Search

The red kidney beans found in the Esanland of Edo State, Nigeria, popularly known as Ikpakpa, are a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris. However, a lack of awareness about this indigenous legume and a lack of easy culinary applications are factors that lead to its low use. The very long hours of cooking, coupled with frequent changing of the cooking water, makes it very unattractive to the present generation. In this work, a novel attempt is made to have a culinary product from ikpakpa via spontaneous and controlled fermentation of the beans (Ikpakpa) and investigate their impact on the product’s nutritional value. Endogeneous microorganisms were used for spontaneous fermentation, while Bacillus subtilis was used for the control fermentation. Two routes of Ikpakpa preparation were followed: viz; beans were boiled for 8 hours to be soft, dehulled, and fermented; and the raw beans soaked overnight and dehulled, boiled for 4 hours fermented. After 5 days of fermentation, the proximate analysis results showed better results for the spontaneous fermentation via route 1, increasing protein and carbohydrate content by 18% and 36%, respectively. Both spontaneous and controlled fermentation were not favoured via route 2 as a decrease in protein and carbohydrate content by 13.5%/77.4% and 54.2%/66,4%, respectively. The duration for fermentation may have been too long to sustain the protein and carbohydrate content. It is, therefore, recommended that more research on the optimal fermentation duration be investigated and shelf-life studies conducted on the products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Lead poisoning accounts for about 0.6% of global burden of disease. Lead-induced toxicity is through confinement of oxidative stress in affected organs. We evaluated the effects of MLF1 (extracted from Morinda lucida leaves) and AMF1 (extracted from Annona muricata leaves) on lipid peroxidation and immunomodulations of Melatonin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and p53 proteins in lead acetate (LA)-induced toxicity in rats. Methods: Sixty adult female rats were randomly divided into 12 groups (n = 5). Groups 1 and 2 received physiological saline and 100 mg/kg bodyweight of LA, respectively, for 5 weeks. Groups 3–6 received 100 mg/kg bodyweight LA for 2 weeks, followed by treatments with 7.5 and 15 mg/kg bodyweight of MLF1, and 7.5 and 10 mg/kg bodyweight of AMF1, respectively, for 3 weeks. Groups 7–10 received 7.5 and 15 mg/kg bodyweight of MLF1, 7.5 and 10 mg/kg bodyweight of AMF1, respectively, for 5 weeks. Groups 11–12 received co-administrations of 100 mg/kg bodyweight LA with 15 mg/kg bodyweight MLF1 and 10 mg/kg bodyweight of AMF1, respectively, for 5 weeks. Drugs and extracts were administered orally. Consequently, liver histopathology (Hematoxylin and Eosin), sera Melatonin, and TNF-α (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) levels were evaluated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) (thiobarbituric acid assay) and p53 (ELISA) levels were evaluated in liver homogenates. Data were statistically analyzed (P ≤ 0.05). Results: Results showed normal liver histology in all Groups. Statistical analyses showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) and non-significant decreased levels (P ≥ 0.05) of MDA, TNF-α and p53 in Groups 3-12, compared with Group 2. Furthermore, results showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) and non-significant increased Melatonin levels (P ≥ 0.05) in Groups 4–12 compared with Group 2. Conclusion: This study confirmed that MLF1 and AMF1 confer a degree of antioxidant, anticancer and hepato-protetive potentials against LA-induced toxicity in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]