The methanol extract of grains of paradise (GP), the seed of Aframomum melegueta, which is distributed throughout West Africa, was administered during an animal breeding test. The extract suppressed body weight gain a...The methanol extract of grains of paradise (GP), the seed of Aframomum melegueta, which is distributed throughout West Africa, was administered during an animal breeding test. The extract suppressed body weight gain and decreased the weight of adipose tissues in breeding mice, with a greater effect on mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) than on those fed a normal diet (ND). Other significant effects of GP intake included increased serum triglyceride (TG) concentration and reduced hepatic total cholesterol (TC) and TG concentrations. GP intake markedly prevented fat accumulation and improved hepatic lipid metabolism in HFD-fed mice. In addition, GP extract at a dosage of 5 mg/kg body weight decreased sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) in brown adipose tissue (BAT), while capsaicin, a major component of chili pepper, activated BAT SNA. This suggested that GP exerts a potential anti-obesity effect by a different mechanism from that of capsaicin.展开更多
The use of plant materials as soil amendments is an uncommon practice amongst major farming communities in Ghana, although it is necessary for soil fertility improvement. An examination of the effects of soil amendmen...The use of plant materials as soil amendments is an uncommon practice amongst major farming communities in Ghana, although it is necessary for soil fertility improvement. An examination of the effects of soil amendments is necessary to encourage the use of under-utilized organic resources in Ghana. Thus, a field experiment was conducted using 8 different tropical plant materials mixed with chicken manure as soil amendments for growth of tomato as a test crop. The plant materials included Leucaena leueocephala, Centrosema pubescens, Sesbania sesban, Gliricidia sepium, Mucuna pruriens, Pueraria phaseoloides, Azadirachta indiea, and Theo- broma cacao. There were two other treatments： one with equivalent amounts of chemical fertilizers and the other with no-fertilizer input （control）. Plant materials were mixed with chicken manure to obtain a uniform carbon-to-nitrogen （C：N） ratio of 5：1. Except the no-fertilizer control, all treatments received the same amount of nitrogen （N）. To clarify the decomposition pattern of the plant materials in soil, an incubation experiment was conducted using only the plant materials before the field experiment. The Glirieidia treatment released significantly more mineral N than the other plant materials in the incubation experiment. However, the tomato fruit yield was not enhanced in the Gliricidia treatment in the field experiment. The known quality parameters of the tested plant materials, such as total N, total carbon （C）, C：N ratio, and total polyphenols, had minimal effects on their mineralization dynamics. Azadirachta showed the best synergistic effect with chicken manure through significantly increasing soil microbial biomass and fruit yield of tomato. This result provides insights into the possible adoption of Azadirachta in combination with chicken manure as a soil amendment in small-scale agricultural holdings.展开更多
文摘The methanol extract of grains of paradise (GP), the seed of Aframomum melegueta, which is distributed throughout West Africa, was administered during an animal breeding test. The extract suppressed body weight gain and decreased the weight of adipose tissues in breeding mice, with a greater effect on mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) than on those fed a normal diet (ND). Other significant effects of GP intake included increased serum triglyceride (TG) concentration and reduced hepatic total cholesterol (TC) and TG concentrations. GP intake markedly prevented fat accumulation and improved hepatic lipid metabolism in HFD-fed mice. In addition, GP extract at a dosage of 5 mg/kg body weight decreased sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) in brown adipose tissue (BAT), while capsaicin, a major component of chili pepper, activated BAT SNA. This suggested that GP exerts a potential anti-obesity effect by a different mechanism from that of capsaicin.
文摘The use of plant materials as soil amendments is an uncommon practice amongst major farming communities in Ghana, although it is necessary for soil fertility improvement. An examination of the effects of soil amendments is necessary to encourage the use of under-utilized organic resources in Ghana. Thus, a field experiment was conducted using 8 different tropical plant materials mixed with chicken manure as soil amendments for growth of tomato as a test crop. The plant materials included Leucaena leueocephala, Centrosema pubescens, Sesbania sesban, Gliricidia sepium, Mucuna pruriens, Pueraria phaseoloides, Azadirachta indiea, and Theo- broma cacao. There were two other treatments： one with equivalent amounts of chemical fertilizers and the other with no-fertilizer input （control）. Plant materials were mixed with chicken manure to obtain a uniform carbon-to-nitrogen （C：N） ratio of 5：1. Except the no-fertilizer control, all treatments received the same amount of nitrogen （N）. To clarify the decomposition pattern of the plant materials in soil, an incubation experiment was conducted using only the plant materials before the field experiment. The Glirieidia treatment released significantly more mineral N than the other plant materials in the incubation experiment. However, the tomato fruit yield was not enhanced in the Gliricidia treatment in the field experiment. The known quality parameters of the tested plant materials, such as total N, total carbon （C）, C：N ratio, and total polyphenols, had minimal effects on their mineralization dynamics. Azadirachta showed the best synergistic effect with chicken manure through significantly increasing soil microbial biomass and fruit yield of tomato. This result provides insights into the possible adoption of Azadirachta in combination with chicken manure as a soil amendment in small-scale agricultural holdings.
