The experiment was carried out to determine the effect of a permethrin insecticide on reduced Glutathione (GSH) and Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity in the liver and serum of poultry birds. Six weeks old poultry birds (broilers) weighing between 400-600 g, divided into four groups of five birds each. The poultry birds were exposed for 30 days to different concentrations (1, 5 and 10%) of a locally manufactured insect powder called 'Rambo' which contains 0.6% permethrin. The control group had no insecticide added to their feed. The levels of reduced glutathione in the treated groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05) in both the serum and liver of the poultry birds. Liver and serum Glutathione S-transferase activity was significantly lower (p<0.05) in 1, 5 and 10% insecticide concentrations as against the control. The total liver protein was significantly higher at all levels of pesticide exposure compared with the control while serum protein content was significantly higher at 5 and 10% insecticide concentrations. Results of this experiment confirmed the use of GST as a biomarker in ecological evaluation of environmental pollutants.

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Amino acid composition of a plant food is an indicator of its protein quality. This could be altered by the processing method. Processed fruit of Canarium schweinfurthii, a Bursereceae, is common traditional snacking item in Nigeria. The pulp of raw and macerated samples of C. schweinfurthii were dried, ground into powders and analyzed for protein and amino acid contents using standard methods. The pulp of raw and macerated samples contain all the amino acids found naturally in plant protein. Glu (6.72-9.03g/100g protein), a non-essential amino acid was the most abundant amino acid followed by Leu (5.35-6.21g/100g protein) an essential amino acid. The concentrations of Glu, Gly, Ala, Cys, and Tyr and those of all the essential amino acids were increased by macerating the sample for 15 to 45min while others decreased. Peak values (on g/100g protein basis) were obtained for Lys(3.10), Thr(3.00), Val(3.66), Met(0.89), Ile(3.08), Phe(3.30), Glu(9.03), Gly(3.14), Ala(2.86), Cys(0.79), and Tyr(2.74) at 30min maceration (CS 30 ). The sample processed to accepted eaten tenderness (CS 30 ) on g/100g protein basis also recorded the highest values for the protein quality parameters: total amino acid(56.05), total essential amino acid with His(28.5), total non-essential amino acid(27.8), total neutral amino acid(33.4), total acidic amino acid(14.4), total sulphur amino acid(1.68) and total aromatic amino acid(6.04). Based on whole hen's egg and 1957 FAO provisional amino acid patterns, Met (0.57-0.89g/100g protein) scored lowest to become the first limiting amino acid in the sample. The plant food has potential as a source of high quality dietary protein.

Background: The ability of a protein to accomplish distinct metabolic actions depends on its balance of amino acids, the digestibility to release the amino acids for absorption, and the availability of the absorbed amino acids for protein synthesis. In this study, this mark of protein quality was evaluated in vivo for macerated African elemi pulp eaten as masticatory in eastern Nigeria by assessing the effect of its inclusion in diets relative to reference diets on protein quality indices of growing albino rats sustained on the diets. Method: Samples obtained from Aba, Abia State, Nigeria, were portioned into four, processed by subjecting them to 0, 15, 30, and 45 min heat contact times in water (55°C), and labeled AE 0 , AE 15 , AE 30 , and AE 45 respectively. Diets formulated using the samples, giving approximately 10% protein, together with reference (Nutrend®) and basal diets were offered ad libitum to weaning albino rats for a 28-day feeding period. The growth performance parameters and in vivo protein quality indices of the rats were assessed using standard procedures. Results: Processing improved feed utilization (FU), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and, except at AE 30 , net protein utilization (NPU) and biological value (BV) of the rats. The PER was above 2.0 in all the rats sustained on test sample diets given the range 2.03 ± 0.23 to 2.28 ± 0.35. The fecal nitrogen (FN), carcass weight (CW), true digestibility (TD), and BV were statistically similar (p˃0.05) in rats fed both samples and reference diets with BV being above 70%. Relative to FN, TD, and BV, this statistical parity between animals on test and reference diets could suggest adequacy of the digestibility of the proteins of the sample diets and the similarities in their qualities. Conclusion: The plant food, African elemi drupe pulp, could therefore be metabolically adjudged rich in highquality protein that is capable of supporting human growth and tissue maintenance.

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