Vernonia amygdalina is one of the most well-known plants found in Africa and Asia and the most cultivated species of the genus Vernonia. The knowledge of how living and extinct species are related to one another supports much of evolutionary Biology. Therefore, this study was aimed at carrying out the molecular identification of Vernonia amygdalina using ITS and RPOC1 regions. In this study, the identification and phylogenetic analysis of Vernonia amygdalina was done through amplification of the DNA using ITS and RPOC1 primers. The ITS and RPOC1 sequences were compared with the existing sequences in the NCBI GenBank using BLAST searches then the sequences were aligned and maximum likelihood and parsimony trees were constructed using MEGA11. The result showed that ITS sequence length is 627bp while the RPOC1 sequence is 422bp. The blast result for ITS primer sequence showed 93% - 96% similarity against 6 accessions, 70% - 74% against 8 accessions, 64% - 69% against 6 accessions, and 82% similarity against 1 accession. Whereas the RPOC1 primer sequence gave 96% - 99% similarity against all accessions in the BLAST results. Vernonia amygdalina, Hirpicium diffusum, Cyanthillium cinereum, Sonchus ustulatus, Olearia odorata, and Olearia laxiflora were observed as out groups for their respective trees with the RPOC1 primer producing the highest percentage with all BLAST matches ranging from 96% to 99%. This indicates that the RPOC1 primer produced higher identification to species level.

The south-western part of the Iullemmeden Basin here referred to as the Sokoto Basin Northwestern Nigeria, especially the Northern part of the Basin has been studied to unravel the structures and review the Maastrichtian to Eocene lithostratigraphic successions in the basin and to produce geological maps at the scale of 1:50,000. The methods used involve the interpretation of the high-resolution satellite imagery, aeromagnetic data, and, detailed fieldwork. The results include the production of 9 (nine) geological maps at a smaller scale than hitherto been produced, redescription and prefixing of upper, middle and, lower to existing formations and, assigning unconformities at their right positions, especially between Maastrichtian Dukamaje Formation and Wurno Formation, and the late Paleocene Primary oolitic ironstone being bounded above and below by an unconformity. The Maastrichtian successions of the Rima Group comprise the delta plain, delta front, and prodeltaic lower, middle, and upper Taloka Formation, the beach/shoreface, sublittoral and deeper sublittoral lower, middle, and upper Dukamaje Formation overlain unconformably by the prodeltaic lower and upper Wurno Formation. The Paleocene Sokoto Group comprises the prodeltaic to shallow marine lower, middle, and upper Dange Formation, the shallow marine lower and middle Kalambaina Formation, and the marine Gamba Formation. An unconformity bounds the Primary Oolitic Ironstone which is overlain unconformably by the lower, middle, and upper Eocene beach to lacustrine Gwandu Formation. The Basin has been affected by three major faults (NE-SW, NW-SE, and NNE-SSW), modified by strikeslip faults and basin inversions

Hura crepitans has been use in traditional medicine to treat different form of diseases such as liver problem, cancer, and the seeds oil is externally used against skin problems among others. The aim of this research was to extract and characterize oil from H. crepitans seeds as potential ingredient in cosmetics. The plant material (seeds) collected, authenticated, and extracted with n-hexane using soxhlet extractor. The physicochemical properties of the oil extracted such as moisture content, saponification value, acid value, and peroxide value were evaluated. Fourier TransformInfrared spectroscopy of the oil was carried out to identify the major functional groups present in the oil. The secondary metabolites or saturated and unsaturated fatty acids present in the oil were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The results showed that, the percentage recovery of the oil yield was 42.74 % and physicochemical properties of the oils such as moisture content (10.03 ± 0.061), saponification value (63.76 ±0.234 mg/KOH), acid value (1.45 ± 0.01 mgKOH/mg), iodine value (85.26 ± 0.455 I2/100g) and peroxide value (7.00 ± 0.00 mEq/kg) were evaluated which indicated the potential of the seed oil for cosmetic and personal care products development. The FTIR analyses revealed the presence of hydroxyl group (3272.6 cm-1 ), carbonyl group (1731.3 cm1 ) and cyclic alkene (1634.4 cm-1 ). In conclusion, the findings of this research shows that, H. crepitans seeds oil contained saturated and unsaturated fatty acids which are known with antimicrobial, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, the authors hereby recommended the use of H. crepitans oil from seeds for the formulation of household cosmetic products

