinal plants for preventive and curative purposes among
people of Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area are handed
down to the people from generation to generation and have
become paramount in
almost every household. To this extent several species of
medicinal plants such as Gongronema latifolia,
Asmina triloba,
Aspilia Africana, Azadirachta
indica, citrus aurantifolia,
etc were identified to be naturally distributed in all the
autonomous communities in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Area. Most plant parts
(extract) identified eg.( bark root, seeds, fruit, leaf). Serve as
major source of active ingredient and products of secondary
metabolites e.g Alkaloid, terpenoids etc used in curing diseases,
production of drugs as well as in maintaining good health, by
both the traditional and orthodox medical practitioners. Several visits were made to
the various autonomous communities between October 2008 and
October 2009 for collection, identification and naming of the
plants used. Plants press was used in the collection and
preservation of the collected specimens. Two basic methods of
drug preparations were used among others. These were the
process of infusion (extracting active medicinal constituent of
the plant through the medium of hot water (boiling) and
Decoction (simmering the thicker and less permeable part of the
plant for easy extraction of their medicinal constituent). The
prepared infusion is then administered to the sick person for a
period of time depending on the type of sickness. The
administration of different plant parts for medicinal purpose
underscores the pathgenomic essence
of medicinal plants. Despite the acknowledged usefulness of
medicinal plants to health care delivery, such inherent
problems as lack of standard, quality control by the
practitioners and secrecy still bedevils the activities of the
practitioners.
Furthermore agricultural and anthropogenic activities
have resulted in loss of biodiversity and even extinction of
some useful species. To this end adequate machinery should be
put in place to ensure sustainability and conservation of
plants in botanical gardens. In conclusion the vital role of
medicinal plants should not be left in the hands of the
practitioners only rather a more holistic approach should be
adopted. This will involve a synergy between the traditional
and orthodox practitioners that will aim at formulating an
integrative health system for the overall goal of maintaining,
enhancing and sustaining good health care in Ezinihitte Mbaise
in particular and the state cum country at large. [Report and
Opinion 2010;2(6):1-8]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.01
Keywords: Medicinal plants,
Infusion, decoction, leaf, root, bark
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Preliminary Study On The Limnology And
Plankton Abundance In Relation To Fish Production In Some Niffr Reservoirs
Richard
Lema Bwala*,
Solomon Iboko Ovie,
Olarewaju Ajayi
and Abdullahi Haruna
National Institute for Freshwater
Fisheries Research (NIFFR)
P.M.B. 6006, New Bussa,
Niger State, Nigeria
* lemarichie@yahoo.com, richardl669@gmail.com
Abstract: The
limnological character and plankton
abundance of four different reservoirs in the National
Institute for Freshwater Fisheries (NIFFR), New Bussa, including their impact on fish
production was studied from December, 2008 – June 2009.
Samples were collected monthly for analyses of physico-chemical parameters, zooplankton
and phytoplankton. Primary productivity, Potential Fish Yield
(PFY) and Sorenson’s index of similarity were also
tested. One way ANOVA with post test was used to statistically
analyze for the relationship between the physico-chemical
parameters and the plankton abundance in the different
reservoirs. The results
showed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05)
between the water quality parameters in the different
reservoirs and were within standard permissible limits and
typical of Nigerian inland waters. Phytoplankton abundance was
generally high - 57,884, 73,374, 43,802, and 24,423 (cells ml-1),
with low occurrence - 15.34, 23.19, 21.41 and 15.81 (ind.l-1)
- of zooplankton for R1, R2, R3 and R4 respectively. Gross
pelagic primary productivity was found to be 2.24, 3.17, 2.61
and 1.69 (go2-m2-d) for R1,
R2, R3 and R4 respectively. Sorenson’s index of
similarity showed generally a high level of zooplankton
similarities between the reservoirs. Potential Fish Yield was
considered to be high - 93.33, 89.13, 79.43 and 69.18(kgha-1)
- when compared with findings from other reservoirs.
