This study was conducted to determine phosphorus sorption characteristics of five soils from contrasting parent materials in southeastern Nigeria. The soils were collected from Ikom (basalt), Akamkpa (basement complex), Bende (shale), Amaeke (sand stone) and Umudike (coastal plain sand). The standard P requirements for the soils were calibrated from the sorption curves, and the values were very low ranging from 11.1 mg•kg −1 in Bende to 60.2 mg•kg −1 in Ikom. The P maximum sorption capacity determined by the Freundlich and Langmuir models varied with the locations, and ranged from 65.7 mg•kg −1 in Akamkpa to 516 mg•kg −1 in Bende for the Freundlich model and from 231 mg•kg −1 in Akamkpa to 369 mg•kg −1 in Bende for the Langmuir model. Similarly the P maximum buffering capacity was determined by using the two models. The values varied from 993 mg•kg −1 in Amaeke to 1180 mg•kg −1 in Akamkpa with a mean of 1087 mg•kg −1. The highest bonding energy of P was in Akamkpa with a mean value of 6.05 ml/g and lowest was in Bende with a mean value of 0.76 ml/g. From this study, the P sorption data of the soils conformed better with the Freundlich model than the Langmuir model. Freundlich model is therefore recommended for the soils.
Telfairia occidentalis is a medicinal plant known to exhibit a wide range of biological activities because of the presence of phytochemicals like tannins, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides. In this research work, the phytochemical screening and the antioxidant activities of Telfairia occidentalis leaves were evaluated. Also, this research work was designed to evaluate the effect of Telfairia occidentalis on reproductive hormones and sexual behaviour in male Albino Wistar rats using standard analytical methods. Twenty-five (25) sexually matured male rats were divided into five (5) groups of five (5) rats each; groups 1 and 2 were the normal and positive controls and were given distilled water and the standard drug (Manix Capsule) respectively while groups 3, 4 and 5 were administered the ethanol extract of the plant in graded dosages of 400, 200, and 100mg/kg respectively. Also 12 sexually matured female Albino rats were used for the assessment of sexual behavior.The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, terpenes and flavonoids while, the leaves showed a significant free radical scavenging activities with IC50 90μg/ml. The hormonal result showed that the extract cause a dose dependent significant increase (p<0.05) in testosterone when compared with the normal control. However, there was a significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels also in comparison with the normal control. In conclusion, the ethanol leaf extract of Telfairia occidentalis increases the reproductive hormones which might increase the reproductive activities of the male rats.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.