The amino acid and mineral compositions and functional properties of some oilseeds, melon seed (Citrullus vulgaris), pumpkin seed Telfairia occidentalis), and gourd seed (Legenaria vulgaris), have been analyzed. Results show that oilseeds contained high amounts of crude protein (23.7-30.68) and fat (50.6-55.41 %).Aspartic and glutamic acids (24.4-29.5 %) were the most abundant amino acids present. The amino acid composition showed that oilseeds contained nutritional useful quantities of essential amino acids. However, pumpkin oilseed is highly deficient in some of the essential amino acids. The predominant mineral was potassium (965-1140 mg/100 g of sample). They also contained moderately high amounts of other minerals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, manganese, iron, and copper) which made them potentials for future food supplements. It was found that the melon, pumpkin, and gourd seed proteins have minimum solubility at pH 4.0, 5.5, and 5.5, respectively. The occurrence of the minimum solubility at these pH values has been related to their amino acid distribution. Other functional properties (water and oil absorption capacities, foaming and least gelation capacities) and the industrial application of the oilseed proteins have been fully discussed.

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One of the major problems facing the existence of man in this millennium is pollution. Thus, it is no surprise that much attention is given to pollution control and remediation of polluted environment. While remediation can be achieved by physicochemical and biological methods, application of the latter tends to be gaining upper hand due to some of its inherent advantages. This study investigated the biodegradability of bitumen from Agbabu, Southwestern Nigeria by hydrocarbon utilizing strains of Pseudomonas putrefaciens, Pseudomonas nigrificans, Bacillus licheniformis, Pseudomonas tragi and Achromobacter aerogenes. The organisms were used to inoculate Mineral Salts Medium (MSM) supplemented with 0.2 g L-1 solution of Agbabu bitumen in dichloromethane. Cultures were inoculated at different temperature and pH (27°C/pH 3.5; 27°C/pH 5.6; 30°C/pH 7.0 and 40°C/pH 7.0) for two weeks. The quantity of bitumen degraded by each organism was determined gravimetrically at the end of first and second week. The rate of degradation was calculated for each organism and residual bitumen analyzed by infraredSpectroscopy. In the first week of incubation, Achromobacter aerogenes exhibited the highest rate of degradation (1.750±0.027 mg h-1 ) at 30°C and pH 7 while Bacillus licheniformis showed the least degradation rate (0.300±0.018 mg h-1 ) at 40°C and pH 7. Structural indices such as aromaticity, sulphonation, aliphaticity and oxidation calculated from the infrared spectra of recovered bitumen from the inoculated samples were different from that of the control. This thus, confirms the degradation capability of the bacteria used in this work on the Agbabu bitumen and hence their potentials for use in bioremediation of bitumen-polluted environments.

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