A comprehensive study on fatty acid, phospholipid and phytosterol compositions of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) and wonderful kola (Buchholzia coriacea) seeds flour were determined using standard analytical techniques. The most concentrated fatty acid (%) was oleic acid in Artocarpus altilis seed (56.775) while linoleic acid (42.644) was the most concentrated acid in Buchholzia coriacea seeds. The increasing order of the concentrated fatty acids in Artocarpus altilis seeds were: stearic acid (4.723) < palmitic acid (11.412) < linoleic acid (25.710) < oleic acid (56.775) < while that of Buchholzia coriacea seeds were: linolenic acid (2.197) < stearic acid (6.734) < palmitic acid (11.241) < oleic acid (35.719) < linoleic acid (42.644), respectively. Arachidinic, linolenic, erucic, palmitoleic, behemic, lignoceric, arachidonic, margaric, myristic, lauric, capric, caprilic and caproic acids were present in small quantities with none of them recording up to 1.0% in both the two plant seeds. The results also showed high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (57.071%) in Artocarpus altilis and 36.739% in Buchholzia coriacea, and values of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were 0.125 and 2.212% for the two plant seeds, respectively. The respective phospholipids composition of phosphatidylserine (204.75 mg/100g) and phosphatidylinositol (29.35 mg/100g) showed a highest concentration in Artocarpus altilis and Buchholzia coriacea while diphosphatidylglycerol was the least phospholipid with concentrations of 0.11 and 0.01 mg/100 g for both samples. The concentrations of phytosterols were of low values except in sitosterol with values of 90.81 and 31.24 mg/100 g in Artocarpus altilis and Buchholzia coriacea respectively. This study provides an informative oil profile that will serve as a basis for further chemical investigations and nutritional evaluation of the Artocarpus altilis and Buchholzia coriacea seed oils.

This study focuses on the nutrient, antinutrient and sugar contents of (desert date) Balanites aegyptiaca seed and pulp collected from north-east Nigeria. Proximate, mineral, amino acid, antinutrient and sugar compositions were determined using standard analytical techniques. The calculated parameters were metabolized energy, mineral safety index (MSI), mineral ratios of some minerals, isoelectric point (pI), predicted protein efficiency ratio (P-PER) and leucine to isoleucine ratio. The results showed that seed was very rich in crude protein and crude fat with values of 30.80 and 45.53 g/100 g dry weight basis, respectively whereas, the pulp had values of 8.36 and 5.10 g/100 g dw for the same parameters. The following were observed as the most concentrated minerals: P (312.72 and 138.62 mg/100 g dw), Na (58.49 and 47.65 mg/100 g dw) and Ca (48.57 and 40.26 mg/100 g dw) for seed and pulp, respectively. Other minerals analyzed in the samples had values less than 15.0 mg/100 g. No mineral had deleterious value in the MSI. Amino acid analysis of seed and pulp showed concentrations of TAA (63.21 and 42.62 g/100 g cude protein), TEAA (26.19 and 21.88 g/100 g cp) and TNEAA ((26.19 and 21.88 g/100 g cp). Leucine (7.30 g/100 g cp) and Arg (3.69 g/100 g cp) were the most concentrated essential amino acids in seed and pulp. The phytate, tannin and oxalate concentrations were higher in seed compared with that of the pulp. All the sugars were of low levels. Generally, Balanites aegyptiaca seed and pulp contained nutritive minerals and sufficient proportions of EAAs however, dietary formula based on samples of the seed and pulp will require EAAs supplementation except in Leu, TSAA and Phe + Tyr of the seed. Likewise, the high contents of some of the antinutrients may pose a nutritional problem in their consumption.

Abstract:With a few to assessing the qualities of water sources in Wukari local government area (LGA), a study was conducted on ground water and rivers in two settlements at Wukari LGA. For this purpose, some heavy metals (cadmium, lead, arsenic, iron, copper, mercury and manganese) and physicochemical parameters (temperature, turbidity, suspended solids, total dissolved solids, conductivity, pH, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, alkalinity, hardness and chemical/biochemical oxygen demand) were determined in water samples collected from hand-dug wells, boreholes and rivers in Puje and Avyi during wet and dry seasons using standard analytical techniques. The results showed that all the seven metals determined were detected and present at trace levels in all the water samples ranging from 0.001 ppm (Hg) in well and borehole to 0.0768 ppm (Fe) in river, and 0.001 ppm (Hg) in borehole to 0.0763 ppm (Fe) in river for Puje and Avyi, respectively. However, all the metals were found to have contained concentrations below the permissible safe level. The results further revealed that the levels of physicochemical parameters in the water samples for both wet and dry seasons are within the required standard limits set by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water. Nevertheless, source protection is recommended for the bodies of water for the benefit of Wukari people.

Boreholes and hand dug wells from Bantaji and Rafin-Kada settlements of Wukari L.G.A. were analyzed for fourteen physicochemical parameters and seven heavy metals collected within July, 2015 to March, 2016 using standard methods. The mean difference in concentration of dissolved oxygen between the wet and dry seasons in the Bantaji boreholes was statistically significant at p<0.05. In addition, the electrical conductivity, nitrate nitrogen, phosphate and dissolved oxygen concentration were also statistically significant in the Rafin-Kada Boreholes. For the well water samples, total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrate nitrogen and chlorides were also statistically significant between the wet and dry seasons of the Bantaji wells while in the Rafin-Kada wells, with only dissolved oxygen having mean concentration that was statistically significant at p<0.05. All the physicochemical parameters in the boreholes and hand dug wells fall within the Nigerian Standards for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) acceptable limits. The heavy metals, Pb and Mn had mean concentrations in the wet and dry seasons that were statistically significant in the Bantaji borehole, Bantaji well and Rafin-Kada borehole while Rafin-Kada borehole had statistically significant mean concentrations of Cd, As and Mn at p<0.05. All the heavy metals analyzed fall within the NSDWQ acceptable limits except Pb which had higher mean concentrations in the wet and dry seasons than the acceptable limits from Rafin-Kada wells (

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an underutilized oil-bearing seed found in Nigeria. The fatty acid, phospholipids and phytosterols composition of germinated and non-germinated seed of Sorghum bicolor were evaluated using standard analytical techniques. The result showed that the most concentrated fatty acids (%) found in the geminated and non-germinated oils were linoleic acid (41.16, 59.45), oleic acid (33.80, 23.05), palmitic acid (18.20, 10.68) and stearic acid (2.35, 1.72). The fatty acids composition of the germinated and non-germinated oils contained a healthy mixture of all the types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The polyunsaturated/saturated index (P/S) was 2.12 % and 3.82 % for germinated and non-germinated oils, respectively. The most prominent phospholipids (mg/100 g) found in the germinated seed oil was phosphatidylcholine (23.86) followed by phosphatidylethanolamine (9.22) and phosphatidylinositol (9.08) while the most prominent in the non-germinated seed oil was phosphatidylcholine (32.39) followed by phosphatidylethanolamine (13.03) and lysophosphatidylcholine (13.07). The high value of phosphatidylcholine showed that Sorghum bicolor may help in protecting the liver from disease and hepatitis. The total phytosterols for germinated and non-germinated were (45.93 mg/100 g and 56.69 mg/100 g), respectively. This suggests that Sorghum bicolor lipid is a good source of food supplement or dietary and health benefits to human.