Regulation problem and power dissipation due to inappropriate switching frequencies and multiple switching are mostly encountered among single-input multiple outputs (SIMO) converters. A SIMO flyback converter is designed and developed with the aim of selecting an appropriate switching frequency and overcoming regulation error in SIMO converters. The developed converter system has four output levels of 24 V, 12 V, 9 V and 5 V. The average switching frequency 𝑓𝑠𝑤 against 𝑘 (a control parameter for switching frequency) is notably higher with lower 𝑘. However, for small 𝑘, (i.e. at high switching frequency), the voltage regulation is tighter and more accurate. Therefore, 0.1 < 𝑘 < 0.2 was set and the regulation error was limited to < 1%. The switching and control technique operate at an average switching frequency of 199 kHz with small frequency fluctuations and output voltage ripple around 10 mV (i.e < 0.1% of Vo) under nominal conditions of Vi = 12 V. Efficiencies of 97%, 97.3%, 98.2% and 98.4% were obtained across the four terminals for 24 V, 12 V, 9 V and 5 V respectively.

In this work, a mathematical model of Lyme disease transmission dynamics with two interacting host populations; humans and rodents were formulated. The quarantine class and public enlightenment campaign parameter are incorporated into human population as means of controlling the spread of the disease. The existence of Disease -Free Equilibrium (DFE) and Endemic Equilibrium (EE) were investigated. Also, the basic reproduction number were obtained and used for the analysis. The findings revealed that the system is stable when 1 Roh  AND 1 R or  From stability analysis, we observed that public enlightenment campaign and isolation of infected people from susceptible people will go a long way to reduce the spread of Lyme disease in the population

The presence of fungi in oranges poses a significant risk to public health, impacting global economies and the well-being of both humans and animals. To effectively address this problem, it is important to identify the specific types of fungi to address this concern effectively. This study was aimed at isolating and characterizing fungal species associated with rotten sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis L.) in the University of Ilorin using phenotypic characterization and molecular tools. A total of five orange fruits were collected from different trees at the Unilorin botanical garden and immediately transported to the Biology laboratory, University of Ilorin. The rotten part of the fruits was cut out, surface-sterilized, and then inoculated onto potato dextrose agar. Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus arrhizus were the fungal isolated and identified. The identification of these pathogens is crucial for implementing effective post-harvest management measures. This will aid in eliminating the pathogens from sweet orange fruits during post-harvest handling, reduces spoilage and extending their shelf life.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness. Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die. There is paucity of information on the effect of physicochemical parameters on mosquito larvae in Wudil, Garko an Bunkure local governments (LGAs), Kano State Nigeria. This study was aimed at assessing the effects of physicochemical parameters on Anopheles mosquito larvae in different breeding habitats in Kano State Nigeria. Larval samples were collected during rainy season (August, September and October, 2019) and dry season (January, February and March, 2020) from the three different local governments. Mosquito larvae were collected from agricultural and residential sites of the LGA and using classical dipping methods and transported to Biochemistry laboratory at Bayero University, Kano where the different physicochemical parameters were assessed. Temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids (TS), total suspended solids (TSS), PO4 3- , Zn2+, Ca2+, Na+ , K+ , Fe2+ , Cu2+, Mn2+ NO3 - , Mg2+, Cl- , and larval density were determined. There was significant difference in PO4 3- , Zn2+, Ca2+, Na+ , Fe2+, NO3 - , DO and EC between Wudil and Garko; PO4 3- , Zn2+, and Na+ between Garko and Bunkure; Ca2+, Na+ , Fe2+, NO3 - , DO, Temp. and EC between Wudil and Bunkure. Mg2+, Cl- , DO and EC between between were significantly different between agricultural and residential sites. Temp. TS and TSS were statistically significant between rainy and dry season (p<0.05). Linear regression analysis showed that mean larval density, was higher in Garko compared to Wudil and Bunkure; higher in the residential site compared to agricultural site; and lower in the dry season compared to the rainy season (p<0.05). Therefore, information on mosquito breeding sites in relation to physicochemical parameters may help in larval source management in Kano-south, Kano state, Nigeria

