The present study examined the effects of Tween 80 on the attachment and hydrolytic activity of a cellulase enzyme against ball-milled cellulose (BMC), using the whole component (native CBH I) and the catalysis module (core CBH I) of carbohydrolase I purified from Trichoderma viride (Meicelase, Meiji Seika, Tokyo, Japan). The effects were evaluated as protein concentrations in the supernatant after mixing enzyme and substrate with Tween 80 at room temperature. Tween 80 decreased the adsorption of native CBH I and core CBH I onto BMC (p<0.001) and increased the amount of reducing sugars released from BMC by native CBH I (p<0.001). However, Tween 80 did not enhance the hydrolytic activity of core CBH I. Observations using SEM revealed that Tween 80 caused cellulose filter paper to swell and enhanced surface cracks and filaments caused by native CBH I but not by core CBH I. These results suggested that Tween 80 decreases enzyme adsorption to its substrate but enhances enzymatic activity.

The experiment was conducted to investigate the response of growing Yankasa rams to urea-treated or untreated millet Stover based supplements during early raining season grazing on haematological parameters and rumen metabolites. A total of 20Yankasa rams were used for the experiments in a completely randomized design with five treatments of four animals each in replicate. Five different supplements were formulated to contained 12% CP from urea-treated or urea untreated millet Stover and other ingredients with feed additive. Supplement 1 had urea untreated millet stover, while 2, 3, 4 and 5 contained urea-treated millet stover at 1, 2, 3, and 4% respectively with feed additive in experiment 4. Animals were offered their respective supplement at 400g per head per day (200g each in the morning and evening) and thereafter allowed to graze the available forages. The experiments lasted for 84 days. Result of the experiment revealed RBC and MCH differs significantly (P<0.05) across the diets. Rumen NH3-N was significantly (P<0.05) higher 51.34 and 61.18 mg/dl before and after feeding in animals fed supplement 1 than 42.06 and 52.66 mg/dl in that fed supplement 4 respectively. It is therefore concluded that all supplements had not detrimental effect on blood and rumen parameters. It is recommended that supplement with urea-untreated millet stover can be fed to Yankasa rams during raining season.

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Ficus sycomorous (Sycamore fig.) Family Moraceae is a plant used in African traditional medicine to treat mental illness, dysentery, cough, diarrhea, tuberculosis and Cancer. In this research work the leaf of the plant was subjected to cold maceration using 75% ethanol. The extract was fractionated using n- hexane, chloroform ethylacetate and n-butanol. The ethylacetate fraction was subjected to column chromatographic separation and purification. Quarcetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside was isolated and the structure of the compound was elucidated by various spectral techniques such as1 and 2D NMR and mass spectrometry. Keyword: Ficus sycomorous, Moraceae, NMR, Quarcetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside