Tobias I. Ndubuisi Ezejiofor

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

Waste to wealth: Production of oxytetracycline using streptomyces species from household kitchen wastes of agricultural produce

The production of oxytetracycline by Streptomyces speibonae OXS1 in solid-state fermentation from cocoyam peels (household kitchen wastes of agricultural produce) was investigated. The proximate analyses of peels of the two cocoyam species showed that Colocasia esculenta had higher protein (1.39%) and fibre (15.70%) contents than Xanthosoma esculenta with protein and fibre contents of 0.91 and 6.95%, respectively. Oxytetracycline was detected on the first day of fermentation and reached its peak on the third day. The optimum moisture content of the substrate for the production of the antibiotic was 65% at room temperature, and a pH range of 5.8 to 6.0. Seven days fermentation gave higher biomass weight (140.86 g) for C. esculenta than X. esculenta (101.62 g), indicating a possible higher presence of the anticipated fermentation product (oxytetracycline) in the fermentation jar of the former. Bioassay for determination of the antibiotic presence confirmed that oxytetracycline was present in both species of the cocoyam peels, but in higher amounts in C. esculenta at every instance. Cocoyam peels- a common household kitchen wastes, that otherwise would have become breeding foci for disease pathogens, are by the outcome of this study shown to be bioconvertible into substrates for the production of oxytetracyclines, an important class of antibiotics that are vitally useful both for the health care delivery system and agro-poultry industry, etc. The fact that cocoyam peels could become very useful substrate for the production of this very important class of drugs is indeed a big plus both for the pharmaceutical industry and public health programme of environmental health and safety. This application also offers an alternative waste management option for this class of household kitchen wastes of agricultural produce that is usually present in great abundance in our environment. By sodoing, these wastes with great potential for environmental degradation, pollution and disease causation, are turned into raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry, thus, becoming a veritable resource for industrial growth, with possible positive impacts of this exploitation on job and wealth creations for national economic prosperity. Added to these are the public health impacts of a safer and healthier environment likely to be secured through the indirect waste management option so offered.

Environmental metals pollutants load of a densely populated and heavily industrialized commercial city of Aba, Nigeria

Diseases and their associated health defects are most often related to the quality of the total environment which in itself is also related to the quality and quantity of wastes generated in those areas, as partly defined by the nature of activities carried out by the populace. This environment-health relationship dynamics are particularly evident in most tropical environments like Nigeria where various environmental media are laden with sundry pollutants including metals, most of which are often furnished by wastes. This study aims at investigating the environmental metal load of Aba, a major commercial city in South-east Nigeria which is home to many artisanal, small- and medium-scale industrial activities, but presently experiencing waste-related menace. Randomly collected soil samples from different areas of Aba metropolis and a sub-urban community considered less polluted (to serve as control) were analyzed for heavy and non-heavy metals. Results show that while the mean of the estimated heavy metals in the six sites ranged from 0.31 ± 0 to 1293.75 ± 0 µg/g, for non-heavy metals it ranged between 55.01 ± 24.88 and 903.74 ± 1081.25. In the control site, the range is between 0 and 1293.75 ± 0 for heavy metals while for the non-heavy metals, it is between 72.73 ± 0 and 410.50 ± 0. The results indicate that the mean concentrations for most of the metals were high with respect to the Nigerian Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Findings in this study have serious implications for public health. n n xa0 n n Key words:xa0Environmental, heavy metals pollutants load, Aba, Nigeria.

Biochemical indicators of occupational health hazards in Nkalagu cement industry workers, Nigeria.

Routine diagnostic tests for some organ-system functions were adopted as biochemical probes in health screening of cement milling workers. Thirty-five volunteers from the Nkalagu cement industry, Nigeria were screened. Out of 14 biochemical parameters studied, raised levels of serum bicarbonates (HCO-), aspartic transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were observed among cement milling workers compared with a control population. Elevated bicarbonate values were found to differ statistically (P < 0.05) between the quarry workers and the rest of the volunteer work population. In a similar manner, elevated ALT values differ statistically (P < 0.05) between the kilning workers and the rest of the study population. Elevated bicarbonate values are associated with chronic bronchitis, while elevated values of AST and ALT suggest susceptibility to hepatitis, particularly anicteric hepatitis as the elevated values of the transaminase were not matched by a corresponding rise in serum bilirubin. The implications of this study to occupational health screening cannot be overemphasized.

