Background: Increasing incidence of malnutrition occasioned by high incidence of hunger, worsening food situation in the world, insufficient availability and high cost of animal protein sources, has necessitated extensive research into and use of alternative plant protein sources especially underexploited leguminous seeds.Methods: Flours from raw, boiled and fermented seeds of Prosopis africana and Ricinus communis were evaluated for crude protein and amino acid (AA) profiles, and their protein qualities determined. Results: Fermentation improved the protein contents of raw seeds of P. africana and R. communis by 18.70% and 3.95% respectively. In the raw and fermented P. africana seeds, glutamate at 132.60 ± 1.30 and 182.70 ± 3.02 mg/g crude protein (mg/gcp) was the most abundant amino acid (AA), while leucine (62.80 ± 0.60 and 79.50 ± 2.01 mg/gcp) was the most concentrated essential amino acid (EAA). Aspartate (151.90 ± 2.01 and 170.10 ± 2.00 mg/gcp) and arginine (72.80 ± 2.01 and 78.60 ± 2.00 mg/gcp) were the most concentrated and abundant non-essential amino acid (NEAA) and EAA in the raw and fermented samples of R. communis respectively. The total AA concentrations (mg/gcp) of raw and fermented P. africana were 733.00 and 962.60 respectively, while those of R. communis were 823.50 and 894.10 respectively. The total EAA contents (mg/gcp) for P. africana were 311.00 (raw) and 404.50 (fermented), and for R. communis; 401.10 (raw) and 430.30 (fermented). Threonine was the limiting EAA in raw and fermented P. africana, whereas lysine was the limiting EAA in R. communis raw sample. Fermentation significantly (p<0.05) increased the individual AA compositions of P. africana and R. communis by 94% and 53% respectively, while boiling reduced these parameters significantly (p<0.05) by 47% and 82% respectively.Conclusion: P. africana and R. communis seeds are potentially important plant sources of protein and essential amino acids, and so could be of great importance in combating malnutrition and food security problems generally.Key words: Amino acid score; condiments; crude protein; fermentation; legumes; nutrition

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Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder with multiple etiologies. Its sufferers are generally at high risk of dyslipidemia characterized by hypercholesterolemia, hyper-triglyceridemia, hyperlipoproteinemia and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Globally, the estimated cost of diabetes care was $376 billion in 2010, representing 12% of health expenditures for that year. Methods: The effects of the aqueous extracts of a little known Nigerian traditional polyherbal formula consisting of Emilia coccinea, Acanthus montanus, Hibiscus rosasinensis and Asystasia gangetica on serum glucose concentration, amylase activity and lipid profiles of normal, diabetic, and liver-damaged rabbits were studied using standard procedures. The mixture of the aqueous extracts of the four plants was orally administered in two doses – 120mg/kg body weight and 240mg/kg body weight for 28 days. Results: The drug elicited dose- and duration-of-administration-dependent, significant (p<0.05) reductions in serum levels of glucose, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and LDL-cholesterol; and significant (p<0.05) increases in the HDL-cholesterol concentrations with no changes in amylase activity.Conclusion: These results confirm the hypoglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and hepatoprotective potentials of the crude drug and thus justify its application in ethnomedicine in the management of diabetes. Key words: Emilia coccinea, Acanthus montanus, Hibiscus rosasinensis, Asystasia gangetica, antidiabetic, hepatoprotection.