ABSTRACT Every year millions of tones of industrial wastes and municipal sewage are dumped into the world oceans as rivers carrying agricultural wastes discharge their waters into the ocean. The Mombasa inshore (Kilindini and Portreiz) waters and Sabaki/Malindi bay complex are characterized by rapid urbanization, industrial activities including shipping, agriculture and tourism. As a result, the coastal fauna, sediments and sea water are polluted with heavy metals, raw sewage and organochlori...
ABSTRACT Prolonged use of synthetic chemical pesticides is environmentally undesirable, results in rapid development of resistance among insect pests and is economically unmanageable by small-scale farmers. Kenya has unexplored potential in controlling lepidopteran pests using proteinous delta-endotoxins sourced from local isolates of a naturally occurring bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt). This study attempted to identify the insecticidal proteins, present in some Kenyan Bt is...
ABSTRACT Biomagnifications of toxic heavy metals to man through aquatic life occurs via industrial, runoff, agricultural, municipal and urban waste. Heavy metals such as lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) manganese (Mn) and cadmium (Cd) have World Health Organization (WHO) limits above which they are toxic. Some of the toxic effects include; reduced growth and development, cancer, damage to the nervous system, and in extreme cases death. Athi River,the second largest river in Kenya has its source in a de...
ABSTRACT During the last few decades analytical chemists and nutrition scientists have increasingly realized that total concentrations of chemical elements cannot give, in general, information about mobility, bioavailability, and the eventual impact of elements on biological organisms. Only the knowledge of the chemical species of the elements can provide an understanding of chemical and biochemical reactions, bioavailability, and subsequent paths of metabolism, thus leading to more informati...
ABSTRACT Soil is the natural basis for plants growth as it not only provides support, water and minerals, but also helps to aerate the roots for proper development. However, due to the ever-growing population, available land is becoming a challenge. Urbanization also leads to insufficient surface for food production, as the arable land is used for settlement. This has further been exacerbated by erratic climatic conditions. Due to such limitations, this has compelled other options to be cons...
ABSTRACT Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous organic chemicals consisting of two or more aromatic rings. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has identified 16 priority PAHs are carcinogenic and mutagenic. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that their levels not to exceed 50 ng/L in water. Nairobi city is the economic and industrial hub for Kenya with increasing industrialization and urbanization. This increase has led to water and air pollutio...
ABSTRACT African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) have been recommended as the most affordable source of minerals and vitamins for African families. They can be used to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies but have been underutilized due to lack of nutrition information, leading to consumption of the lesser nutritious exotic vegetables. Vihiga County is endowed with these AIVs but cases of micronutrient deficiencies remain a challenge. The potential of these AIVs as sources of micronutrients is ...
ABSTRACT The 2014 Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) and Micronutrient Survey reportshowed malnutrition among children aged 5-11 years in Kenya. In particular,malnutrition in Machakos County manifested as stunting (26.3 %), wasting (6.3 %),underweight (12.7 %), marginal vitamin A deficiency (VAD) (33.9 %), anemia (16.5%), zinc deficiency (82.5 %) and iron deficiency (9.4 %). African Indigenous Leafy Vegetables (AILVs) such as Vigna unguiculata and Amaranthus cruentus can be usedto fight ...
ABSTRACT Garage waste is a major source of environmental pollution since it contains heavy metals. These heavy metals end up being swept by rain water into rivers. When the water is used for drinking or irrigation the heavy metals end up in animal and human tissues causing adverse health effects. In soil, heavy metals exist in different forms which influence their mobility and bioavailability. These forms include those soluble in water, those exchangeable with other metal ions, the reducible...
ABSTRACT An increase in population results to an increase in the volume of grey water generated, thus decreasing the availability of fresh water. In Kenya and developing countries acute water shortages are extremely experienced consequently resulting to water rationing and increase in water prices by water vendors. Therefore treatment of the grey water generated, for reuse in toilet flushing and laundry work could reduce fresh water demands. This study therefore proposed to determine the effe...
ABSTRACT Pesticides bring a promise of higher yields of more food for the hungry and freedom from diseases spread by pests. However, pesticides are poisons and their residues do harm to human beings when the concentration is higher than the recommended maximum residue limits (MRLs). If a pesticide is left on vegetables, which are considered a cheaper source of natural nutrients, somebody could get sick or even get killed due to the poisoning. Therefore pesticide residues have become a high co...
ABSTRACT Vegetables are a major source of essential nutrients such as minerals, proteins, energy and roughage. Some vegetables such as tomato and sweet pepper can be eaten raw or cooked. These vegetables are affected by pests and diseases that are controlled using pesticides among which are fungicides such as dithiocarbamates (DTCs) that are toxic to human and animals at high concentrations. DTCs are commonly used in different combinations in Kenya and one of their metabolites, ethylenethio...
The Oil Palm Trunk (OPT) fiber was pretreated, using Tetraoxosulphate (vi) acid H2SO4, Hydrochloric acid HCl, and Trioxonitrate (v) acid HNO3, at temperature of 80 o C, and residence time varying from 15 to 45 minutes, and acid concentration between 1-2.5%. It was found that the optimum acid concentration and residence time for highest sugar yield, was 1% w/w and 30minutes for the three acids investigated. Hydrolysis with HCl gave the highest sugar yield. The effect of additives such as 0.5M ...
ABSTRACT Control of disease vectors by use of synthetic chemical pesticides has been associated with a series of problems, including resistance development, environmental pollution, and safety risks for humans and domestic animals. Plant-based products have been used for generations in traditional practices to control different arthropods. These have been used in space or personal protection either to repel the arthropods from distance or to deter them from blood-feeding on contact. In the p...
ABSTRACT Essential plant nutrients are necessary for plant growth, However, some of these nutrients are added as inorganic fertilizers due to high demand of food arising from fast growth in population which has necessitated the need to expand agricultural activities. This has lead to overuse of commercial inorganic fertilizers leading to drop in soil pH. Low pH reduces the availability of essential nutrients to plants and also low rate of decomposition of organic matter that is required to in...