This study evaluated the insecticidal potential of Allium sativum against the cowpea storage pest Callosobruchus maculatus at the Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru, Kebbi State, Nigeria. Cowpea is an important food crop but is highly vulnerable to infestation by C. maculatus, which causes significant post-harvest losses through seed damage, weight reduction, and loss of nutritional quality. Due to the limitations of synthetic insecticides, including toxicity, environmental pollution, and resistance development, botanical alternatives such as garlic have gained attention. Qualitative phytochemical screening of garlic extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, and organosulfur compounds, while steroids and glycosides were absent. Mortality of C. maculatus increased with concentration and exposure time. At 10 minutes, only the 30% concentration showed low mortality (11.1 ± 0.9%), while lower concentrations showed no effect. At 20 minutes, 20% and 30% concentrations produced high mortality. At 30 minutes, 20% and 30% concentrations achieved 100% mortality, while 10% showed high but incomplete mortality. Behavioural effects included restlessness, rapid movement, and knockdown responses, especially at higher concentrations. The study concludes that garlic extract exhibits strong insecticidal activity and supports its potential use as a sustainable botanical pesticide. Further research is recommended to optimise formulations and evaluate long-term storage effectiveness.
H. A. Shindi, H. Mujtaba· Asian Journal of Research in...· 0 citations
Microalgae remain scientifically compelling biofuel feedstocks because they can convert light and carbon into chemically diverse biomass without an intrinsic requirement for fertile agricultural land, while some production systems can also use saline water, wastewater nutrients and concentrated carbon dioxide streams. Yet the field has not translated laboratory demonstrations into routine production of competitively priced, low-carbon commodity fuels. This critical narrative review evaluates why that gap persists and how the research agenda has changed. Literature published from 1 January 2015 to 22 June 2026 was examined, with earlier seminal studies retained where necessary to establish mechanisms, process benchmarks and the evolution of sustainability arguments. Evidence was synthesised across strain physiology and engineering, cultivation, harvesting and dewatering, lipid-based biodiesel, hydrothermal liquefaction, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, carbohydrate-derived fuels, wastewater and carbon integration, techno-economics and life-cycle assessment. The central finding is that microalgal fuel performance is governed by cross-stage interactions rather than by a single favourable trait such as lipid content. Stress-induced lipid accumulation can reduce biomass productivity; controlled photobioreactors can improve culture performance while increasing capital and energy burdens; and downstream choices determine whether dilute wet biomass becomes an energetic liability or a useful feedstock. Hydrothermal liquefaction is particularly compatible with wet whole biomass, whereas conventional biodiesel benefits from mature chemistry but is constrained by selective lipid recovery and drying or extraction requirements. Wastewater, nutrient recycling, carbon utilisation and coproduct valorisation can improve system performance, but benefits are strongly context dependent and may be overstated when environmental-service credits or high-value coproduct revenues are assumed without scale-consistent markets. Pilot-informed life-cycle studies continue to show substantial sensitivity to electricity supply, infrastructure, productivity, nutrient source, dewatering and allocation choices. The most defensible near-term direction is therefore not a universal algal-fuel process, but location-specific, integrated biorefineries in which fuel production is co-designed with nutrient recovery, carbon management and realistic coproduct pathways. Progress towards commercial relevance requires continuous outdoor validation, harmonised assessment, wet-processing strategies and evidence that integrated gains persist at scale.
M. Haruna, H. A. Shindi· Biotechnology Journal Intern...· 0 citations
Microalgae are potential third-generation feedstocks for biodiesel production; however, region-specific information on indigenous strains and low-cost cultivation media remains limited in Northern Nigeria. This study isolated freshwater microalgae from aquatic environments within Abdullahi Fodio University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Kebbi State, Nigeria, and evaluated the growth and lipid productivity of selected Chlorella sorokiniana isolates cultivated in BG11, algal broth, and NPK fertiliser media. Eighteen water samples were collected from ponds, drainage water, runoff water, reservoir water, and botanical garden ponds. Microalgae were initially screened by microscopy, and selected Chlorella isolates were further characterised using ITS rRNA gene amplification, sequencing, BLAST comparison, and phylogenetic analysis. Cultures were maintained under controlled laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2°C with a 12:12 h light-dark cycle for 44 days. Biomass accumulation was monitored by dry cell weight, while lipids were extracted using the Bligh and Dyer method. Microscopic examination revealed Chlorella spp., Spirogyra spp., Chlamydomonas spp., Oedogonium spp., Microspora spp., Euglena spp., and Characium spp. Molecular analysis confirmed the selected isolates as Chlorella sorokiniana. BG11 supported the highest biomass production, with a final dry biomass of 35.48 g/L, a specific growth rate of 0.140 day⁻¹, and biomass productivity of 0.842 g/L/day. Algal broth produced intermediate growth performance, with final biomass of 19.61 g/L, a specific growth rate of 0.126 day⁻¹, and biomass productivity of 0.465 g/L/day. NPK medium produced the lowest values, with final biomass of 7.26 g/L, a specific growth rate of 0.102 day⁻¹, and biomass productivity of 0.170 g/L/day. The reported lipid contents were 27.07%, 23.13%, and 16.00% for BG11, algal broth, and NPK medium, respectively. The findings indicate that BG11 was the most effective medium under laboratory conditions, while algal broth may provide a practical alternative for further optimisation.
Mujtaba Haruna, Yusuf Hassan Rambo, B. Abubakar et al.· Asian journal of microbiolog...· 0 citations
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