Background:Since ancient time, increased interest has been witnessed in the use of an alternative herbal medicine for managing, and the treatment of fungal diseases worldwide. This may be connected to the cost and relative toxicities of the available antifungal drugs. It has been a known tradition practiced in the northern part of Nigeria that parents and teachers use the white latex of Calotropis procera to treat Tinea capitis in children attending the local religious school in the area. This study was conducted in 2009 to ascertain the above claim.Materials and Methods:Fresh latex of C. procera was screened for their antifungal activity against species of dermatophytes: Trichophyton spp., Microsporum spp. and Epidermophyton spp. using the agar incorporation method.Results:The result shows that the latex inhibits the in vitro growth of these pathogenic fungi to varying extents with Trichophyton spp. being the most susceptible (P < 0.05) and thus highly inhibited by the latex followed by the Microsporum spp. and Epidermopyton spp. was least inhibited. These inhibitions followed a dose-dependent trend as undiluted latex (100%) gave the highest inhibitory impacts (P < 0.05) when compared to serially diluted latex. The phytochemical analysis of the fresh latex indicated the presence of alkaloids, saponin, tannins, steroids, flavonoids, anthraquinone, and triterpenoids.Conclusion:The findings of this study confirmed the perceived usefulness of the latex in the treatment of T. capitis (ringworm) practiced in our society and therefore, its use topically in the treatment of dermatomycotic infection is encouraged.

Provision of portable drinking water is of public health concern especially in developing countries where this is unavailable. Microbes are ubiquitous and are known to contaminate materials including food and water. Microbial contamination cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste. A basic laboratory test is the best way to tell if coliform organisms are present as they can be there with no appearance or taste difference. The microbiological quality of drinking water (DW) in Zamfara North Senatorial Zone was examined. A total of 16, two each from each of eight brands of sachet water were bought from water vendors, and were examined for total bacteria load, total coliform and presence of bacteria species using standard microbiological techniques. The result showed that the total viable count of bacteria in all the samples ranged from 6.0×102 CFU/ml to 4.0×108 CFU/ml. Total coliform was 1.8×107 MPN/100 ml for all the four tested samples (D, G, I, J). The organisms isolated were Pseudomonas maltophila, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudomonas pseudomollia, Salmonella typhi, Shigella species, and Pseudomonas dimineta. Prevalence of different isolates revealed that Pseudomonas, C. freundii, S. typhi and E. coli were predominant in comparison to Shigella species. The present study revealed that the microbial quality often exceed World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) allowable limit of 1.0x102 CFU/ml for potable water and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) maximum permissible level of 10 CFU/ml (total coliform) and 0 CFU/100ml. The high microbial isolates and load may have contaminated the water from the environment. These microbes found in the drinking water sources are known to cause several diseases. Present study indicate that water testing would ensure the supply and availability of contamination-free drinking water; and awareness amongst people towards sanitation and hygienic conditions for storage of drinking water is needed to keep away the use of contaminated water. The present study suggests that drinking water sources should be properly treated prior to consumption using appropriate methods; so as to reduce the occurrence of waterborne diseases.

The research was carried out to determine the effects of biochar and rhizobium inoculation on selected soil chemical properties, shoot N and P of groundnut plant. Two factors were used for this experiment; Biochar and rhizobium inoculation. Biochar was applied at the rate of 20 t ha -1 , 10 t ha -1 and 0 t ha -1 while rhizobium was inoculated to groundnut seeds (inoculated [+] and un-inoculated [-]). The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design and replicated 3 times. Means were separated using Duncan's Multiple Range Test at 5% level of significance. The results showed that 20 t ha -1 of biochar significantly (p<0.05) produced higher values of soil pH, OC, N, available P Original Research Articleand Ca, than 10 t ha -1 and 0 t ha -1 . No significant differences were observed in shoot P among biochar application rates. Rhizobium inoculation had significantly (p<0.05) increase the number of shoot N, soil N, P, K and Mg when compared with un-inoculated plants. It is recommended that 20 t ha -1 should be used for improvement of soil chemical properties while inoculation with rhizobia may be more effective in the presence of biochar due to the habitat offered by the biochar.

Biosurfactants are structurally diverse surface-active agents mostly produced by various genera of bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi that have a wide range of applications and properties. They have surface and interfacial activity, temperature and pH tolerance, biodegradability, low toxicity and anti-adhesive property. Their production was reported to be affected by temperature, PH, aeration and agitation, salt concentration and carbon and nitrogen sources. Bacteria species of the genera Acinetobacter, Arthrobacter, Agrobacterium, Antarctobacter, Bacillus, Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Halomonas, Serratia, Rhodococcus and filamentous fungi of the genera Aspergillus, penicillium, and yeast like Candida, Yarrowia, Torulopsis, Pseudozyma, Saccharomyces were the most notable biosurfactant producing microorganisms. Surfactin, lichenysin, rhamnolipid, Sapporolipid, liposan, viscosin, alasan, and subtilisin were among the most produced biosurfactants. The need to expand knowledge of physiology, genetics and biochemistry of biosurfactant-producing strains and the development of the process technology will help to reduce production costs.

To understand the in uence of cowpea on its rhizosphere physicochemical and biological conditions. MethodsPristine soil samples were contaminated with Bonny-Light crude oil and viable seeds of cowpea were planted to establish rhizosphere soil. Cowpea root exudates were collected and characterized while soil metabolic activities, physicochemical properties and rhizosphere effect were monitored following plant emergence. ResultsCowpea root exudates were composed of organic acids, phenolics, carbohydrates and hydrocarbons. High rate of soil respiration and microbial biomass carbon were observed in the contaminated rhizosphere reaching its peak on 12th week (70.56 mgCO 2 g −1 day −1 ) and 10th week (23.18mg/Kg) respectively. Lower rates of soil respirations and microbial biomass carbon were observed in contaminated (10.28 mgCO 2 g −1 day −1 ; 1.24 mg/Kg) and uncontaminated (0.23 mgCO 2 g −1 day −1 ; 0.37 mg/Kg) non-rhizosphere control soils respectively. The metabolic properties were positively correlated with soil organic matter contents and microbial size (r = 0.98; p < 0.05). There was considerable improvement in soil physicochemical properties in the cowpea rhizosphere as compared to non-rhizosphere soil Microbial populations were generally improved with positive rhizosphere effect values (>1) presumably due to the presence of compounds in exudates that promote microbial growth. ConclusionThe results highlighted the in uence of cowpea on its rhizosphere conditions which is a good indication for its ability to promote plant growth and environmental cleanup. Therefore, there is the need to further understand the microbial community dynamics in cowpea rhizosphere using culture-independent techniques.