Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the heavy metals pollution status and health risks assessment of the vegetables grown at Danbatta irrigation lands. Study Design: The research involved the collection of soil, water and cultivated vegetable from irrigation lands as well as analyzing their heavy metals pollution status. Place and Duration of Study: Samples were collected from Danbatta irrigation lands of Kano state, Nigeria. The research study covered a period of one year. Methodology: This study investigates the prevalence of heavy metals pollution and related health risks associated with the vegetables grown at Danbatta local government of Kano state. This was achieved by collecting irrigation soil, water and vegetables (onion, spinach and lettuce) from the irrigation sites, which were subsequently assayed for several heavy metals such as; Pb, Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn and Co using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Results: The results obtained show that the concentrations of Pb, Cu and Zn in water samples to be 0.033, 0.8, and 0.89 mg/ml, respectively, while Mn and Co were not detected. Even though concentrations of these metals in water are within FAO/WHO limits, the soil was found to be contaminated with Cu (12.17 mg/kg), Fe (152.29 mg/kg) and Zn (55.75 mg/kg). Furthermore, both spinach, lettuce and onion were contaminated with Pb, and Mn. However, only lettuce and spinach were contaminated with Cu, Fe and Zn. Health risk assessment of both adults and children show that Pb, Mn, Co and Cu, posed a significant health risk to the population as their health risk index (HRI) is greater than one. The result shows that poor agricultural practices could be responsible for contaminating the soil with heavy metals, which eventually gets accumulated in the edible parts of the plants and posed a great risk to its consumers. Impacts of heavy metals pollution is on the rise across the globe. As such, it becomes necessary to monitor our environment to checkmate the threat of these contaminants and implement a reliable strategy and stable treatment of the pollution to ensure food safety.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by raised levels of blood glucose, which over time leads to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. α-amylase Plays a major role in the digestion of starch and glycogen. Thus, inhibitors of this enzyme delay the breakdown of carbohydrates in the small intestine, thereby diminishing postprandial blood glucose in the diabetic patient. In this study, a DPPH radical scavenging activity and computational approaches were employed to uncover the potential of Aframomum Melegueta phytochemicals against type two diabetes mellitus mainly by molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulation, MMPBSA and ADMET analysis. The results show that it has high antioxidant properties. Molecular docking indicates that laurifolin, genkwanin and gulunalactone have good binding scores of -9.9 kcal/mol, -8.9 kcal/mol and -8.2 kcal/mol, respectively. And have interacted with at least two of the catalytic triads of α-amylase; Asp 300, Glu 233 and Asp 197. Molecular dynamic simulation results show that all the compounds are stable at the active site of the enzyme. Furthermore, MMPBSA analysis revealed they bind strongly with the binding energy of -21.77± 1.03 Kcal/mol, -17.82 ± 0.84 Kcal/mol and 15.07± 0.26 Kcal/mol for laurifolin, genkwanin and galanolactone. ADMET analysis indicated that all the ligands are water-soluble, drug-like and safe. This study shows that A. Melegueta extract has antioxidant properties and possess phytochemicals that can be exploited for further anti-diabetic drug development.

Available evidence shows that rivers in any water shed area acts as a carrier of various pollutants and affect water quality for various purposes. The main aim of this study was to assess and identify pollutants flowing into River Musa in Bida for irrigaton purpose. Canadian Council Water Quality index (CCWQI) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used. Water quality data were collected at different five stations along the river in 2018 during rainy and dry seasons. Ten water quality parameters (temperature, PH, EC, Mg, Na, Iron, Mn, Calcium, Potassium and SAR) were determined in five stations for assessing annual water quality index.Annual average water quality index at five locations are (74.47,72.85, 64.69,47.02 and 51,56). The results showed that three location are marginal and the remaining of the two are fair.The PCA was used to identify three major pollutants flowing to the river to be industrial, municipal and erosion. The WQI of the river is marginal and the implication is that the river is thus poised threat to high yielding results.

Background and Objectives: Food shortages and nutritional imbalances are among the main food security problems in many countries around the world. In this study, the nutrients content of the yellow and red-fleshed sweet potatoes varieties cultivated in Nigeria were assessed. Materials and Methods: The proximate composition, mineral elements analysis, phytochemicals, and vitamins content of the red and yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes were determined using the standard methods of analysis. Results: The proximate analysis has shown that, the moisture (17.927%) and fat (2.703%) content of the yellow sweet potato were significantly (p<0.05) higher than in the red potato with a content of 16.68% and 1.693% respectively. The protein and fiber content of the red potato are 14.280% and 14.572% respectively, this is quite higher than in the yellow cultivar having 12.987% and 10.443% of the nutrients respectively. The ash and carbohydrate content were same in both. The red potato  exhibits high level of sodium (11.420 mg/l), potassium (1.206 mg/l), and magnesium (8.468 mg/l) in contrast to the red potato containing 10.270 mg/l, 1.035 mg/l and 6.127 mg/l of the respective elements. Iron and zinc content were comparable in both cultivars while the calcium content (1.444 mg/l) of the yellow cultivar is significantly higher than in the red variety (1.144 mg/l). The vitamin A, B and E content of the red potato are 8.740 µmol/L, 2.977 mg/dl, and 13.267 mg/dl respectively. These values are significantly (p<0.05) higher than in the yellow potato containing 6.047 µmol/L, 1.680 mg/dl, and 11.110 mg/dl of the respective vitamins. There is no significant difference with respect to the vitamin C content of both yellow (11.850 mg/dl) and red potato (12.520 mg/dl). The phytochemicals: tannins, flavonoids, phenols, terpenes, and anthocyanins content of the red sweet potato are 0.967 mg/g, 1.577 mg/g, 1.867 mg/g, 6.590 mg/g and 2.660 mg/g respectively. Terpenes and anthocyanins were not found in the yellow cultivar. However, saponins (0.823 mg/g) were found in the yellow variety but not in the red potato. Amount of the tannins, flavonoids and phenols observed in the yellow-fleshed potato are 0.667 mg/g, 1.027 mg/g and 1.287 mg/g respectively. These values are lower than in the corresponding red potato. Conclusion: In this study, the nutritional contents of sweet potato varieties have been assessed which will immensely contribute to reducing the menace of malnutrition bedeviling the Northwestern part of Nigeria.

The research was carried out to evaluate the effect of sprouting on chemical and micronutrient contents of Bambaranut (Vigna subterranea [l] verdc.) grown in Kano, Nigeria. Three landraces of Bambaranut (cream, black and zebra) were used for the study. The proximate and mineral contents were analyzed in accordance with the standard methods of analysis. The result of the proximate analysis showed that the moisture and carbohydrate contents reduced significantly (P&lt;0.05) after sprouting while ash, crude protein, crude fat, and crude fiber significantly increased, there was no significant (P&lt;0.05) difference in moisture, crude fiber, and carbohydrate contents between the landraces. The landraces differ in crude protein and fat contents. The results of minerals analysis shows that the landraces differ significantly in Na, Fe, Ca, K, Mg, and Se. However, the amount of Zn, Mn did not significantly differ between the landraces irrespective of sprouting or not. All the three landraces did not differ (P&lt;0.05) in Cu contents. Sprouting leads to decrease in Na, Fe, K, Zn, Mg and Se and increase in Ca and Mn. This study showed that sprouting improves the nutritional quality of Bambaranut irrespective of the landrace.