Abstract-Most nations, whether economically advanced or at different stages of development are faced with the problem of disposal and treatment of wastes. Wastes could be treated in several ways (e.g. by reducing its bulk or by recovering and reprocessing it into useful substance) to meet sanitary standards. Ethanol fermented from renewable sources for fuel or fuel additives are known as bio-ethanol. In Nigeria, many food crops have been specifically grown for the production of bio-ethanol. However, bio-ethanol production from waste materials removed from fruits is very rare. In the present study, wastes from fruits such as banana, plantain and pineapple peels which are in abundance and do not interfere with food security were subjected to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation for 7days by co-culture of Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biomass yield, cell dry weight, reducing sugar concentration and the ethanol yield were determined at 24 hours interval. The results of the study showed that after 7 days of fermentation, pineapple peels had the highest biomass yield of 1.89 (OD), followed by banana peels 1.60 (OD), while plantain peels had the least 0.98 (OD). The reducing sugar concentrations ranged between 0.27 -0.94 mg/cm 3 for pineapple, 0.20 -0.82 mg/cm 3 for banana and 0.16 -0.45 mg/cm 3 The optimal ethanol yields were 8.34% v/v, 7.45 % v/v and 3.98 % v/v for pineapple, banana and plantain peels respectively. These indicate that pineapple and banana peels ethanol yields were significantly higher (P<0.05) than plantain peel ethanol yield. The findings of this study suggest that wastes from fruits that contain fermentable sugars can no longer be discarded into our environment, but should be converted to useful products like bio-ethanol that can serve as alternative energy source.
Phytochemical, toxicological and histo-pathological studies were carried out on the leaves and stem bark extracts of Grewia mo/lis, Boswe//ia da/zie//ii, Jatropha curcas and Pterocerpus erinaceus claimed to be of medicinal values in Nigeria. The soxhlet apparatus was used for extraction of the crude materials. The result revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, balsam, phenols, terpenes, steroids and the absence of alkaloids in Grewia mo/lis (bark), Boswe//ia da/zie//ii (leaf) and Pterocarpus erinaceus (bark) as well as cyanogenic glycosides in all the plant materials. Toxicological result showed that the plant is safe for human consumption but with caution having produce LDsoat 1500 mg/kg body weight. The extracts showed no structural effects on the liver and heart.dn'the kidney however, the convoluted tubules were filled with fluids, which suggested that the extract should be used with caution on patients with renal failure. The plants therefore possess some important biological activities that could be harnessed and employed beneficially in the management of viral and bacterial infections.
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