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Host status of commonly grown cultivars of chillies (Capsicum frutescens) and sweet pepper (C. annuum) to the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) in northern Nigeria(Abstract. Root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica, are the most damaging and widespread of all the nematode pests of Capsicum frutescens L. and C. annuum L. in the savanna zone of northern Nigeria. Twenty-one commonly grown cultivars of the two crops were tested for their reaction to the infection of M. incognita Race 1 under screen-house conditions. Of the 12 cultivars of C. frutescens tested, five were susceptible, two were toleratant and five were resistant. In case of C. annuum, five were susceptible, four were tolerant but none were resistant. Crop losses due to these nematodes are more acute in dry-season irrigated land than in lands cropped only during the wet season.

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Aims: Hydroalcoholic T. dodoneifolius, B.pinnatum and T. catappa leaf extracts were investigated for their acute toxicity and anxiolytic activities. Study Design: Acute toxicity (LD50) was determined using the limit dose acute and Anxiolytic activities were assessed by open-field field behavioural testing in mice. Place and Duration of Study: The study took place in the Neurobehavioural room of Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in late December 2022. Methodology: Groups of mice (n=6; equal sexes) were each exposed to the open-field paradigm (OFT) following 1 hour of single oral administration of distilled water, extracts (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg) and diazepam (0. 5 mg/kg) using the behavioural indices of mean centre zone time (M%CZT), centre zone re-entry (MCZR) and defeaction/urination frequency (MD/UF). Results: Acute toxicity testing shows that the three extracts are safe with LD50 of 5g/kg. Behavioural results indicate, compared to the distilled water treatment (M%CZT, 6.39±1.53; MCZR, 4.67±1.15, & MU/UF, 4.83±0.75), single acute T. dodoneifolius (M%CZT, 7.50±1.73, 13.72±2.43, & 20.94±3.91*; MCZR, 7.33±0.88, 9.50±0.76, & 11.50±1.6*; MD/UF, 4.17±0.48, 3.17±0.54, & 1.83±0.60*), and B.pinnatum (M%CZT, 9.72±1.91, 9.78±1.32, & 19.67±2.01*; MCZR, 6.00±1.15, 10.50±0.76, & 12.50±1.72*; MD/UF, 3.17±0.79, 2.33±0.42, & 1.33±0.49*) extract treatments demonstrated consistent dose-dependency in their anxiolytic activity across the three parameters with T. catappa extract (M%CZT, 6.95±1.27, 12.17±2.01, & 16.84±1.49*; MCZR, 8.17±1.60, 10.17±1.67, & 10.83±1.96; MD/UF, 2.83±0.60, 2.00±0.73, & 3.67±0.42) exhibiting dose-pendent anxiolytic effect only on the M%CZT. However, at the highest dose level of 500 mg/kg, all plant extract treatments caused anxiolytic effects that are comparable with those of 0.5 mg/kg diazepam treatments (M%CZT, 22.61±1.31*; MCZR, 12.17±1.66*; & MD/UF, 2.62±0.21*).                                                                                                                   Conclusion: These findings justify the traditional use of these medicinal plant extracts in the remediation of nervous and related disorders.

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