In this paper, the block hybrid backward differentiation formulae (BHBDF) for the step number 𝑘 = 4 was developed using power series as basis function for the solution of general second order ordinary differential equation. The idea of interpolation and collocation of the power series at some selected grid and off- grid points gave rise to continuous schemes which were further evaluated at those points to produce discrete schemes combined together to form block methods. Numerical problems were solved with the proposed methods and were found to perform effectively

Micronutrient deficiency (MND), despite being a threat to public health, has persisted for decades in Nigeria. Food fortification is recommended as the most scalable, sustainable, cost-effective and reliable strategy for prevention of MND and its consequences. Although, Nigeria has been implementing food fortification for the purpose of eradicating MND, for decades, there is scarcity of independent and reliable data on the evaluation of fortificants in the fortified foods in order to ascertain manufacturers’ compliance with the specified regulations. Therefore, this study evaluated the levels of Vitamin A as a “mandatory fortificant” in twenty seven (27) “fortified” food products comprising 13 vegetable oils, 9 margarine (butter) and 5 sugar samples randomly selected from different markets, departmental stores, and other retail outlets in Sokoto metropolitan areas. The level of vitamin A was evaluated spectrophotometrically at 420 nm as described by Oteng et al. (2020). Results reveal that the levels of vitamin A were significantly (p <0.001) lower than the mandatory requirement levels specified by National Regulatory Agencies. This could be attributed to non-compliance with the fortification regulations by the manufacturers, poor monitoring and enforcement by the regulatory bodies, poor storage and transportation. This study recommends improved market surveillance as well as monitoring for total compliance to ensure accomplishment of the desired impacts of food fortification in Nigeria.

Geological investigation of Sheet 224 Osi NE (1:50,000) was carried out in order to determine the rock units, their structural features, and probable structural control for mineralization. The rock units observed in the area include the Migmatite-Gneiss Complex (banded and augen), metasediment rocks (schist, marble and calc-silicate rocks, amphibolite, and quartzites), and the Pan African granitoids, consisting of coarse-grained biotite granite, porphyritic biotite granite, fine- to medium- grained granites, and pegmatite. Pegmatites and quartz veins were found as minor intrusions, while migmatite suites are the major rock units which are sandwiched in some places by short lenses of amphibolites. This metamorphic sequence was intruded by north-south trending granite plutons, which form prominent topographic features, and intruded pegmatite veins. Structures observed are the quartzo-feldspathic veins, foliation planes, joints, faults, and folds. Notable structural features are foliation plane, the principal strike directions NNE-SSW and NNW-SSE. The joints and faults generally have N-S and NW-SE trends conforming in some places with the foliation trends. The type and nature of their geometry suggests that the rocks had undergone more than one deformational event since the time of their formation. The occurrence of numerous fractures, joints, and faults show that the area has a great potential for mineral exploration.

Various species of millet are widely cultivated in Africa including Nigeria. They are adapted to poor, dry infertile soils. They are used as animal food and animal feed. Under conditions of high temperature and humidity, millet forms an ideal substrate for fungi. They damage millet and reduce the crop quality. Occurrence of aflatoxin producing fungi in millet is extremely harmful to humans and animals due to its carcinogenic properties and immune system suppression. This study is aimed at phenotypic characterization of contaminant fungi in stored millet using pour plate method, agar dilution method was used to determine the antifungal properties of Thymus vulgaris and Curcuma longa against the isolated fungi while thin layer chromatographic method was used to assay for the presence of mycotoxins. Data obtained showed that stored millet used in this study contains Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, Aspergillus tarreus, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus nidulans, and Fusarium sporotrichiodes. Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, Aspergillus tarreus, Fusareum graminearum and Apergillus versicolor produced Aflatoxin B1 while Rhizopus stolonifer, Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus versicolor produced Zearalenone. Thymus vulgaris and Curcuma longa produced antifungal activity against mycotoxin producing fungi that contaminate millet in storage; hence this study will produce economic impact in reducing diseases caused by mycotoxins.