There was significant difference (P<0.05) between: physico chemical parameters and the
phytoplankton, phytoplankton and zooplankton, phytoplankton and
the Gross Pelagic Primary Productivity (GPP) in most of the
reservoirs but R2 showed a higher significance. Observed
differences in the 4 reservoirs are discussed and
recommendations made. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):9-15]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.02
Key words: Physico-chemical, Assessment, Phytoplankton,
Zooplankton, Sorenson, Reservoir, Class, Specie
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Indigenous Fish Identification Methods In Lakes Kainji And Jebba,
Nigeria
Richard Lema
Bwala*, Attahiru
Mohammed Sule,
Innocent Yakubu Yem,
Simon Ndakotsu and Rafiu Adedeji
National Institute for Freshwater
Fisheries Research, P.M.B. 6006, New Bussa,
Niger State, Nigeria
*lemarichie@yahoo.com,
richardl669@gmail.com
Abstract: This survey was carried out to investigate
the local fishermen’s perception of fish identification
in lakes Kainji and Jebba both in Nigeria. The questions raised
include: How does the socio economic characteristics of the
fishermen affect the way they identify fish? What is the
fishermen appreciation of fish identification? On what basis do
they identify fish? And how does their perception relate to the
concept of a trained biologist (taxonomist)? A total of 80
fishermen aged within 22-58 were interviewed in Hausa which is
the widely spoken local language in the study areas. The
interview were loosely structured but based around a
questionnaire. Data was analyzed using percentages and
frequencies. The result showed that majority (83%) of the
respondents has Qur’an education while only 13% and 4%
have attended primary and secondary education respectively.
Among the categories of the years attained in the occupation,
those that were within the range of 34 – 43 had the
highest percentage (40.0). Majority (81%) said they inherited
how to identify fish. On the need to identify fish, 6% linked
it to conservation while 65% to occupational hazards. Only 40%
said they supply fingerlings to fish farmers. The study
revealed that the fishermen are clearly aware of the
differences in fish species. They identify, classify and
describe species of fish subjectively by assessing the
morphological features, taking into account colour,
mouth, barbells, scales/skin, fin/spine, teeth, lateral line,
body shape, head shape and size, body size and sexual difference.
They also observe their behaviour as
well as their location in water and for some species outside
water. It was shown that they have names to differentiate each
species of fish. These observations are discussed and
recommendations made. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):16-22]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.03
Key Words: Indigenous,
Identification, fish, Kainji, Jebba, Nigeria
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Adsorption of Radon at different gamma energies using
different activated carbon
Oyeyemi Samuel.Mofolorunsho
and Gaiya Stephen.
Applied science Department, College of
Science and Technology .Kaduna Polytechnic,Kaduna Nigeria. samroky@yahoo.com
Abstract: Three activated Carbon types were
produced using groundnut shell, sawdust and cocoanut shell.
They were used along side with a commercial activated carbon to
construct four radon detectors. Radon gamma emission was
measured at energies of 352Kev, 609Kev, 1764Kev and 2204Kev.
CAC tends to show an increase in gamma emission as energy
increase, while, GSA gave a linear energy response than the
remaining at all energies. Sawdust activated carbon shows no
recorded gamma emission at window 2342.20Kev-2653.30Kev.Radon
activity of six arbitrarily selected points shows an average of
23.34Bq. Adsorption ability of activated carbon produced from
ground nut shell has been found to have a linear response at
all the gamma energy of radon. It therefore can be used to
construct a detector canister. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):23-27]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.04
Key words: CAC (commercial activated carbon,
GSA (groundnut shell activated carbon, Activated carbon
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Model for Mathematical Analysis and Predicting the
Shrinkage-Induced Final Length of Fired Clay Products
Chukwuka I. Nwoye1* and Ihuoma E. Mbuka2
*1 Department of
Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
2 Department
of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Federal University
of Technology. Owerri, Nigeria. chikeyn@yahoo.com
Abstract: Model
for mathematical analysis and predicting the shrinkage-induced
final length of fired clay has been derived. Different clays
were sorted, prepared, molded into shape, dried in air and
fired in the furnace to a temperature of 12000C.
