Isolation and identification of some bacterial species in well water in dutsin-ma metropolis

The Study of the Antioxidant Activity of Phenolic Components of Natural Honey in Nigeria

ABSTRACT.

In this study, ten honey and five propolis samples from different geographical origins were tested. Both honey and propolis samples showed high content of total phenolic compounds (330-610 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g honey; 365-1022 mg GAE/g ethanol extract of propolis (EEP). The total flavonoids ranged from (15.1-42.6 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/100 g for honey; to 123-74 mg CE/g for EEP. These honeybee products of Ethiopia had high total radical scavenging properties with respect to 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH); 18.1-59.8% and 48.6-87.8% for honey and EEP respectively. Furthermore, the hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) of the honey samples was found to be low with a mean value of 4.8 mg/kg suggesting that the samples were of good quality. The antioxidant properties of the products showed a good correlation (r2 = 0.50-0.82) with their polyphenolic contents.

Microbial (fungi) analysis of waste fish pond water THESIS

CHAPTER ONE

Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture which involves raising fish commercially in ponds or tanks or enclosures, usually for food. There is an increasing demand for fish and fish protein, which has resulted in widespread overfishing in wild fisheries hence fish farming has offered fish marketers another source (Hastein et al., 2006). Over the past three decades, aquaculture has developed to become the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world (Hastein et al.,  2006). A large proportion  of fish products come from small-scale producers in developing countries or low  income countries. More than 80 % of  global aquaculture  products are produced in  fresh water (Hastein et al., 2006). From its early development in Asia, aquaculture has undergone huge development and is today highly diversified (Hastein et al., 2006).

Aquaculture consists of a broad spectrum of systems, from small ponds to large-scale, highly intensified commercial systems. The target of every farmer is to produce a wholesome fish of high quality and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes with high  yield and economic value towards profit maximization. This  therefore  involves  every  means to increase yield by fertilizing the ponds that have  low  natural  food productivity with organic manure to stimulate and improve the primary and natural  food production (Ampofo and Clerk, 2010). Although organic  manure  play greater  role in fish pond production, the potential health hazard associated with it should not   be under estimated. Since fish are cold-blooded, every aspect of their physiology is controlled by temperature, which constitute to the infection of fish.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF VITAMIN C IN FRESH FRUITS JUICE OF Malus domestica, Citrus sinensi, Ananas comosus AND Citrullus lanatus BY IODOMETRIC TITRATION

Introduction

Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid, or simply ascorbate (the anion of ascorbic acid), is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. Vitamin C refers to a number of vitamers that have vitamin C activity in animals, including ascorbic acid and its salts, and some oxidized forms of the molecule like dehydroascorbic acid. Ascorbate and ascorbic acid are both naturally present in the body when either of these is introduced into cells, since the forms interconvert according to pH. Vitamin C is a cofactor in at least eight enzymatic reactions, including several collagen synthesis reactions that, when dysfunctional, cause the most severe symptoms of scurvy (Food standards agency, 2007). In animals, these reactions are especially important in wound-healing and in preventing bleeding from capillaries. Ascorbate may also act as an antioxidant against oxidative stress (Padayatty et al., 2003). However, the fact that the enantiomer D-ascorbate (not found in nature) has identical antioxidant activity to L-ascorbate, yet far less vitamin activity (Aboul-Enein et al., 1999) underscores the fact that most of the function of L-ascorbate as a vitamin relies not on its antioxidant properties, but upon enzymic reactions that are stereospecific. “Ascorbate” without the letter for the enantiomeric form is always presumed to be the chemical L-ascorbate. Ascorbate (the anion of ascorbic acid) is required for a range of essential metabolic reactions in all animals and plants. It is made internally by almost all organisms; the main exceptions are most bats, all guinea pigs, capybaras, and the Anthropoidea (i.e., Haplorrhini, one of the two major primate suborders, consisting of tarsiers, monkeys, and humans and other apes). Ascorbate is also not synthesized by some species of birds and fish. All species that do not synthesize ascorbate require it in the diet. Deficiency in this vitamin causes the disease scurvy in humans (Food standards agency 2007; University of Maryland Medical Center 2007; Higdon et al 2006). Ascorbic acid is also widely used as a food additive, to prevent oxidation. Fruit is a part of a flowering plant that derives from specific tissues of the flower, one or more ovaries, and in some cases accessory tissues. Fruits are the means by which these plants disseminate seeds. Many of them that bear edible fruits, in particular, have propagated with the movements of humans and animals in a symbiotic relationship as a means for seed dispersal and nutrition, respectively; in fact, humans and many animals have become dependent on fruits as a source of food (Lewis and Robert, 2002). Fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world’s agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings.

In common language usage, “fruit” normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of a plant that are sweet or sour and edible in the raw state, such as apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, bananas, and lemons. On the other hand, the botanical sense of “fruit” includes many structures that are not commonly called “fruits”, such as bean pods, corn kernels, wheat grains, and tomatoes (Schlegel and Rolf, 2003; Mauseth and James, 2003). Apple (Malus domestica) It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apples grow on deciduous trees which are large if grown from seed, but small if grafted onto roots (rootstock).