In this paper, a class of two-step second derivative numerical method is developed by incorporating one or more function evaluation at collocation with carefully selected off-grid points. The continuous formulations of the methods are derived through the interpolation and collocation technique with Hermite polynomial as basis function. The two numerical schemes derived are of higher order of accuracy with relatively small error constants. The methods are consistent and zero stable and hence convergent. The stability properties of the methods are carried out via the linear system. Both methods are A-stable as their regions of absolute stability contain the entire left-hand plane of the stability region. Furthermore, the two methods were implemented as block forms in other to simultaneously produce approximate solutions to some standard stiff problems (both linear and nonlinear) found in the literature. Hence our methods are self-starting and do not require separate methods to start the implementation. The errors incurred in our methods on the problems considered, are relatively lower than the methods found in the literature.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an important grain legume in the diet of many people in the third world countries including Nigeria. Pruning is observed usually to control plant growth in order to improve or manipulate branching, flower and fruit production. This study was conducted to find out the effects of pruning on branching and biomass production of three improved varieties of cowpea. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of pruning interval on the branches, fresh and dried biomass production of all the three varieties [IT90K-277-2 (variety 1), IT90K-318-33 (variety 2) and ITK99K-573-1-1 (variety 3)]. The experiment was carried out at the screen house of center for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Annex, and Faculty of Agriculture Bayero University Kano using Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. The pruning was conducted via cutting of the cotyledons at three different intervals as follows; 2, 4 and 6 weeks. All the collected data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS software 9.0. Means were separated using Least Significant Differences (LSD) at 5 % level of significant (P<0.05). The findings of the study revealed that even though there were no significant differences at all the pruning intervals, pruning at 4 weeks after planting tend to have a higher number of means on the performance of all the varieties. The cowpea Variety-2 had the highest number of leaves (20.08) while Variety-3 had the highest stem length (15.98). Pruning intervals increases root length, number of nodules and biomass weight perform best on Variety-2.

Dengue virus has increased dramatically within the last 20 years, becoming one of the worst mosquito-borne human pathogens. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Dengue virus among out patients with febrile illness in three primary health care centers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. This study included One hundred and fifty patients both males and females within the age range 15 to 60 years. All participants of this study had symptoms of febrile disease at the outpatient clinic of Primary health care centres of Kuchingoro, Tunga Maje and Sheda, located in sub-urban areas of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Dengue virus was determined in subject’s serum by rapid fluorescence immunoassay (Wondfo Biotech, China). Overall prevalence of dengue virus was 15.3 %, males where more infected than females, but this was not statistically different. Age was a significant factor in the prevalence of dengue among study subjects (P=0.012). The sero-reactivity to dengue NS1 was higher 10.6%, while IgG and IgM sero-positivity was 9.3 and 7.3 % respectively. Most commonly reported symptoms amongst dengue virus positive subjects were Fever. Screening for dengue virus should be included in the comprehensive diagnostic pool for patients with febrile illness in the study area.

The spread of parasitic trematodes is vigorously facilitated by the snail intermediate host. Three water bodies in Keffi LGA of Nasarawa State, Nigeria were surveyed for freshwater snails between June to August, 2022. The water bodies were visited biweekly in the morning hours for the collection of snails using handheld scooping net as well as handpicking from vegetation. A total of 216 snails belonging to 5 genera and 10 species were identified; Anisus leucostoma (10.64%), Anisus vortex (2.31%), Biomphalaria pfeifferi (0.93), Biomphalaria tenagophila (0.46%), Melanoides maculata (10.64%), Melanoides turricula (4.63%), Melanoides tuberculata (64.81%), Physa fontinalis (0.46%), Planorbarius corneus (2.78%), and Planorbarius corinatus (2.31%). This study revealed the abundance of freshwater snails in which Melanoides tuberculata indicated highest abundance (140) followed by Melanoides maculata (23) and Anisus leucostoma (23) and the least in number were Physa fontinalis (1) and Biomphalaria tenagophila (1). The abundance of the genus Melanoides could be as a result of their ability to burrow into the substrate to wait out dry periods and their natural adaptation like the presence of hard protective shell. The snail distribution pattern observed indicated low biodiversity and may give an insight into some aspect of the epidemiology of parasitic trematodes in the Local Government Area

Argungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Nigeria depends on Matan Fada River water for its domestic and commercial activities, especially for fishing and irrigation. This study was aimed at assessing the physicochemical parameters of the Argungu River and two Neighbouring lakes. The parameters assessed are: pH (6.99 ± 0.03 to 7.16 ± 0.04), EC (155.33 ± 0.15 to 159.93 ± 0.81 µS/m), Temperature (30.43 ± 0.50 to 31.97 ± 0.50 0C), Turbidity (1.66 ± 0.71 to 2.31 ± 0.09 NTU), DO (5.13 ± 0.23 to 7.80 ± 0.27 mg/L), BOD (31.90 ± 0.17 to 43.63 ± 2.14 mg/L), TDS (78.03 ± 0.32 to 82.67 ± 2.90 mg/L), TSS (2.07 ± 0.12 to 3.20 ± 0.27 mg/L, Chloride (1.50 ± 0.00 to 2.37 ± 0.15 mg/L), Phosphate (0.14 ± 0.00 to 0.15 ± 0.01 mg/L), Sulphate (0.05 ± 0.01 to 0.06 ± 0.01 mg/L) and Nitrate (0.40 ± 0.00 to 0.73 ± 0.06 mg/L) and that these values are within the WHO allowed limits except for phosphate and BOD. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) carried and the 95% confidence level revealed that the value of each parameter was significantly different (P<0.05) from one site to another except TDS, phosphate and sulphate which shows that there were no significant differences (P>0.005). The variation of each parameter observed along the river and lakes was a result of pollution from activities that take place along the river bank and the vicinity of the neighbouring lakes. The results obtained suggest that River Argungu water may not be safe for drinking, bathing, and domestic use unless treated. Agencies in charge of water safety in the town should put in place measures to ensure the safety of the Argungu River water

Fault Current Limiters (FCLs) are used to suppress the fault current to a level that can be handled by the circuit breakers (CB). In medium voltage meshed Distribution Network (DN), the effectiveness of the FCL depends to a large extent, on the number, locations and parameters of the available FCLs. As such, this paper presents an Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) based technique to determine the location of predefined number of FCLs and their parameters in order to constrain the fault currents to tolerable limit of the CBs’ ratings. The number of candidate locations of the FCL in a distribution network is large, as such sensitivity analysis based on the fault currents is carried out first in to order to reduce the search space. The IWO is applied to solve an objective function based on the lines fault current and the impedance of the individual FCLs. The short-circuit fault current maximum allowable ratings of the CBs based on IEEE C37.04-2018, and the FCLs’ impedances are used as the inequality constraints. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the developed FCL placement technique is developed in MATLAB simulation and applied on IEEE 14-bus, 30-bus, and 118-bus meshed systems. The performance of the proposed technique is validated by comparing the reduction in the fault currents on all the sensitive lines with those obtained using genetic-algorithm (GA). With the FCLs optimally deployed using IWO, the fault currents were reduced by 24.58%, 21.94% and 21.87% in the IEEE 14-, 30-, and 118-bus system respectively when compared with the GA.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmaceutical quality parameters of different brands of metformin hydrochloride 500 mg tablets available in Sokoto metropolis, Sokoto State, Nigeria. Four brands of metformin hydrochloride tablets were procured and subjected to pharmaceutical quality evaluations, namely, visual inspection, friability, hardness, uniformity of weight, thickness and diameter, disintegration, and dissolution tests. Content of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was also determined using UV spectrophotometer. The tests were performed as described in standard tests manuals and other published literatures. The results showed that the weight uniformity, thickness and diameter, hardness and disintegration time values for all the brands were within the acceptable limits specified in the British Pharmacopiea (2009). All brands of the products released more than 70 % of their API after 45 mins and therefore passed the dissolution test as well. Two of the brands, brand B and D failed the friability test, as their percentage friability were found to be 3.19% and 1.74% respectively. Moreover, brand D failed the assay of active content as its percentage of active content was found to be 93.1%, which is below the BP specification of 95 – 105 %. In conclusion, not all the metformin hydrochloride 500 mg tablets marketed in Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria are of acceptable standard. This call for a concerted effort to halt the circulation of substandard pharmaceutical products in Sokoto and entire Nigeria as a whole.

