The effectiveness of agricultural wastes as bioremediation materials is gaining research attention as a better option in mitigating the issue of crude oil effects in soil environment. In the present study, the growth performance of Telfairia occidentalis and Arachis hypogaea linn in crude oil polluted soil amended with plantain peels (PP) and cocoa pod husks (CPH) were investigated. Eight kilograms (8 kg) each of dried soil samples were collected and weighed into 60 polythene bags. The polythene bags except the pristine control were polluted with 80 ml of crude oil and allowed for 14 days of soil acclimatization. The treatments comprising of CPH and PP were amended after 14 days, using the following concentrations: 0, 100, 150 and 200 g and allowed to acclimatize for 60 days. T. occidentalis and A. hypogaea linn were cultivated immediately after treatment regimen. The pH of the amended and un-amended soil samples were observed to be at a range recommended for effective bioremediation of hydrocarbon polluted soil. The organic carbon content of the CPH amended soils were significantly reduced as compared to the PP amended soil. The phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and other essential soil parameters evaluated were significantly high (P<0.05) in CPH amended soil than the PP amended soil. Crops grown in the rehabilitated soils possess a high adaptability in CPH amended soil than the PP amended soil. The amendments most preferably cocoa pod husks which tend to be more effective in the reduction of hydrocarbon content of the soil should be utilized in the enhancement of microbial degradation of crude oil product in soils.

Matrix metalloproteinases-2 belongs to gelatinase group of MMP family which are endopeptidases involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen, elastin, fibronectin or proteoglycans. MMPs play crucial functions in physiological processes such as embryogenesis, wound healing, and pathogenesis of many diseases such as cancer inflammatory, liver and neurological diseases. Scorpion venom peptides are promising drug candidates for cancer treatment, especially chlorotoxin commonly extracted from Israeli Leiurus quinquestriatus scorpion giant. Chlorotoxin specifically binds to the surface of glioma cells through its principal Cltx receptor

Search for an alternative to chemical herbicides have prompted researchers to investigate the allelopathic potential of plants, which would serve as a remedy for contamination of soil, water bodies and crops products with toxic chemical residues derived from using synthetic herbicides. The allelopathic effects of the aqueous leaf extracts of Ageratum conyzoides, Vernonia amygdalina and Artemisia annua at 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 (part per volume) concentrations were evaluated on seed germination, root length and height of seedlings of Lactuca sativa after 28 days in vitro. Results obtained showed significant differences P=[0.5] among the different concentrations of aqueous leaf extracts used when compared with the control in all the three parameters studied. Significant reduction in seed germination, growth of root and height of seedlings were observed in all the treatments but at varying levels from moderate to severe effects for aqueous leaf extract of A. conyzoides and A. annua respectively, while on the contrary, aqueous extracts of V. amygdalina

Phosphorus existing under different forms and status in soils is a significantly important nutrient during the growth and development of trees. Spectrophotometry has been developed with many types of reagents to determine phosphorus in environmental samples. Molybdenum blue reaction with ascorbic acid as a reducing agent and antimony tartrate catalyst in strong acid environment gave maximum absorbance wavelength at 890 nm. Under the optimised conditions, this method gave very high recovery efficiency, accuracy and sensitivity (up to 0.06 mgP/L) in determination of Original Research Article

The α-synuclein (SNCA) gene is a pathogenic gene identified in rare familial Parkinson Disease (PD). Recent studies highlight the role of DNA methylation in the pathogenesis of familial and sporadic PD. Hypomethylation in SNCA gene has been associated with increased SNCA gene expression and was observed in post mortem brains of patients with sporadic PD. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of iron (II) chloride on SH-SY5Y cell models as pertain to cell death caused by oxidative stress, upregulation of SNCA gene expression and reduced SNCA gene methylation. Result obtained from LDH assay showed significant (p < 0.05) evidence of cell death in treated cells as compared to the control sample. Analysis for SNCA gene quantification using RT-PCR showed significant increases in fold change. Cells treated with 1000µM of FeCl₂ showed the highest fold change of 6.0 while cells treated with 250µM had the lowest fold change of 1.8. In DNA methylation assay using pyrosequencing, cells treated with varying concentrations of FeCl₂ Dige and Okoi; IJBCRR, 28(3): 1-10, 2019; Article no.IJBCRR.53099 2 showed significant (p < 0.05) decrease in DNA methylation. At 250µM, 500µM and 750µM concentrations of FeCl₂, an average mean methylation levels of 1.84%, 1.40% and 1.23% was obtained respectively while cells treated with 1000 µM had the lowest average mean methylation level of 1.0%. Thus, the decrease in methylation is linked to the upregulation of the SNCA gene which has been reported to be among the causative factors in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. Original Research Article