Human exposure to heavy metal toxicity has been linked to the consumption of vegetables grown on polluted soils. The goal of this study was to see how much heavy metals accumulated in the soil, irrigation water, and vegetative sections of lettuce and cabbage planted in Wawan Rafi, Jigawa State, Nigeria. The concentrations of potentially harmful metals in soil, water, and crops are in the order Mn > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cd > Cu, except for lettuce, where Pb was found to be greater than Mn. Furthermore, the majority of the hazardous elements analyzed were below the allowed limit. Nevertheless, the presence of high levels of metals revealed evidence of contamination, which was attributed to human activities. The potential ecological risk index values for lettuce and cabbage are 86.488 and 225.463, respectively, and both are considered safe because the RI values for both lettuce and cabbage are below or within the range of 200 ≤ RI ˂ 400. This implies consumption of these vegetables may not pose a high health risk to the local public when individual heavy metal is considered, but the risk could multiply when all of the heavy metals are considered together.

Molecular docking and pharmacokinetic study were performed on 20 selected phytochemicals with estrogen and progesterone receptors and it was found that all the phytochemicals has strong binding energy and high number of interactions when docked with estrogen and progesterone receptors, Gabridin has the highest binding energy of -10.3 kcal/mol and 12 numbers of various interactions when docked with estrogen receptor, while Quercetin has the highest binding energy of -9.6 kcal/mol and about 14 numbers of various interactions when docked with progesterone receptor. Pharmacokinetic study carried out revealed that all the leading compounds (Gabridin and Quercetin) are in agreement with Lipinski rule of five without violating any of the conditions of bioavailability, this has shown that they will be readily bioavailable. With the high binding affinity of these compounds and good pharmacokinetic parameters, most of the phytochemicals used in this study can be used in designing a highly effective and readily bioavailable anti breast cancer drug.

The Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) four-step sequential extraction has been adapted for fractionation of potentially toxic elements (PTE) in simulant airborne particulate matter (APM) samples presented on 47 mm filter dynamics measurement system (FDMS) filters as used in routine air quality monitoring. Simulants were prepared from an urban soil reference material and from BCR CRM 701, which is certified for analytes extractable by the BCR procedure. Analysis was performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using an Agilent 7700x instrument. Fractionation patterns similar to the full-scale protocol were obtained when test portions as small as 0.0625 g were extracted in 2-3 mL of reagents.However, changing the extraction vessel used was found to affect the outcome. This highlights the operational nature of sequential extraction procedures and the need carefully to evaluate the effects of procedural modifications. When the method developed was applied to blank FDMS filters, large amounts of Zn were detected, especially in step 3, the oxidisable fraction, and step 4, the residual fraction. Despite this, following blank-correction, fractionation patterns similar to certified values were obtained for BCR CRM 701, with overall recoveries ((steps 1-4)) of 84.2-113%. Given the increased awareness of public health risks associated with poor air quality, a sequential extraction procedure specifically designed for use with APM samples collected during routine air quality represents a valuable tool for use in source apportionment and to improve understanding of human exposure to PTE through inhalation.