There is the need to move away from chemical growth promoters to natural products in the poultry industry, as these have negative effects especially with regard to fat accumulation. In this regard, Moringa oleifera is known to have a number of beneficial effects on hematology and serum chemistry of humans. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the effects of M. oleifera leaves on lipid profile and some serum enzymes in Nigerian local Chickens. Thirty adult Chickens were used for the study. The birds were randomly assigned to three groups(n=10).One group served as control while two treatments received a daily oral dose of 12.5mg and 25mg Moringa leaf solution respectively. The experiment lasted for 28 days. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance. Results indicate that the mean values of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, Triglycerides were statistically similar for all groups. Furthermore, mean values for serum levels of aspertate aminotransferase, alanins aminotranferae and alkaline phosphatase were statistically similar for all treatment groups. It is concluded that the administration of M. oleifera leaves at the dose used in this study has no significant effects on lipid profile and the serum enzymes evaluated. It is recommended M. oleifera leaf meal can be used to supplement expensive protein sources in chicken diets.

Agarwood oil is a highly priced type of oil due to its unique aroma. Agarwood oil is widely used in perfume, medicine and cosmetic industries due to its unique properties and high medicinal value. The oil is generally extracted from the fragrant resins that form in the heartwood of agarwood tree. These unique properties of agar oils are contributed by the presence of certain chemical compounds. The market demand for agarwood oil is very high. Agarwood oil is traded based on grade, corresponding to expensive and cheap price. Currently, the grading of agar oil depends on its physical appearance such as color, odor and essential oil components, like present of sesquiterpenes. The present research analyzed essential oils from Aquilaria malaccensis obtained from Moulvibazar, Bangladesh based on GC-MS data and antimicrobial properties. GC-MS analysis found Sesquiterpenes, alcoholics, fatty acids and other chemical groups in the exportable agar oils. Farm-1 contained 94.95%, Fram-2 contained 95.37% and Farm-3 contained 93.90% sesquiterpenes which is the most important properties for stronger odors and high quality. All the agar oils contained about 75% 5-Azulenemethanol-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydryo.alpha.alpha.3.8- tetramethyl-3,7-Cyclodecad iene-1- ethanol.alpha.alpha.4,8–tetramethyl-[s-(Z,Z)]. They also contained other sesquiterpenes like Ledene oxide- II; Aromandendrene; Bicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene,1,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-8-(1-methylene-2-hydroxyethyl-1)- 1H-3 a,7-methanolazulene, deca hydro-1,4,9,9-tetramethyl-Diethyl Phthalate; Isoaromadendrene epoxide. Other groups like alkane ~2%, alcoholics ~1% and fatty acid were found above 2%. The essential oils from all the farms except farm-2 have shown non-significant sensibility in antimicrobial test against E. coli, S. aureus, Salmonella,Vibrio.

The study examined the impact of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the livelihood of the rural dwellers in the southern zone of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Three villages from within the vicinities of each of the three major towns in Ekiti South West Local Government area were randomly selected for this study. Fifty households in each village were randomly selected making a total of 450 households sampled in the study. Primary data were collected through semi structured questionnaire matrix administered to the head of each selected household. The results obtained revealed that the respondents were diverse and cut across the socio-economic classifications. These classifications were not pre-requisites to their consciousness on NTFPs. Eight important NTFPs were identified in the study area and valued for foods, soup or soup ingredients or spices or condiments, medicine, fuel wood, weaving, wrapping and sweeteners. A tripartite mode of NTFPs utilization was established in this study. While 14% of the respondents claimed exclusive consumption of the products, 7% claimed exclusive use of the products as sources of income while a vast majority of the respondents used the products for both subsistence and economics as sources of income. Three levels of respondents’ involvements were observed for NTFPs in the study area. These included collections, processing and marketing, each of which was dominated by females. Though the amount of income generated by considerable proportion of the respondents in this study is low compared to the national minimum wage yet serve as safety net for the poor and offer opportunity for employment. Diverse sources, including household area, household farms free area, and forest, abound for NTFPs species in the study area. Most of the species domiciled in the household farms were cultivated while those of free areas and forest were mostly wildlings. Constraints abound on transportation, storage and spoilage that greatly affect the contributions of the NTFPs in the study area, sustainable strategies that could ameliorate these problems and further boost the contributions of NTFPs were proposed.

