This study investigates the hydrocarbon degradation potentials of some bacteria isolated from spent lubrication oil on contaminated soil. Cleaning up petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites has been a major challenge. This has led to the exploration of many approaches to affect the cleanup of the polluted soils. A total of sixteen hydrocarbon degrading bacteria species were isolated from spent lubricating oil contaminated soil. The predominant species belonged to the genera Pseudomonas and Enterobacter. Three strains namely Nocardia sp., Pseudomonas sp and Bacillus sp showed the highest potential for hydrocarbon utilization. Their ability to degrade both the aliphatic (n-alkanes) and Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) components of the spent lubricating oil in MSM was investigated after 21days of biodegradation studies using gas chromatographic (GC) techniques. Over 98% of the n-alkane and PAHs fraction of the spent lubricating oil supplied at 1.0%vv -1 concentration were degraded by the three strains. Nocardia sp showed the highest percentage of degradation of about 99%. This study has shown that resident bacteria strains in lubricating oil contaminated soils have potential application in the bioremediation of oil polluted sites and enhance the possibility of developing models and strategies for removing hydrocarbon pollutants from the environment. © JASEM https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v21i5.26

Pot experiment was set up to assess the levels of heavy metals accumulation in leaves and tubers of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) grown in crude oil contaminated soil in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Three cassava cultivars were used for the study viz: NR-8082, TMS-30572 and a Local variety (LV). The crops were planted in pots and nurtured to maturity. They were then assessed for the concentrations of the following heavy metals: Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn and Fe in both the leaves and tubers using standard laboratory procedures. Data analysis was carried out using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and significantly different means were separated using the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The analysis revealed that TMS accumulated the highest quantities of these metals, followed by NR and lastly, the local variety (V), this being a function of biomass production. Transfer Factors also proved the order of accumulation of this heavy metal as: TMS > NR > LV. Generally, the order of prevalence of heavy metal in both the leaves and the tubers was: Fe > Zn > Ni > Pb > Cd > Cr. This study revealed that crude oil pollution is increasingly raising the levels of heavy metals in the soils of Niger Delta and these metals are being taken up by plants including cassava, which is the most important staple food crop of the area. Consequently, crops farmers are advised against cultivating at crude oil contaminated sites for the risk of accumulation of heavy metals in plant tissues.

Sesame seeds were dehulled mechanically and in 10% sodium chloride solution before oil extraction and drying to obtain the flour. The effect of these dehulling methods on the proximate composition, oil and water absorption, emulsification, and foaming properties of the flour was investigated. The effect of desolventizing temperatures (80, 90, and 100°C) on these properties was also investigated. Protein contents of seeds, dehulled mechanically (MDSF) and in 10% NaCl solution (SDSF), were 58.5 and 52.1%, respectively. Carbohydrate and ash contents of both flours also varied. The oil and water absorption capacities of the flours were 268 and 252% for MDSF and 370 and 410% for SDSF, respectively. The emulsion capacity of the MDSF sample was slightly lower (20.0 mL oil/g sample) but more stable than the SDSF sample, whose value was 20.4 mL oil/g sample. The foam capacity of MDSF was, however, higher (48.5%) but less stable than SDSF (33.7%). An increase in desolventizing temperatures of the meal led to increases in oil and water absorption capacities of the flours. Foam and emulsion capacities, on the other hand, decreased with increase in temperature. Desolventizing temperatures had no effect on the stability of the formed emulsion but had a decreasing effect on the stability of the foam.

Kunu is a non-alcoholic Nigerian beverage produced locally from cereals and has been widely accepted as a nutritional drink due to its cost hence, the need for evaluation of its nutritional and safety status. In this study, proximate composition and microbial quality of Kunu drinks sold in Ikot Ekpene metropolis were evaluated. The results show that Kunu consists of 68.5% moisture, 9.33% crude protein, 5.5% crude fat, 3.14% ash and 49.2% carbohydrate while the calorie value was 283.67kcal. The Colony counts from theKunu samples ranged from 0.5×10 5 to 3.2 ×10 5 for total coliform bacteria, 2.5×10 5 to 4.2×10 5 for total heterotrophic bacteria and 5.2×10 5 to 8.0×10 5 for total heterotrophic fungi for the three samples analyzed. Bacterial isolates identification revealed the presence of Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus sp, while the fungal isolates include; Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp, Fusarium sp and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The data revealed that all the Kunu drinks sold within the study area were contaminated and also contained different pathogenic microorganisms which can serve as sources of infections to human. Therefore, proper hygienic and sanitary measures need to be enforced during processing and packaging of this local beverage drink.

Apple (Malus domestica) juice was treated with 0.5 g/ml garlic, 0.5 g/ml ginger, 0.25 g/ml mix of ginger and garlic and 0.05% (w/v) of sodium benzoate respectively where the ginger, garlic and sodium benzoate serves as natural and artificial preservatives. Their effects on the apple fruit juice were evaluated during 8 days of storage at 4 o C and at room temperature (28±2 o C). The microbial counts ranged from 4.0×10 4 to 7.0×10 3 cfu/ml and from 1.0×10 4 to 2.0×10 3 cfu/ml for bacteria and fungi, respectively in the samples treated with ginger, garlic and sodium benzoate and from 1.2×10 4 to 2.2×10 4 cfu/ml in the apple juice without treatment. Juice treated with sodium benzoate had the least microbial contamination while the untreated juice had the highest. There was marginal decrease in pH values across treatments in stored apple juice with juice stored at 4 o C showing the least change in pH compared to that stored at room temperature. The results obtained show that the preservatives exhibited antimicrobial effect on the microbial load and that pH has a significant impact on the shelf-life of the fruit juice as the microbial load was least when stored at low temperature the pH as acidity tends to be inclined towards low pH.Please cite as: Ekanem J.O. and Ekanem O.O. (2019). The effect of natural and artificial preservatives and storage temperature in the pH and microbial load of freshly produced apple (Malus domestica) Juice.