February 2005
Potential of probiotics as biotherapeutic agents targeting the innate immune system
Probiotics had been of interest in the promotion of good health in animals and man. Some of the positive effects of probiotics are: growth promotion of farm animals, protection of host from intestinal infections, alleviation of lactose intolerance, relief of constipation, anticarcinogenic effect, anticholesterolaemic effects, nutrient synthesis and bioavailability, prevention of genital and urinary tract...
February 2005
Antioxidant potential of African medicinal plants
Cellular damage or oxidative injury arising from free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) now appears the fundamental mechanism underlying a number of human neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, inflammation, viral infections, autoimmune pathologies and digestive system disorders. Free radical are generated through normal metabolism of drugs, environmental chemicals and other xenobiotics as well as...
February 2005
Implicating roles of animal reservoir hosts in the resurgence of Gambian trypanosomosis (Sleeping Sickness)
Gambian trypanosomosis (Sleeping Sickness) is a complex and debilitating disease of man. For many years the disease has been ravaging in several parts of sub-saharan Africa despite decades of therapeutic control. Although animal reservoir hosts are believed to be associated with the disease, not much evidences have been established to prove the true existence of animal reservoir hosts for Trypanosoma brucei...
February 2005
Application of biotechnological for the improvement of Nigerian indigenous leaf vegetables
Nigeria is endowed with many indigenous leaf vegetables (ILVs) species, which spread across the estimated cultivable land area of 71.2 million hectares. These ILVs provide food, income, employment and herbal medicine to the population. Uncollected and uncharacterized germplasm, pests, diseases, anti-nutritional factors, recalcitrant seed, seed dormancy and perishable produce militate against the realization...
February 2005
Crop protection strategies for major diseases of cocoa, coffee and cashew in Nigeria
A great percentage of people in the developing countries are engaged in agriculture, but the yields of their produce are low due to diseases that plague their crops. In Nigeria, crop protection measures that are cheap, simple, cost-effective and sustainable are desirable to combat Phytophthora pod rot (black pod) and cocoa swollen shoot virus diseases of cocoa, coffee leaf rust and coffee berry diseases,...
February 2005
Isolation and characterization of micro satellites in Bambusa arundinacea and cross species amplification in other bamboos
Isolation and characterization of microsatellites was analyzed in Bambusa arundinacea and cross species amplification in other bamboos. Six microsatellites, three polymorphic and three monomorphic, were characterized in a bamboo species, Bambusa aruninacea belonging to the family Poaceae. The numbers of alleles per locus ranges form 2 to 6. Allelic diversity ranges from 0.128 to 0.789....
February 2005
Isolation and characterization of a Coffea canephora ERF-like c-DNA
ERFs (Ethylene-Responsive Element Binding Factors) are members of a transcription factors family unique to plants. They contain a well-conserved segment, which interacts specifically with sequences containing AGCCGCC motifs (GCC box) located in the promoter region of genes activated during biotic or environmental stress in plants. A cDNA corresponding to an ERF gene has been isolated from a Coffea...
February 2005
Characteristics of fermentation yeast isolated from traditional Ethiopian honey wine, ogol
Indigenous honey wine, known locally as ogol, was collected in a village of the Majangir ethnic group in Southwest Ethiopia, and the procedure for ogolfermentation was investigated. A fermentation yeast was first isolated from ogol and identified as being a strain of the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Honey wine made with S. cerevisiae ET99 contains 16.5% (v/v)...
February 2005
Production of bioemulsifier by an unusual isolate of salmon/red melanin containing Rhodotorula glutinis
An unusual isolate of Rhodotorula glutinis was obtained. The yeast produces a spore and a crystalliferous protein per cell. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the parasporal crystals contained polypeptides with a molecular mass of approximately 55, 47, 40, 36 32.5, 30 and 25 kD. The yeast also produces a salmon/red pigment at late stage of exponential growth,...
February 2005
Utilization of petroleum hydrocarbons by Pseudomonas sp. and transformed E. coli
Our previous studies showed that the biodegradation of petroleum oil by apseudomonas isolated from a petroleum-contaminated soil was instable. In this work, it is shown that when the isolates are immobilized on Perlite, they are more stable for oil degradation. Although the isolate did not have any chemotaxis to octadecane, dodecane and octane but utilize octadecane and dodecane better than octane and it...
February 2005
Comparative in vitro trypanocidal activities of petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts of some Nigerian savannah plants
Using Trypanosoma brucei as test organism, about two hundred extracts of varying polarities obtained from different parts of about forty tropical plants harvested from the savannah vegetational belt of Nigeria were evaluated for their in vitro trypanocidal activities at concentrations of 2 and 4 mg/ml. The proportion of petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts that...
February 2005
Urinary schistosomiasis in a rural community in Edo state, Nigeria: Eosinophiluria as a diagnostic marker
The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in Ikpeshi, a rural community of Edo State, Nigeria showed that 195(65%) out of 300 volunteers harbouredSchistosoma haematobium ova in their urine. Eosinophiluria was markedly significant > 5 eosinophilic leucocyturia/hpf and reported among 250 (83.3%) inhabitants. Of these, ova were absent in 55 (22.0%) of urine samples but had other associated urinary...
February 2005
Serum total proteins and creatinine levels in experimental gambian trypanosomosis of vervet monkeys
Although Human African Trypanosomosis presently constitute a major socio-economic problem in several parts of sub-Saharan Africa, conflicting reports on experiemental infections appear to be one of the factors limiting the chemotherapeutic control of the disease. Attempt was therefore made to evaluate the effect of two strains of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense on total proteins and other...
February 2005
Effect of metal ion concentration on the biosorption of Pb2+ and Cd2+ by Caladium bicolor (wild cocoyam)
The influence of initial metal ion concentration of the batch sorption of Pb2+ and Cd2+ onto a low-cost biosorbent was investigated. The experimental results were analysed in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. According to the evaluation using Langmuir equation, the monolayer sorption capacity obtained were 49.53 and 65.50 mM/g for Pb2+ and Cd2+, respectively The data further showed that,...
February 2005
Evaluation and potential of Double Immunodifusion Gel Assay for serological characterization of rice yellow mottle virus isolates in West Africa
Rice yellow mottle virus is not only highly infectious to rice plants but also a highly variable pathogen. Forty-two isolates were obtained from five countries in West Africa. Utilizing 26 polyclonal antisera, the serological diversity of these isolates was determined using Double Immunodifusion Gel Assay. All the antisera were classified into three serogroups, PSg-1a, PSg-1b and PSg-2....
February 2005
Callus proliferation and somatic embryogenesis in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)
Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration are fundamental to tissue culture biotechnology in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cv. Coker 312. Callus proliferation was considered best on MS1a (2.0 mg/L NAA; 0.1 mg/L ZT; 0.1 mg/L KT) when 6 weeks old callus was cultured from MS1b (0.1 mg/L 2, 4-D; 0.5 mg/L KT) medium, there is no need to select embryogenic calli for somatic embryogenesis, as all...
Advertisement
Advertisement