Initial and final fired lengths measured were used for
calculating the fractional volume shrinkage (using conventional
equation). Fractional volume shrinkage was also calculated in
terms of the fractional fired shrinkage. was
found to be constituted by three parameters, initial length, L1
final length L2 and fired shrinkage α. The
model-predicted final fired length L2 was found to depend
on the values of the initial length and fired shrinkage. The
validity of the model was found to stem directly on the
expression (L2/L1) 3 = [-
α3+3α2 - 3α +
1] where both sides of the expression are correspondingly
almost equal to 1. The maximum deviation of the model-predicted
fired length L2 from the corresponding experimental
values is less than 9% which is within the acceptable range of
deviation limit for experimental results. It was also found
that the cube of the ratio of final fired length to initial
dried length is equal to 1-fractional volume shrinkage due to
firing. [Report and
Opinion 2010;2(6):28-33]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.05
Keywords: Model, Mathematical Analysis,
Prediction, Final Fired Length, Clay, Drying
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Elementals Profile Of Traditional Some Important
Medicinal Plants Of Uttarakhand
State, India
Sanjay1, Navneet1,
M.M. Tiwari2and Avnish
Chauhan*
1Department of Botany and Microbiology, Gurukula Kangri
University, Hardwar, Uttarakhand-249404
2Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Gurukula
Kangri University, Hardwar,
Uttarakhand-249404.
*Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities, College
of Engineering, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, Uttar
Pradesh -244001
*Corresponding author- avnishchauhan_phd@aol.in
Abstract: The life on the earth depends
upon two types of chemical reactions such as the photosynthesis
and respiration. Metal ions play a vital role in both the
reactions. Mineral elements are nutrients which are found in
foods and which are essential to the body in microscopic
amounts. The inorganic constituent’s viz., Fe, K,
Mg, Ca, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co and chloride, sulphate,
inorganic phosphorus, organic phosphorus and total phosphorus of Jasminum grandiflorum,
Vitex negundo,
Salvadora persica, Anacyclus
pyrethrum and Olea europaea were
determined by using AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy). These
plants are traditionally used for nervous and urinary diseases,
disorder of the blood and bile, dental, cooling, tonic, chronic
bowel complaints, fever, headache, ulcer and worms. [Report and
Opinion 2010;2(6):34-36]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.06
Keywords: Elemental, medicinal plants,
AAS, disease
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Evaluation of
Antimicrobial Activity of Six Medicinal Plants Against Dental Pathogens
Prabhat, Ajaybhan*, Navneet
and Avnish Chauhan#
Department of Botany and Microbiology
* Department of chemistry, Gurukul Kangri
University, Hardwar - 249 404
#Department of Applied Sciences &
Humanities,
College of Engineering, Teerthanker Mahaveer
University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh-244001
E-mail- avnishchauhan_in@yahoo.com,
prabhat_micro@yahoo.com
Abstract: All
these selected medicinal plants have secondary metabolites which
inhibit the microbial growth. In the present study six medicinal plants namely Terminalia chebula,
Mimusops elengi,
Achyranthes aspera,
Acacia catechu, A. arabica and Glycyrrhiza glabra
extracts were
prepared in four different solvents such as petroleum ether,
acetone, methanol and water. Each extract was tested for their
antibacterial activity against five dental infection
microorganisms such as Staphylococcus
aureus, Streptococcus mutans, S. salivarius,
S. sanguis, Lactobacillus acidophilus
and Candida albicans by well diffusion method. All
the plants showed significant activity against all pathogens,
but the methanolic extract of T. chebula
showed maximum zone of inhibition against S. aureus (27 mm) and Candida albicans
(26 mm) and the minimum zone of inhibition were determined in
petroleum ether extract of M.
elengi and A. aspera against S. mutans,
S. aureus
and Candida albicans (9 mm). Methanolic and aqueous extracts showed
greater activity as compare petroleum ether and acetone
extracts because more phytoconstituents
were leached in it. Phytochemical
analysis of these medicinal plants showed the presence of many
biologically active constituents of plant which might have
exerted synergistic antimicrobial effect. [Report and Opinion
2010;2(6):37-42]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.07
Key Words: Dental infections,
Antibacterial activity, phytoconstituents
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Ground Investigation into the
Hydro-Physical Characteristics of a Municipal Waste Fill Using Static
Cone Penetration Tests.
