Blood glucose and total lipid levels of normal and alloxantreated diabetic rabbits were determined after oral administration of various doses of the Cuminum nigrum L. seeds and their extracts in water and methanol. From the data obtained, it is concluded that the oral administration of 1,2, 3 and 4 g/kg of C. nigrum seeds produces a significant hypoglycaemic effect in normal as well as in diabetic rabbits. The water and methanol extracts also decreased the blood glucose level in normal and alloxan-diabetic rabbits. However, the total blood lipids were not influenced by this substance in either normal or diabetic rabbits. The acute toxicity studies carried out on rabbits could not reveal any adverse or side effects of this folk medicine at the dosages tested. It is suggested that the C. nigrum seeds contain one or more hypoglycaemic principles which can significantly reduce the blood glucose but not total lipids level in normal rabbits and in those with alloxan-induced diabetes.

We investigated the microbiological quality of uncooked and cooked spiced chicken burger in restaurants and fast food places in Tripoli city and surrounding areas. Thus 120 samples (64 cooked and 56 uncooked) were analysed microbiologically. All the samples were highly contaminated with bacteria: 66.6%, 25.9%, 29.6%, 20.3% and 12.9% of the uncooked samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli, Aeromonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli 0157:H7 and salmonella respectively. Additionally 10.9%, 3.1%, 4.68%, 3.12% and 1.56 of the cooked samples were contaminated with E. coli, Aeromonas spp., E. coli 0157:H7, S. aureus and salmonella respectively. ‫واملناطق‬ ‫طرابلس‬ ‫مدينة‬ ‫يف‬ ‫الرسيعة‬ ‫الوجبات‬ ‫تقديم‬ ‫وأماكن‬ ‫مطاعم‬ ‫يف‬ ‫واملطبوخة‬ ‫النيئة‬ ‫ل‬

No abstract

An efficient design of conservation tillage trencher (CTT) saves time, natural resources, and conserves soil health by avoiding vigorous soil disturbance of tillage operations. A two-wheel tractor operated CTT has constructed with modified rotary shafts, toolbar frames, depth control bars, bed shapers and chisel ploughs for conservation tillage operation of sugarcane plantation. The performance evaluation of developed CTT was tested for comparing the suitability with small-scale farmer’s practice (SFP) and large farm practice (LFP). Finally, the CTT is applied for preparing sugarcane farmland in different conservation tillage methods of i) bed cum trenching (BT), ii) zero-tillage trenching (ZT) and iii) strip-tillage (ST). The performance of effective field capacities of CTT were 0.14 ha h-1, 0.12 ha h-1 and 0.14 ha h-1 for BT, ZT and ST, respectively. Developed CTT saved time 80% and 26-37% over SFP and LFP, and required 96% and 26-36% less labour than SFP and LFP, respectively. Conservation tillage required 7-10 l ha-1diesel whereas SFP and LFP required 25 l ha-1and 65 l ha-1, which reduced CO2 emission by 60-72% and 85-89% compared to SFP and LFP, respectively. Ultimately, newly developed CTT saved sugarcane land preparation costs by 86% to 90% compared to conventional tillage systems.