The effect of extraction solvents (water, ethanol and hexane) on the content of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, saponins, total phenols, tannins and flavonoids in three selected medicinal ferns (Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) Presl, Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.) Schott and Pneumatopteris afra (Christ) Holttum) in Ekiti State, Nigeria was investigated. Matured leaflets were collected from healthy plants in Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Extracts from shade dried and powdered leaflets of each of the ferns were subjected to phytochemical screening using standard methods. The results showed the presence of total phenols, tannins and flavonoids in all the extracts of the ferns while saponin was present only in water extracts. Hexane was not able to extract alkaloids and saponins in the three ferns. The results showed that extraction solvents significantly affected the phytochemical composition of the ferns. The water and ethanol extracts had higher content of the phytochemicals than the hexane extracts. The diversity of phytochemicals found present suggests that the ferns could serve as sources of useful drugs.

Coconut oil also commonly known as Copra oil is edible oil obtained from the kernel of harvested mature coconuts of the coconut palm .In recent years this oil has attained superstardom in the health food world. Celebrities are adopting its use, nutritionists advocating it, and patients acclaiming its many virtues. A number of health benefits have been attributed to this oil. These include benefits in skin care, hair care, stress relief, weight loss and cholesterol level maintenance, immunomodulatory effects, cardiovascular uses, and more recently in Alzheimer‘s disease .However for several years, coconut oil was demonized and consumers were made to believe that coconut oil is deleterious to health as it would block the arteries and cause heart disease. The tide has turned and in recent times recognition of the positive health effects of coconut oils have emerged stronger. The use of coconut oil, especially virgin coconut oil is in vogue, though some people still remain skeptical. This article attempts to scientifically review the therapeutic benefits of this oil.

PCR has been commonly used for genomic viral diagnosis for its sensitivity and accuracy. It showed a higher sensitivity when compared to virus isolation in tissue culture and also in antigenemia detection. Definitely, DNA samples are critical factor in PCR validity. Out of 167 serum samples subjected to this study and extracted by Wizard® DNA purification mini kit, 47 samples (28.1%) were positive PCR. While, 21 samples (12.6%) only out of the same population study (167) were positive PCR for EBV DNA in native serum samples (without DNA extraction). This result was confirmed the importance of DNA extraction from serum samples for detection of EBV which, subsequently lead to more sensitive diagnostic tool of an ongoing EBV infection.

In last few decades, though significant progress has been made in the treatment and control strategies of tubercular infections by introducing new diagnostic and monitoring tools and combination therapy, it still continues to be severe problem. Thus with the aim of developing novel molecule with improved potency for treating Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain infections and with decreased probability of developing drug resistance, herein we report the synthesis of isatinyl thiazole derivatives, starting from ethyl acetoacetate , by microwave organic reaction enhancement method (MORE) and results of investigations of their antimycobacterial and antimicrobial activities. Many compounds have shown promising activity while others were inactive.

The search for alternative protein food source coupled with the cost of affordability and the ever increasing human population has become a serious problem. This research was aimed at exploring other protein food sources than meat, using an arthropod of the class insecta, Macrotermes bellicosus (Smeathman), (termite). The nutrient content of the termite, an edible insect, and beef of the Bos taurus species was determined through various laboratory procedures including titration, digestion and distillation of the various samples. Termites used in the study triumphed over beef in terms of carbohydrate content (termites 22.4 ± 0.01, beef 1.34 ± 0.01) and there was only a slight difference in protein content of beef when compared to termites (beef 10.41 ± 0.01, termite 10.06 ± 0.01). The research revealed that beef contains more lipid (beef 25.0 ± 0.05, termite 20.0 ± 0.05), which can be detrimental to human health. Insects can be used as an alternative source of protein to effectively replace the expensive available source (meat) and solve malnutrition in the ever-growing population of mankind. There should be more enlightenment of the general public on the great benefits of insects consumption to avoid the under usage of this food resource.