A bio-based Silica/Calcium Carbonate (CS–SiO2/CaCO3) nanocomposite was synthesized in this study using waste eggshells (ES) and rice husks (RH). The adsorbents (ESCaCO3, RHSiO2 and, CS-SiO2/CaCO3) characterized using XRD show crystallinity associated with the calcite and quartz phase. The FTIR of ESCaCO3 shows the CO−23 group of CaCO3, while the spectra of RHSiO2 majorly show the siloxane bonds (Si–O–Si) in addition to the asymmetric and symmetric bending mode of SiO2. The spectra for Chitosan (CS) show peaks corresponding to the C=O vibration mode of amides, C–N stretching, and C–O stretching. The CS–SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposite shows the spectra pattern associated with ESCaCO3 and RHSiO2. The FESEM micrograph shows a near monodispersed and spherical CS–SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposite morphology, with an average size distribution of 32.15 ± 6.20 nm. The corresponding EDX showed the representative peaks for Ca, C, Si, and O. The highest removal efficiency of phenol over the adsorbents was observed over CS–SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposite compared to other adsorbents. Adsorbing 84–89% of phenol in 60–90 min at a pH of 5.4, and a dose of 0.15 g in 20 ml of 25 mg/L phenol concentration. The result of the kinetic model shows the adsorption processes to be best described by pseudo-second-order. The highest correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.99 was observed in CS-SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposite, followed by RHSiO2 and ESCaCO3. The result shows the equilibrium data for all the adsorbents fitting well to the Langmuir isotherm model, and follow the trend CS-SiO2/CaCO3 > ESCaCO3 > RHSiO2. The Langmuir equation and Freundlich model in this study show a higher correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.9912 and 0.9905) for phenol adsorption onto the CS–SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposite with a maximum adsorption capacity (qm ) of 14.06 mg/g compared to RHSiO2 (10.64 mg/g) and ESCaCO3 (10.33 mg/g). The results suggest good monolayer coverage on the adsorbent’s surface (Langmuir) and heterogeneous surfaces with available binding sites (Freundlich).

The present study deals with the adsorptive removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) by making use of chitosan-silica/calcium carbonate (CS-SiO2/CaCO3) nanocomposites (NCs) where it was synthesized using the waste eggshells and rice husks occurred by natural sources. The bioadsorbent CS-SiO2/CaCO3 NCs were synthesized by incorporating eggshell-CaCO3 nanoparticles (NPs) and rice husk-SiO2 NPs in chitosan NPs solution. The adsorbents were characterized using HRTEM, BET, DLS, and TGA. The characterization of NCs revealed the formation of adsorbents in the range of 10–50 nm and some structural changes to the spectra of adsorbents before and after the adsorption of E. coli was revealed by the FTIR analysis. Moreover, the adsorption efficiency of E. coli over the adsorbents after 35 min of incubation was about 80% for CS-SiO2/CaCO3 NCs. Further, the kinetics of adsorption studies were observed to be well-fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model with an adsorption capacity of 3.18 × 101 (CFU E. coil per gram of CS-SiO2/CaCO3). From the analysis, the synthesized bioadsorbent demonstrated the potential for ameliorating the inherent risk of pathogens in water.

Cassia singueana is used in ethnomedicine for the management of pain and other related ailments. This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical constituents of the plant's root bark linked to the therapeutics claims of its analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The plant material was obtained and identified, and its phytochemical fingerprint profile was established using GC-MS technique. The plant's root bark was dried and ground into powder. The powdered material was extracted using 70% ethanol to obtain the crude extract (CECs). Another portion of the material (200 g) was extracted sequentially using soxhlet apparatus to obtain hexane (HFCs), chloroform (CFCs) and methanol MECs) fractions, respectively. The acute toxicity test (2000 mg/kg) and preliminary analgesic and antiinflammatory activity (100 mg/kg, p.o.) of the extract and fractions were performed in mice using acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin respectively. The most active hexane fraction (HFCs) was subjected to HPLC analysis to investigate the active phytochemical constituents. They were then evaluated for analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy at 25, 100 and 400 mg/kg, p.o. using formalin (50 µl) induced pain in rats. Results showed that the root bark of C. singueana exhibited analgesic and antiinflammatory activity against the pain induced model. HPLC analysis revealed that the phytochemical constituents linked to these activities are gallic acid, caffeic acid, luteolin and ferulic acid.

Confounding factors such as plant species, its location and other environmental associated chemistry were reported to influence the dynamics of phytochemicals from being beneficial healthwise to metabolites that facilitate toxic induced effects. This study investigated the oral sub-acute toxicity profile of the aqueous leaf extracts (ALE) of Jatropha gossypiifolia collected from Mubi, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Generalized loss of body weight, weaknesses, dizziness, loss of appetite and restlessness were observed in the acute toxicity study with more severe effects and mortality recorded in the groups exposed to higher doses of 1000 and 2000 mg/kg body weight. In the subacute toxicity study, the ALE following the oral administration of 240 mg/kg, 450 mg/kg and 583 mg/kg for 28 days was observed to profoundly alter the normal architecture of the liver and the kidney. The pathological lesions were observed to have disrupted the normal concentration of the serum biomarkers. The ALT concentrations were found to increases to 10.28±1.26 U/L at 250

In this study, the vitamin, nutrient, antinutrient and heavy metal concentrations in Powdered mango fruit juices (sachet brands) (PMFJ), Liquid mango fruit juices (LMFJ), and Fresh or raw mango fruits juices (FMFJ) were assessed toward establishing a tradeoff between their health benefits and potential health risk on consumption. The analysis show the concentration of vitamin C constituting 50-70% and Vitamin A 30-40% by composition relative to other vitamins. The highest concentration of vitamin A and C were observed in the PMFJ, and the LMFJ samples. Relative to the bioavailability of vitamin E, K, B1, B2, B6 and B12, FMFJ contains the highest concentrations compared to PMFJ and LMFJ. The results further show the highest concentration of 0.79 mg/100 g and 6.85 mg/100 g of oxalate and phytate in the FMFJ. The analysis of the mineral contents show Ca accounting for over 50%, with FMFJ containing the highest concentration (57%). The concentration of Mg, Mn, Fe, and Zinc all falls within the acceptable range to constitute any potential risk on consumption. Based on the EDI values, the dietary exposure to lead (Pb) was Bwatanglang et al.; AFSJ, 12(2): 1-10, 2019; Article no.AFSJ.51388 2 observed to be above the oral reference dose (RfD) values set for Pb in edibles. Further appraisal for non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk from Pb exposure gives a THQ values of less than one (<1) and a CRI ≤10 -4 . Overall, the results show children to be more at risk for Pb exposure than the adults. From the results, it could suffice to say that unhealthy agricultural practices and possible anthropogenic activities could be the probable reasons for the low level of vitamin A and C in the FMFJ samples. Furthermore, could probably be the contributing factors leading to the increasing use of additives and fortified functional foods to meets population demands and nutritional requirements as observed in the PMFJ and LMFJ samples respectively. Original Research Article