Olayiwola Ademola
Gbolahan Oni PhD
University of Ado-Ekiti,
Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, West Africa
(Current Address - ProWorks
Ltd., 13 Newman Street, Southampton, SO16 4FL, UK)
onilayi@googlemail.com
Abstract: This paper describes the procedure used to
undertake cone penetration tests (CPTs)
on the municipal solid waste landfill at White’ pit, Wimborne, UK. The results of the CPTs were interpreted and analysed in the context of the usefulness
of the tests for determining the geo-environmental properties
of the emplaced waste. The general hydro-physical
characteristics of the emplaced waste are comparable to
sand/silt mixtures, with no dynamic pore pressure. Although CPTs
may not be appropriate for determining accurate quantification
of the hydro-physical properties of an emplaced waste, it may
be suitable for a general characterisation
of the waste fill in relations to the soil type behaviour, especially at old sites with no
historical data of the type of materials that were emplaced. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):43-52]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.08
Keywords: cone penetration tests,
landfill, friction ratio, characterisation,
municipal waste, dynamic pore pressure
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DIGITAL
IMAGE PROCESSING: SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION USING GENETIC ALGORITHM IN
MATLAB TOOLBOX
Joaquim Jose Furtado1* , Zhihua
Cai1 & Liu Xiaobo1
1
China University of Geosciences, 388 LuMo
road, Wuhan, Hubei, P.R. China. Zip
code 430074
*jjfking77@hotmail.com
Abstract: Digital
Image Processing (DIP) is a multidisciplinary science. The
applications of image processing include: astronomy, ultrasonic
imaging, remote sensing, medicine,
space exploration, surveillance, automated industry inspection
and many more areas. Different
types of an image can be discriminated using some image classification
algorithms using spectral features, the brightness and "color"
information contained in each pixel. The classification
procedures can be "supervised" or
"unsupervised". With supervised
classification, we identify examples of the Information classes
(i.e., land cover type) of interest in the image. These are called
"training sites". The image processing
software system is then used to develop a statistical
characterization of the reflectance for each information class.
Genetic algorithm has the merits of plentiful coding, and
decoding, conveying complex knowledge flexibly. An advantage of
the Genetic Algorithm is that it works well during global
optimization especially with poorly behaved objective functions
such as those that are discontinuous or with many local minima.
MATLAB genetic algorithm toolbox is easy to use, does not need
to write long codes, the run time is very fast and the results
can be visual. The aim of this work was to realize the image
classification using Matlab software.
The image was classified using three and five classes, with a
population size of 20 and time of 30, 50 and 100. The gotten
results showed that the time seems to affect the classification
more than the number of classes. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):53-61].
(ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.09
Keywords:
Image Processing,
Genetic Algorithm, MATLAB.
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Pollination Biology of Sopubia delphinifolia
G. Don
Kavitha GR, Thriveni
MC*, Vijay CR, Shivamurthy
GR
Department of Studies in Botany, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570 006
thrivenimc@gmail.com
Abstract:
The floral
biology and pollination mechanism of Sopubia delphinifolia
G. Don. a cross-pollinated entamophillous species is described.
Pollination is aided by the zygomorphic
symmetry, floral arrangement on the inflorescence, position of
anthers and anther lobe, their dehiscence, production of large
quantities of pollen grains and nectar. Presence of one sterile
and one fertile anther lobe in each anther leads to the
operation of lever mechanism. Pollen is shed through a ventral
pore in the anther, which extends backwards simulating
longitudinal dehaiscence. Mellitivorous
and pollenivorous insects carry out
pollination. The operation of lever mechanism assisted by poricidal dehiscence in a taxon of Scrophulariaceae
is being reported here for the first time. [Report and Opinion
2010;2(6):62-66]. (ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.10
Key words: Floral
biology; mellitivorous insects; pollenivorous insects; lever mechanism; nototribic
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Leucocyte counts, humoral immunity and
nitric oxide level in Nigerian consumers of alcoholic beverages
*Olaniyi
John, ♦Obikoya Monilola, ♦Akinosun Olubayo and ♦Arinola Ganiyu
♦Department of Chemical Pathology and
Immunology
Immunology Research and Training
Centre
College of Medicine, University of
Ibadan, Nigeria.
