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In this study, 15 different mycotoxins were estimated in three staple cereals from selected agro-ecological regions in Nigeria using a 'novel' green extraction method, pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) in comparison to a conventional solvent extraction method. Discrimination of the results of PHWE and solvent extraction using principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) did not yield any differential clustering patterns. All maize samples (n = 16), 32% (n = 38) of sorghum and 35% (n = 37) of millet samples were positive for at least one of the 15 tested mycotoxins. Contamination levels for the cereals were higher in the warm humid rain forest region and gradually decreased towards the hot and arid region in the north of the country. The results demonstrate the applicability of PHWE as a possible alternative extraction method to conventional methods of extraction, which are solvent based.

The focus of the review paper is to discuss how biotechnological innovations are opening new frontiers to mitigate nutrition in key agricultural crops with potential for large-scale health impact to people in Africa. The general objective of the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) project is to develop and deploy sorghum with enhanced pro-vitamin A to farmers and end-users in Africa to alleviate vitamin A-related micronutrient deficiency diseases. To achieve this objective the project technology development team has developed several promising high pro-vitamin A sorghum events. ABS 203 events are so far the most advanced and well-characterised lead events with about 12 μg β-carotene/g tissue which would supply about 40-50 % of the daily recommended vitamin A at harvest. Through gene expression optimisation other events with higher amounts of pro-vitamin A, including ABS 214, ABS 235, ABS 239 with 25, 30-40, 40-50 μg β-carotene/g tissue, respectively, have been developed. ABS 239 would provide twice recommended pro-vitamin A at harvest, 50-90 % after 3 months storage and 13-45 % after 6 months storage for children. Preliminary results of introgression of ABS pro-vitamin A traits into local sorghum varieties in target countries Nigeria and Kenya show stable introgression of ABS vitamin A into local farmer-preferred sorghums varieties. ABS gene Intellectual Property Rights and Freedom to Operate have been donated for use royalty free for Africa. Prior to the focus on the current target countries, the project was implemented by fourteen institutions in Africa and the USA. For the next 5 years, the project will complete ABS product development, complete regulatory science data package and apply for product deregulation in target African countries.

Background: This study investigated changes in the resistance to fracture of malting red and white sorghum grains using a hardness tester as another method for monitoring grain modification., Results: Grain hardness decreased progressively from 134.35 N and 137.29 N in malting red and white sorghums and levelled off after 120 h at 76.98 N and 69.14 N. In the red grain malts traditionally used for burukutu production, moisture content (r = -0.983), dhurrinase activity (r = -0.981), malting loss (r = -0.981), free amino nitrogen (r = -0.909) and cold water extract (r = -0.908) were better indicators of grain hardness than root length (r = -0.89). In the white sorghum malts, malting loss (r = -0.988), dhurrinase activity (r = -0.954) and diastatic activity (r = -0.936) were better indicators of grain modification than root length (r = -0.916). The soluble nitrogen ratio at the end of malting was lower in the red (0.049) compared with the white (0.0548)., Conclusion: Grain hardness using a hand-held tester is a simple, fast and good index of modification of malting red and white sorghum grains. Oven-dried red and white sorghum malts could be considered to be well modified at hardness values/indices below 77 N/0.5730 and 72 N/0.5036, respectively., (© 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a traditional herbal preparation, Jobelyn,® for its effects on anemia and CD4+ T-cell counts in human immunodeficiency virus-positive (HIV+) patients in Nigeria., Design: An open-label pilot study involving 10 confirmed (HIV+) patients who were not receiving antiretroviral therapy (ARVT) was performed, in which the patients consumed Jobelyn for 8 weeks, at a dose of 500 mg twice daily. The pilot study was followed by a controlled trial involving 51 patients, all confirmed HIV+, where the patients with CD4+ T-cell counts below 350 cells/μL were receiving ARVT. The eight patients with baseline CD4+ T-cell counts above 350 cells/μL received Jobelyn. The remaining patients who all received ARVT were randomized to ARVT alone versus ARVT+Jobelyn for 12 weeks., Results: Patients receiving ARVT showed a statistically significant improvement in their CD4+ T-cell counts across the 12-week study period (p<0.01). Patients receiving ARVT+Jobelyn showed a faster improvement, reaching a high level of statistical significance compared to baseline already at 6 weeks (p<0.001), and remained highly significant at 12 weeks (p<0.001)., Conclusions: This is the first controlled study conducted to evaluate efficacy of Jobelyn on immune status in HIV+ patients. The data suggest that consumption of Jobelyn contributed to improved hemoglobin levels and increased CD4+ T-cell counts in Nigerian HIV+ patients. Further studies are needed to examine similar effects in other populations, and to elaborate on the underlying mechanisms, specifically, whether the consumption of Jobelyn supported multiple aspects of bone marrow function.

Background/aims: Dried Cirina forda (Westwood) larva is widely marketed, cheap, and commonly consumed in Southwestern Nigeria. Its powder was used in enriching two commonly used complementary food staples (maize and sorghum) as a source of protein and essential micronutrients in complementary foods for infants and young children., Methods: Samples of soaked and dried sorghum and maize flours and C. forda powder were prepared, and C. forda powder was added to the dried soaked maize and sorghum flours at 5, 10, and 15% (w/w) inclusion levels and analyzed for proximate, mineral, and antinutrient compositions using standard methods of AOAC., Results: One hundred grams of C. forda larva contained 52.6 g of protein, 16.8 g of lipids, 2.6 g of ash, 268.67 mg of calcium, 5.64 mg of iron, and 15.00 mg of zinc, and yielded 458.40 kcal energy with 4.40 mg of trypsin inhibitor. Sorghum and maize flours contained 9.2 and 8.3 g of protein, respectively. Addition of C. forda at 5, 10, and 15% levels to fermented sorghum and maize flours significantly increased both micro- and macronutrients of the complementary foods (p < 0.05), and the nutrient density and trypsin inhibitor increased with the inclusion level (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The trypsin inhibitor level was very low and cannot cause protein malabsorption. C. forda can serve as a good source of nutrients such as protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc in formulating nutrient-dense complementary foods., (Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

This study evaluates the disintegrant properties--tablet disintegration time (DT) and crushing strength--friability/disintegration time (CSFR/DT) ratio of a paracetamol tablet formulation prepared with sorghum and plantain starches in comparison with corn starch BP. The effects of disintegrant concentration, relative density of tablets and the mode of disintegrants addition were studied. The study revealed that the rank order of effectiveness of the starches as disintegrants was corn > plantain > sorghum. The mode of addition of disintegrants, disintegrant concentration and relative density had a significant impact on the disintegrant properties. The tested starches, namely, sorghum and plantain, showed promising results.