Female Anopheles mosquitoes are carriers of malaria which is a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, where over 85- 90% of all global burden of malaria exists. . The study was conducted at Unguawar Jeji Village in Kalgo LGA, Kebbi State. Mosquito larvae were collected from different types of breeding habitats using dippers/scoops and were reared in an insectary in the Biological Sciences Laboratory, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, at 28±2°C room temperature and 55–78% relative humidity. The larvae collected were fed with ground mixture of biscuits and yeast. The emerged adults were transferred into mosquito cages with the use of an aspirator and were fed with 10% sugar solution. . Using an aspirator, Anopheles mosquitoes were introduced into four (4) bottles coated with 12.5μg deltamethrin, at a diagnostic time interval of 0, 15 and 30 minutes as set by a start timer for dead and /or live mosquitoes as mortality rate. The diagnostic dose for each insecticide was determined as the minimal amount of an insecticide needed to kill all susceptible mosquitoes at thirty (30) minutes. A thirty (30) minutes exposure in treated bottles was considered the most critical value, because it represents the threshold between susceptibility and resistance. Mortality was recorded at every 0, 15 and 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, control bottle mortality rate was also scored. 98% to 100% mortality at the recommended diagnostic time indicated susceptibility. 80% to 97% mortality at the recommended diagnostic time suggests the possibility of resistance that needs to be confirmed. Less 80% mortality at the recommended diagnostic time suggests resistance. After exposure to deltamethrin coated bottles at 15mins the average mortality rate was 79% and 100% at 30 mins. It was concluded that after 30mins diagnostic time, all Anopheles gambiae mosquitos were susceptible to deltamethrin. It could, therefore, be recommended as the suitable insecticide to be used for spray in houses and treating mosquito nets.

Analysis of flow past a porous rotating disk with thermo-diffusion and diffusion-thermo with convective boundary condition are studied and presented in rectangular form Mathematically. These equations are continuity, momentum, temperature and concentration which were reduced to nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations from their PDE forms. The solution to these reduced equations were solved by introducing Adomian polynomials. The results were validated with the existing literatures and a good agreement was established. The parameters that occur in the solutions were varied on the fluid radial, tangential, axial velocities, temperature and concentration. Thermo-diffusion was found to enhance the fluid temperature while diffusion-thermo also boost the fluid concentration.

Artificial ripening of fruits is gradually becoming a common practice among fruits vendors in Nigeria in order to meet consumers demand and reduce economic loss. The study aimed to determine the effects of calcium carbide (CaC2) on the nutritional values and mineral concentration of Mangifera indica, Musa paradisiaca and Citrullus lanatus. Fifty- four (54) matured unripe fruits purchased from Jega-market were artificially ripened using 5g of CaC2 for 24hrs. The fruit pulp was sliced, dried at room temperature for 7 days; grounded using laboratory mortar and pestle, and the powder was used for proximate and mineral content analysis using the procedure described by AOAC. Higher moisture content of 8.5%, 5.0% and 14.5% were found in naturally ripened Banana, Mango and Watermelon, respectively. The maximum ash content was found in naturally ripened watermelon (19.0%) and artificial ripened banana (14.0%) and mango (6.0%). The concentrations of fibre, Nitrogen and vitamin C were found higher in naturally ripened banana (22.50%, 1.37% and 27.50mg/100g), mango (24.50%, 1.26% and 56.43mg/100g) and watermelon (8.50%, 1.20% and 2.67 mg/100g), respectively and the results were significant (P<0.05). Mineral contents revealed higher concentration of Ca (0.75mg/100g, 1.60mg/100g and 1.25mg/100g), K (61.00mg/100g, 59.00mg/100g and 66.00mg/100g), Mg (3.50mg/100g, 3.50mg/100g and 2.55mg/100g) and P (4.49mg/100g, 4.86mg/100g and 4.87mg/100g) in artificially ripened banana, mango and watermelon, respectively, while maximum concentration of Na were found in artificial ripened banana (0.16mg/100g) and mango (20.00mg/100g) and in naturally ripened watermelon (90.00mg/100g). Maximum Fe concentration was observed in naturally ripened banana (6.93mg/100g), and artificially ripened mango (2.23mg/100g) and watermelon (1.15mg/100g). The maximum concentration observed between the samples might be related to the concentration of ash content and reduction of moisture content due to the reaction between the fruits moisture and CaC2 during the ripening. The CaC2 accelerated ripening process and significantly influenced nutrients composition and mineral concentration.