*Department of Haematology
College of Medicine, University of
Ibadan, Nigeria.
arinolaog@doctor.com,
drarinolaog64@yahoo.com.
Abstract:
Consumers of alcoholic beverages are susceptible to various forms
of infectious diseases and cancers. To provide information
about immune status of Nigerians that consume alcoholic
beverages, the levels of an oxidant (NO), immunoglobulin classes
(IgG, IgA
and IgM), acute phase proteins (Transferrin, Caeruloplasmin
and Alpha 2 –macroglobulin) and white blood cell (WBC)
count were carried out on 15 Nigerians who had been consuming
alcoholic beverages for at least 10 years (at least 4 bottles
of alcoholic beverages containing 4 percent alcohol daily) and
14 sex/age matched controls. The result shows that NO; transferrin, total WBC count and neutrophils were significantly decreased
while IgM was significantly increased
in Nigerians that consume alcoholic beverages compared with the
controls. The volume of alcohol consumed daily was negatively
correlated with transferrin and total
WBC while duration of consumption of alcoholic beverage did not
show any correlation. The study indicates that consumption alcoholic
beverages affect immune status and leucocytes count. Thus,
providing information for the susceptibility of alcoholics to
infectious agents. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):67-70].
(ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.11
Keywords:
Leucocytes, Immunity, Oxidants, Alcohol and Nigeria
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Serological evidence of acute dengue virus infection
among febrile patients attending Plateau State Specialist
Hospital Jos, Nigeria
1Dawurung J.S, 2Baba M.M, 3
Stephen G, , 3 Jonas S.C, 1Bukbuk
D. N. 4Dawurung
C.J
Departments of Microbiology1 and Medical Laboratory
Sciences2
University of Maiduguri Nigeria and Biochemistry and
molecular Biology4 NVRI Vom
Plateau State Nigeria,
3Bernard Nocht Institute for
Tropical Medicine, Department of Virology, Hamburg-Germany
Dawurungj@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT: The
serological evidence of acute dengue virus infection was
assessed in 182 sera of subjects (78 (42.9%) Males and 104
(57.1%) Females), with febrile complaints attending the Plateau
State Specialist Hospital Jos
Nigeria. The age range of subjects in the study is 2-70 years,
with mean (±SD) age of 31.8±14.3 years. A total of 4 subjects
were positive for dengue NS1 antigen (DEN NS1), giving a
prevalence rate of 2.2%. Three, 3(2.9%) females were positive,
and 1 (1.3%) male was positive for DEN NS1, although there was
no significant difference according to gender, meaning that
dengue infection is not gender bias. Two of the 4 positive
cases also had malaria presented with, while the other two had
typhoid. All the positive subjects had complaints of fever and
headache, indicating that when looking for dengue virus
infection, suspected patients with malaria and typhoid are the
likely suspects to be considered. The four seropositive
subjects were aged 11 to 40 years. The cases occurred in the
months of May and August which corresponds to the breeding
periods of the Mosquito (Aedes species) vectors for
dengue. [Report and Opinion 2010;2(6):71-76].
(ISSN:1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.12
Keywords: serological;
acute dengue virus infection; febrile, Mosquito (Aedes species); vector
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Microbiological Characterization of Dry White Clay, a
Pica Element in Ghana
Kwaku Tano-Debrah1* and Gerald
Bruce-Baiden1
1Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of
Ghana, P.O. Box LG 134, Legon- Accra,
Ghana.
