Chika C. Ogueke

Waste to Wealth-Value Recovery from Agro - food Processing Wastes Using Biotechnology: A Review

From creation, man was charged toincrease, multiply, and subdue the earth �. Thus, man has continually sought to improve the quality of life by transforming nature to provide more food, and better living condition s for long life. Agriculture and technology are part of the tools used to accomplish this transformation and to achieve many of mans goals. Through mechanization and other tools of modern technology man cultivates crops and rears animals for his food need s, processes same through industrial activities for value addition, and carries out other sundry activities -all in a bid to dominate his environment. Major fallout of all these is the generation of wastes, with their attendant implications for the environment generally. Generation of wastes demands that measures must be taken to manage them if the unpleasant consequences of their accumulation (and these are legions) must be averted. Hence, various waste management options have been adopted over time, mostof which had tended to see waste as useless entity that must be disposed off wholesomely. However, modern concepts of waste management tend to see waste from a different perspective, since what is regarded as waste may not be truly totally so, at least, fr

Use of Seed Sprouting in Modification of Food Nutrients and Pasting Profile of Tropical Legume Flours

ABSTRACT The study investigates the effect of seed sprouting on minerals, anti nutrients and pasting characteristics of flours produced from some tropical legume seeds. Samples were collected from cowpea (Vigna ungulculata); red kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), and Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and each sample was divided into two portions. A portion was sprouted while the other portion served as the control. The flours from sprouted and non-sprouted seeds were analyzed for the minerals, anti nutritional and pasting properties. The samples were found to differ significantly (p

Preservative potentials of essential oils of three Nigerian spices in mixed fruit juice and their antioxidant capacity

The study was conducted to evaluate the preservative potentials of essential oils (EOs) of Piper guineense, Xylopica aethiopica and Tetrapleura tetraptera in mixed fruit juice and determine their antioxidant capacity. The preservative effect at varying concentrations was evaluated using S. cerevisiae, S. aureus and B. cereus as test isolates. The antioxidant properties were determined using 1,1diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric ion reducing power assay (FRPA) methods. Concentrations (10 and 5%) of P. guineense and X. aethiopica EOs reduced the number of S. cerevisiae by one log cycle on the 10th day of storage, while 3.3% reduced it by one log cycle after 14 days. The 10% concentration produced a log cycle reduction in the growth of S. aureus and B. cereus on the 12th day. However, 5% concentration reduced the growth of B. cereus by one log cycle on the 14th day. T. tetraptera had the largest amounts of vitamin A (544.41 iu/100 mL), phenol (1.81%) and flavonoids (0.45%). P. guineense had the highest value for vitamin E (37.03 iu/100 mL). X. aethiopica EO produced the highest scavenging activity (46.04%), while P. guineense EO produced the strongest reducing power activity (38.64%). The EOs can act as natural preservative in mixed fruit juice. Their inclusion in such products can improve the products thereby serving as functional foods/beverages, and thus can reduce the risks of cancer formation and chronic diseases in humans.

Antimicrobial activities of Alstonia boonei stem bark, a Nigerian traditional medicinal plant

Abstract Objective To determine the in vitro antimicrobial activities of various solvent extracts of stem bark of Alstonia boonei, a Nigerian traditional medicinal plant against some microorganisms of food and clinical importance. Methods The antimicrobial activities of crude solvent extracts of stem bark were determined using well in agar diffusion method against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces sp. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined to establish the antimicrobial potential of extracts. Results The antimicrobial results revealed that ethanol extract produced maximum zone of inhibition (23.73 mm) against E. coli. All the extracts had no inhibitory activity on Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at the lowest concentration tested (3.2 mg/mL). MIC was determined at various concentrations and the least MIC (5.8 mg/mL) was produced by the crude ethanol extract on E. coli, while the least minimum bactericidal concentration (20 mg/mL) was also produced by the ethanol extract on E. coli. Ethanol and chloroform extracts had the highest and least inhibitory effects on the isolates, respectively. Conclusions The present study has revealed that the solvent extracts of Alstonia boonei stem bark possess potent antimicrobial activity that can be harnessed. It may also be a new source of antimicrobial compounds that could be used to combat drug resistance which has become a global challenge.