The importance of Starch, irrespective of its source cannot be overemphasized as a drug delivery excipient. The inability of starch as a pharmaceutical excipient to withstand processing conditions and formulation challenges has been greatly enhanced by chemical modification of its moiety. The aim of this study is to evaluate starch phosphate derived from Ipomoea batata (Sweet Potato) as a suspending agent. The potato starch was extracted and then modified by phosphorylation using disodium hydrogen phosphate at concentrations of 0.1M and pH of 8. The phosphorus contents of the starch were determined and used to determine the degree of substitution. The native and modified starches were then used to formulate suspensions of metronidazole using different quantities of the suspending agent. The parameters employed for the evaluation were sedimentation volume, flow rate, pH, redispersibility and temperature effects. Physicochemical characterization of starch phosphate indicates its suitability as an excipient; as it has low moisture content and almost neutral pH. Starch phosphate, at low concentration of 2% showed sedimentation volume comparable to that of unmodified starch. At 4% and 8% however, starch phosphate suspensions showed better sedimentation volume than those of native starch. Formulations containing 2, 4 and 8% respectively of starch phosphate as suspending agent were easily dispersible as compared to CMC containing formulations. Furthermore, starch phosphate produces stable, moderately viscous suspensions with good flow properties. In conclusion, starch phosphate could be used as an effective suspending agent at low concentrations in metronidazole suspension.

An ethnomedical survey was undertaken in the Gwadabawa/Illela village communities of Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria to identify and record information on medicinal plants used for treating wounds and fungal-related ailments. Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs) and other inhabitants both young and adults were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires complemented by a voice recording device and an open-ended conversation. Field trips were made to the sites where TMPs or other informants harvest plants. The survey identified and recorded 40 plant species from 38 genera and 18 families, used for treating wounds and wound-related ailments in Gwadabawa/Illela village communities. Among the 40 species, dicots were represented by 38 species belonging to 38 genera and 16 families, while monocots were two species belonging to two genera and two families. Combretaceae and Fabaceae were the dominant families and contributed to wound healing with 7 species each. Life forms, in terms of plants habit/habitat showed a record of trees (20 species), shrubs (12 species), and herbs (8 species). Only one climber species was recorded. Plant parts used against their therapeutic indications showed that stem bark was the most used plant part in 15 preparations with 37.5% to treat wounds, closely followed by the leaves in 12 preparations with 30.0%, and the root and whole plant were reportedly used in five and four preparations with 12.5%, and 10% respectively. Fruit and flower were the least used parts in two and one preparation constituting 5.0% and 2.5% respectively. The informants prepared and prescribed the medicine mainly in the form of powder (70.0%), followed by some form of extraction (12.5%), and sap-juice or latex (10.0%), while the lowest preparation form was recorded for paste and oil (0.5% each). The major method of medicinal administration/ route of application was by spraying topically (65.0%), while other descriptions included the use of oil to apply topically (27.5%) as well as washing and drinking (12.5%). Concoction mixtures recorded some 30-40% mode of preparation as against the use of a single plant, which constitutes about 60%. Ethnobotanical indices showed Acacia nilotica as having the highest with a use value of UV: 0.27, (with 8 use reports) and a citation frequency/relative importance index of CF: 11.8, RI: 0.56, while the lowest recorded indices of 0.03 UV and 1.5 CF and 0.07 RI was recorded for some of the other plants in comparison. There is still a deep reliance on the use of the surveyed plant medicines for wound healing by the people, due to the high level of success recorded by the informants following traditional practices/applications. Hence, a holistic or selective scientific study is imminent from the established database of this research.