ktanode@ug.edu.gh
Abstract: The consumption of clay, which is a
soil, falls under what is known as ‘soil pica’ or geophagy. Geophagy
has been a tradition in many cultures in different parts of the
world. It is highly prevalent in Ghana, especially among
pregnant women, for various reasons. Clay consumption is
however expected to have some physiological and pathological
effects owing to the fact that clay contains considerable
amounts of organic material, including many live microorganisms
that could have significant effects on consumers. In Ghana, clays
consumed include adry white clay
called ayelo or shile, specially mined and processed
for local markets. This study characterized samples of ayelo sold in some markets in Ghana,
to determine their microbial safety. Samples of ayelo were purchased from some
common markets in Accra and analyzed using standard
microbiological culturing procedures. Total viable counts,
detection and identification of coliforms,
yeasts, staphylococcal species, eggs
of helminthes and cysts of protozoans
were done. The moisture content and water holding capacity of
the samples were also determined. The moisture content and
water holding capacity of samples were very low, ranging from
0.59-0.82% and 31.2-35.1 cm3 /cm3, respectively,
suggesting that the commodity does not constitute a suitable menstruum for most microorganisms. The
total viable count of samples ranged from 1.9 x 103
to 3.3 x 104 cfu/g.
Samples of clay from the different markets were similarly
contaminated. Coliform bacteria were
observed in all samples analyzed and the isolated species were
identified as Alcaligenes spp.
Staphylococcal spp and Candida
spp were also isolated from all
samples. Eggs of helminthes or cysts of protozoans
were however not detected in any of the samples examined. Data obtained suggested that
the product could be sources of microbial infection. [Report
and Opinion 2010;2(6):77-81]. (ISSN: 1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.13
Key words: Dry white clay, microbiology of dry
white clay, pica, geophagy
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A Study on
Arsenic and Iron Contamination of Groundwater in Three
Development Blocks of Lakhimpur
District, Assam, India
Bhabajit Bhuyan
Department of Chemistry, North Lakhimpur College, North Lakhimpur, Assam, 787031, India bhabajitb@rediffmail.com
Abstract: A study
on arsenic and iron contamination of groundwater in Lakhimpur district of Assam, India has been
presented. Thirty six groundwater samples were collected from tubewells and ringwells
at different sites from three development blocks, viz. Telahi,
Lakhimpur and Boginadi,
of North Lakhimpur sub-division
during dry season. Arsenic and iron were analysed
by using an atomic absorption spectrometer (Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 200) and uv-visible
spectrophometer (Shimadzu 1240) respectively as
per the standard procedures. It
is observed that the groundwater of the area is contaminated
with iron. A sizeable
number of groundwater samples contain arsenic at a toxic level.
Statistical observations on pH, arsenic, and iron in
groundwater also show that they exhibit an asymmetric distribution
with a long tail on the right or left of the median. The present study has
shown that naturally occurring arsenic and iron in groundwater
is more widespread in the study area than is generally recognized.
Hence, the present study
accentuates the necessity of regular surveillance of
groundwater quality with reference to arsenic, and iron contamination to protect the
groundwater resources from the pollution for sustaining life. [Report
and Opinion 2010;2(6):82-87]. (ISSN: 1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.14
Key words: arsenic; iron; groundwater; contamination
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A Study Of Changes In Some Biochemical Parameters
During Bacterial Fermantation Of Dioscorea
Esculenta
Tubers
Michael Ukaegbu
and Joy Okpuzor.
Dept. of Cell Biology and Genetics,
University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos
State.
mikey2k71@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT:
Changes in some biochemical parameters such as reducing and
total sugar, alpha amylase activity, lactic acid and ethanol
productivity were evaluated in this study.Randomly
selected tubers of lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta)
were peeled,diced, washed and put
into sterile beaker containing distilled water and left to
ferment for 28 days. Bacillus
species was isolated from the fermented steep liquor.This organism produces alpha amylase
that is able to hydrolyse starch to sugar.
Further hydrolysis of sugar resulted in the production of
lactic acid and ethanol. The pH decreased initially from 5.89
to 4.70 and later to 5.26,triturable acidity increased from
0.09 to 0.35%,reducing and total sugars increased from 1.4 to
24.7% and 4.6 to 23.8% respectively, alcohol content increased
from less than 0.41 to 5.6%,while crude protein increased from
0.04 to 1.45%. Alpha amylase activity decreased during the
later days of fermentation. This could be attributed to the
increasing alcohol content as well as lactic acid production
which are inhibitory to alpha amylase activity. [Report and
Opinion 2010;2(6):88-93]. (ISSN: 1553-9873).
doi:10.7537/marsroj020610.15
Key words: Dioscorea
esculenta, Bacillus
species, fermentation, alpha amylase, starch
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