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.

In the quest to produce an acceptable local beverage that could serve as an alternative variety to kunun-zaki for many millions of Nigerians who take the cereal-based beverage as their most preferred and affordable drink a study was undertaken to assess the microbial and sensory quality attributes of laboratory-produced Date fruit-based kunun-zaki. Different blends of dry date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) formulated as follows; F1 (100:0), F2 (70:30), F3 (50:50), and F4 (30:70%) of date fruits/sorghum were soaked overnight in water, drained and were wet-milled with ginger and cloves using an equal volume of sterile water, F5 (0:100) was market (Control) sample. The microbial succession study included the identification of organisms at various critical stages of the production of the beverage. The results of the study showed the mean pH, and TTA (%) values for the respective formulated Kunun-dabino product were F1 (4.87 and 0.3870), F2 (4.66 and 0.4508), F3 (4.29 and 0.4600), F4 (4.04 and 0.4690), F5/Control (4.32 and 0.4589) respectively. The mean Total bacterial, coliform and fungal loads of the four experimental products were 2.58 x 104, NIL, and 3.56 x 103 CFU/ml respectively which fall within W.H.O’s recommended standards for ready-to-eat foods. Species of Bacillus, Enterobacter, Shigella, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, Penicillium Mucur, and Candida were present at the initial production stage while Bacillus and Lactobacillus species persisted right through to the final stage of production. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that while F1 was the least liked, F3 was significantly preferred over the other samples (P < 0.05). The study has shown that ‘Kunun dabino’ produced under the laboratory conditions in this study provides a new brand of beverage that is both microbiologically safe and organoleptically more acceptable to taste panelists.

Background: Tannery soils are very rich in keratinous materials such as fur, wool and hair that are by-products of the tanning industry where hides and skins are processed. A keratinase producing fungus belonging to the genus Penicillium was isolated from soils containing tannery wastes in Jos, Plateau State Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The fungus produced extra cellular protease on skim milk casein agar as an indication for keratinase production. The species had maximum proteolytic and keratinase activities in a Submerged Fermentation (SmF) using liquid basal medium supplemented with skim milk, chicken feathers and human hair as carbon and nitrogen sources. Results: The Spectrophotometric assay of the proteolytic and keratinolytic activity of Penicillium Original Research Article

The combined anti-diabetic effects of Extracts of Artemisia annua var. chiknensis with Laboratory code number (CBGE/CHINA/09/LTNGS/G), Momordica charantia Linn, Vernonia amygdalina Del. and Aegle marmelos Correa traditionally employed in Nigeria for the treatment of diabetes were studied. Fifty male albino rats which had been subjected to overnight fasting were rendered diabetic through single intraperitoneal alloxan injections (120 mg/kg body weight). They were then divided into 5 batches of ten rats each. The first batch was treated with A. annua leaf extract only. The second batch was treated with a combination of A. annua and M. charantia extracts. The third batch was treated with a combination of A. annua and V. amygdalina extracts while the fourth batch was treated with a combination of A. annua and Aegle marmelos extracts. The extracts were used in the ratio of 1:1 and treatment was done twice daily for a period of 30 days. The fifth batch of diabetic rats was not treated and thus served as control. The sixth batch of non-diabetic rats (10) was set up for comparison. Both the A. annua extract and its various combinations with the other experimental plant extracts resulted in insulin level enhancements and fasting blood glucose level reductions of the diabetic rats. There were significant differences (P≤0.05) in the insulin level of diabetic rats treated with A. annua leaf extract alone and those treated with different combinations of the plant extracts. The mean effects of the extracts on insulin and fasting blood glucose levels were most significant in A. annua + M. charantia (38.65 µlU/ml and 87.55 mg/dl) and A. annua + A. marmelos (38.55 µlU/ml and 87.92 mg/dl) treatments at P≤0.05. The non-treated diabetic rats had an average body weight of 94.90 g as compared to the original average body weight of 100 g at the commencement of the study. The treated diabetic rats had average body weight increments from 108.83g to 109.29 g. The non-diabetic rats had an average body weight of 114.10 g as compared to their initial average body weight of 100 g. The experimental plants were found to contain various biochemical constituents which were probably responsible for the blood serum insulin level enhancements and fasting blood glucose level reductions. The results obtained have shown that the A. annua leaf extract and its combinations with the other plant extracts could be employed in the management of hyperglycemia.

The possibility of upgrading spent sorghum grains to chicken feed through microbial processing was investigated. Spent sorghum grains (SSG) were fermented for a period of 21 days at 25 ± 2 o C using a consortium of A. niger, C. globosum and S. cerevisiae. The effects of microbial processing on the nutrient composition of the SSG were assessed and the nutrient composition of the microbe-processed product was compared with the nutrient requirements of chicken. Fermentation led to increases in the contents of crude protein (56%), crude fat (59.65%) and ash (38%). Crude fibre and NFE contents were decreased by 24.84% and 35.43% respectively. Energy content increased by 7.8%. The percent dry matter values of fifteen amino acids (lysine, histidine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline, glycine, alanine, cystine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine tyrosine and phenylalanine) were found to increase. Elemental analysis revealed increases in the values of calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron, and decreases in the values of magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc. Microbial processing with the test organisms generally enhanced the nutritional quality of SSG, but for it to be used as chicken feed, there is need for further fibre reduction, energy enhancement and mineral supplementation.