Anicteric hepatoxicity: a potential health risk of occupational exposures in Nigerian petroleum oil refining and distribution industry

BackgroundLiterature abounds linking one’s job to certain unpalatable health outcomes. Since exposures to hazardous conditions in industrial environments often results in sundry health effects among workers, we embarked on this study to investigate the hepatic health effects of occupational activities in the petroleum refining and distribution industry.MethodBiochemical markers of liver functions were assayed in plasma, using Reflotron dry chemistry spectrophotometric system. The study was conducted on randomly selected workers of Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and Pipelines and Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) both in Alesa-Eleme near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, as well as non-oil work civil servants serving as control subjects.Result and conclusionResults showed that, bilirubin ranged 0.3-1.6 mg/dl with a mean of 0.66±0.20mg/dl among the oil workers as against 0.5-1.00mg/dl with a mean of 0.58±0.13mg/dl in non-oil workers, Alkaline phosphatase ranged 50.00-296.00u/l (mean: 126.21±39.49u/l) in oil workers as against 40.20-111u/l (mean: 66.83±18.54u/l) for non-oil workers, Aspartic transaminases (AST) ranged 5.80-140.20u/l (mean: 21.81±11.49u/l) in oil workers against 18.00-44.00u/l (mean: 26.89±6.99u/l) for non-oil workers, while Alanine transaminases (ALT) ranged 4.90-86.00u/l (mean: 22.14±11.28u/l) in oil workers as against 10.00-86.60u/l (mean: 22.30±10.22u/l) for the non-oil workers. A close study of the results revealed that although the mean values for all the studied parameters were still within the parametric reference ranges, however, relative to the referents, there were significant increases (P<0.05) in plasma bilirubin (though anicteric) and alkaline phosphatase that was not matched with a corresponding increase in the plasma transaminases, suggesting a possibility that toxic anicteric hepatoxicity is part of the potential health effects of sundry exposures in the Nigeria petroleum oil refining and distribution industry. Gender differentiation data showed that though the mean values for the parameters were higher in males than females, the increases were not significant in most cases (P>0.05), whereas data for age and exposure period classifications revealed that irrespective of the age of the worker, the effects are likely to start after the first five years, manifesting fully after the first decade of occupational exposures. Thus, an update of industrial/occupational health measures is necessary for a safer and healthier work environment.

Haematological indicators of exposure to petroleum products in petroleum refining and distribution industry workers in Nigeria

Objective: Exposures to hazardous conditions in industrial environments often results in sundry health effects among workers. The study investigated haematological effects of occupational activities in the petroleum refining and distribution industry in Nigeria. Methodology: Adopting routine laboratory methods, haematological indices were investigated in whole blood from randomly selected workers of Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and Pipelines and Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) both in Alesa-Eleme near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, as well as non-oil work civil servants serving as control subjects. Results: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) ranged 1-100 (Mean:10.94 ± 11.82 mm/hr) in oil workers against 1-36 (Mean:6.6 ± 7.81 mm/hr) in non-oil workers (P 0.05); Parked Cell Volume (PCV): 25.00-58.00 (43.31 ± 4.09%) vs.30-49 (42.70 ± 5.01%) (P>0.05); Platelets: 75.00 × 109-430.00 × 109 (232.41 ± 63.18 × 109/L) vs. 141.00 × 109 -382.00 × 109 (239.23 ± 57.30 × 109/L) (P>0.05); White Blood Cell (WBC):3.20 × 109-86.00 × 109 (7.07 ± 6.61 × 109/L) vs. 4.9 × 109-11.00 × 109 (7.36 ± 1.64 × 109/L) (P>0.05). For the WBC differentials, the values were: lymphocytes: 18.00 × 109-75.00 × 109 (52.28 ± 9.25 × 109/L) vs. 25.00 ×109-57.00 × 109 (41.60 ± 10.16 × 109/L) (P<0.01); and granulocytes: 25.00 × 109-82.00 × 109 (47.72 ± 9.24 × 109/L) vs. 43 × 109-75 × 109 (58.40 ± 10.16 × 109/L (P<0.01). Conclusion: Although mean values were still within parametric reference ranges, some variations were observed in the oil workers when compared to the controls: while granulocytes consistently decreased significantly (P<0.01), consistent significant increases in lymphocytes (P<0.01) and ESR (P<0.05) were observed, indicating a possibility of functional aberration following haematopoietic toxicity in the oil workers. Findings suggest petroleum refining and distribution industrial environments as being furnished with potentially haematotoxic substances, and haematopoietic toxicity as part of potential health effects of exposures in this industry in Nigeria. Though gender classification showed no appreciable impact, age grouping suggests that the health effects indicated by the observed variations are likely to rear up from age 40 yr. Changes observed for exposure groupings and statistically significant correlations between age, exposure (service) period and most of the parameters suggest that both age and exposure period have strong impacts in defining the patterns of variations observed in the haematological indices among the oil workers. Findings indicate a need for frequent environmental and biological monitoring for a safer and healthier workplace and workforce respectively.

Immature Coconut Water: A Renal Protective Agent in Wistar Rats

The abundance of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the presence of cytochrome P450 makes the kidney an organ particularly vulnerable to reactive oxygen species (ROS) attack [1-3]. The concentration of ROS reaches its peak <1-6 hours, depending on exposure and concentration or dose [4-8]. Carbon tetrachloride toxicity is dependent on the excessive production of the trichloromethyl radical (CCl3) [9]. Early studies showed that free radicals, such as trichloromethyl (CCl3) and oxygen-centered lipid radicals (LO or LOO, or both), are generated during CCl4 metabolism by hepatic cellular cytochrome P450 [10].