Mo Wegwu

Health risk assessment of hazardous metals for population via consumption of seafood from Ogoniland, Rivers State, Nigeria; a case study of Kaa, B-Dere, and Bodo City

This study was designed to investigate the human health risk through consumption of seafood from contaminated sites in Kaa, B-Dere, and Bodo City all in Ogoniland. The potential non-carcinogenic health risk for consumers were investigated by assessing the estimated daily intake and target hazard quotients for Cr, Cd, Zn, Pb, Mn, and Fe while carcinogenic health effect from Cr, Cd, and Pb was also estimated. The estimated daily intake from seafood consumption was below the threshold values for Cr, Mn, and Zn while they exceeded the threshold for Cd, Pb, and Fe. The target hazard quotients for Zn and Cr were below 1. Target hazard quotients values for Cd, Pb, Mn, and Fe were greater than 1 except for Fe level in Liza falcipinis from Kaa. Furthermore, estimation of carcinogenic risk for Cr in all samples under study exceeded the accepted risk level of 10E-4. Also, Cd carcinogenic risk level for L. falcipinis and Callinectes pallidus collected from B-Dere and C. pallidus collected from Bodo City was 1.1E-3 which also exceeded the accepted risk level of 10E-4 for Cd. Estimation of carcinogenic risk for Pb was within the acceptable range of 10E-4. Consumers of seafood from these sites in Ogoniland may be exposed to metal pollution.

Hepatoprotective effects of methanolic extract and fractions of African mistletoe Tapinanthus bangwensis (Engl. & K. Krause) from Nigeria

Methanolic extract and fractions, ethylacetate (EtF) and butanol (BuF) of leaves of African mistletoe (Tapinanthus bangwensis, Engl. & K. Krause) were evaluated for their hepatoprotective potential using CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats. The activities of the marker enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin were highest in rats treated with CCl4 alone. Oral administration at a fixed dose of 400 mg/kg body weight (BW) of the extract and fractions of T. bangwensis for seven days significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased the activity of marker enzymes and bilirubin. Total protein concentration increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05). These extracts also decreased the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) which indicated a reduction in lipid peroxidation. Histopathological examination of hepatocytes of rats administered methanolic extract (MeE) and fractions (EtF and BuF) showed normal architecture whereas rats treated with CCl4 alone was characterized by necrosis of the liver. Generally, among the three extracts, the BuF and EtF showed more hepatoprotective effect. The crude methanolic extract did not show any mortality up to a dose of 2000 g/kg BW. These findings suggest that T. bangwensis possesses strong antioxidant properties and hepatoprotective potentials against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

Comparison of Chicken Manure and Urea Fertilizers as Potential Soil Amendments for Enhanced Phytoextraction of Heavy Metals

ABSTRACT Cadmium (Cd) solubilization in soil and uptake by Mucuna pruriens var. pruriens and Sphenostylis stenocarpa was studied in response to the chicken manure and urea fertilizers application types. In this study, 0.8 g each of the amendments was applied to petroleum-contaminated soil in a pot experiment. Results indicate that the chicken manure application at 14 days before planting gave significantly higher shoot dry matter than its urea counterpart under conditions of Cd stress. Chicken manure application resulted in less Cd solubilization as compared with urea fertilizer dosing. The chicken manure application also significantly increased the shoot Cd accumulation despite its lesser effect on Cd solubilization; thus, it is expected to minimize the risk of groundwater contamination. Chicken manure amended treatment showed greater Cd tolerance for the two species investigated and S. stenocarpa did not support Cd phytoextraction. Although the amendments gave marked reduction in Cd phtotoxicity, those of the urea fertilizer gave only rapid, but short, growth support.

Nutrient Profile of a Contaminated Soil Phytoremediated by Centrosema pubescen and Mucuna pruriens

ABSTRACT Soil nutrients contribute to ecosystem-level processes and are important for productivity, community structure, and fertility in terrestrial ecosystems. Crude oil–stressed agricultural soil was subjected to phytoremediation for 12 weeks, and the nutrient status thereafter was characterized to investigate the inherent effects on such soils in relation to nutrient mineralization and community shifts. Manure additions significantly increased Mg, Na, NO3-N, PO4 −, and SO4 2− contents along with pH values. Accumulated biomass and leaf area measurements were used to monitor nutrient cycles upon amendment addition. Experimental results indicate that after 90 days, the biotreatment had significantly higher levels of monitored nutrients (above 2500 mg/kg NO3-N) than the unplanted control (<500 mg/kg NO3-N), and compared well with the uncontaminated control. The results from this study highlighted inherent advantages of phytoremediation as a soil cleanup technique in terms of soil quality recovery and preservation.

Physico Chemical Properties and the Antinutrient status of a non-Alcoholic Beverage (Coke)

The physicochemical properties and the antinutrient status of the beverage, coke were evaluated to determine its suitability for consumption and toxic levels in mammal. The mean levels of nitrates, total nitrogen, chloride, ammonia, tannin, cyanogenic glycosides and caffeine in the samples were (mg/l): 0.008 ± 0.001, 150.000 ±3.446, 11.000 ± 0.686, 183.000 ± 3.019, 0.016 ±5.976, 0.020 ± 0.010 and 0.146 ± 0.002 respectively. The pH of the samples gave a mean value of 3.500, while the mean metal concentrations gave (mg/l) - 0.990 ± 0.099 (Mg); 38.030 ±0.050 (Na); 1.400 ±0.114 (Fe); 0.650 ± 0.014 (Zn); 0.080 ± 0.005 (Mn); 4.720 ± 0.016 (K) and 10.120 ± 0.094 (Ca). Toxicological test using whister albino Rats, shows that the beverage was relatively safe. Generally, the results shows that the antinutrient status of the beverage fell within the standards adopted by most countries. Similarly, the other parameters fell within natural background level although few fell above WHO specifications.