JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT (Vol 1 No 2)

Experiments were conducted at the screen house of the Soil Research Institute (SRI), the Savanna Research Institute (SARI) laboratory and University for Development Studies, Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry laboratory, Navrongo Upper East Region Ghana. The objectives were to assess available and potentially available nitrogen (labile N) by extraction with 10.0 M NaOH in a simplified micro-diffusion technique using a locally constructed Mason-jar made from jam bottle. Tropical soils were used for the tests and the test crops were millet, rice and maize in a screen house. Below the maximum threshold, extracted labile N increased with increasing plant biomass yield of the three cereal crops. The method was also assessed for its ability to measure crude protein. It was found the alkaline extraction correlated significantly with conventional methods such as aerobic, anaerobic incubation, total Kjeldahl and N uptake methods (r of 0,896-0,9802; p < 0.01) that have been used to estimate N. T…

The hypoglycemic effect of the aqueous extract of dry pawpaw leaf was investigated using albino rats weighing between 141.7-257.0g. The extract tested positive for the presence of saponin glycosides, condensed tannins, alkaloids, and cardiac glycosides containing rhamnose, cymarose, and digitose sugars. Diabetic condition was induced in the rats by injecting 20mg of alloxan per 100g of body weight. The Diabetic condition was considered to have developed on the third day. Treatment of the alloxanised rats with dry pawpaw leaf extract brought down the fasting blood glucose level to 56.13%, indicating that the aqueous extract contain hypoglycemic agent. And it was predicted using a fitted linear model that within 5 days of treatment the blood sugar will return to normal. A strong relationship was noted to exist between blood sugar, and time of administration of the aqueous extract of dry pawpaw leaves. A linear model is the best fit for blood sugar and time of administration. The biokinet…

The research focused on the effect of humic acid (HA) on the distribution of Cu in Cu-HA-Teak leaf powder system. The experiment was carried out by varying the initial mass of Cu (MCu) in the system at a temperature of 310K. The experiment was carried out independently at pH 4, 6, and 10. The data obtained revealed that the concentration of copper in the solution phase of the system decreases with pH. It was also noted that a relationship exist between the initial mass of copper in the system and the extent of copper binding to the powdered leaf at all pH. And pH increased with the extent of Cu binding to the leaf powder (P). The mass of copper bound ligand (humic acid) in the solid phase was noted to vary with pH. The partition constant (KD) was observed to increase MCu. The analysis revealed that the partition constant for organic acid (KL) and KD increases with increase in pH. HA was noted to promote the transfer of Cu from solution to solid phase. The analysis suggested that the st…