December 2006
The role of biotechnology in the socio-economic advancement and national development: An Overview
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,...
December 2006
Screening tropical maize lines for the production and regeneration of friable and embryogenic type II callus
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...
December 2006
Studies on the inheritance pattern of joints, pod and flower pigmentation in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) walp.]
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 F3 seeds were obtained. The F1, F2, and backcross...
December 2006
Some properties on the application of Candida utilis TISTR No. 5001 into sequencing batch reactor (SBR) System
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. ...
December 2006
Antioxidant activity of extracts from Acanthopanax senticosus
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) of A....
December 2006
pH dependence of sorption of Cd2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and Cr3+ on crude water and sodium chloride extracts of Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera
The ability of crude water and sodium chloride extracts of partially defatted powder ofMoringa stenopetala (MS) and Moringa 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...
December 2006
Antimicrobial activity and phytochemicals of Solanum trilobatum Linn.
In this study, aqueous methanol and n-butanol extracts of aerial parts of Solanum trilobatum L. (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 against Klebsiella with aqueous...
December 2006
Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of saponins extract of Sorghum Bicolor L. Moench
The n-butanol purified saponin extract of sorghum bicolor were screened for anti-bacterial activity against three pathogenic microbes; Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The extract inhibited the growth of the S. aureus. It was concluded that the saponins have inhibitory effect on gram-positive organism but not on gram negative organism and the fungi. Key...
December 2006
The mineral composition of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc) grown in Southern Africa
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...
December 2006
The effects of different packaging materials on the shelf stability of garri
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 esculenta Crantz) under tropical ambient temperature was evaluated for 6 months duration. Results indicates that total viable bacteria count increased gradually from 3.0 x 101 to 9.9 x 103, 1.01 x 103,...
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