Food fraud and mislabeling represent persistent threats to food safety and public health, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa where fragmented supply chains, dominant informal markets, and limited regulatory capacity increase vulnerability to adulteration and misrepresentation. The growing complexity of global food systems has intensified the need for reliable authentication and traceability tools as integral components of preventive food safety frameworks. This review critically examines the current landscape of food authentication technologies in Sub Saharan Africa, with emphasis on their analytical performance, practical applicability, and integration into regulatory control systems. A systematic narrative review approach was adopted, guided by structured evidence synthesis principles. Peer reviewed literature published between 2010 and 2026 was analyzed across major scientific databases, focusing on spectroscopic, chromatographic, molecular, and isotopic analytical methods, alongside digital traceability systems and artificial intelligence-driven data analytics. The review employed thematic and comparative synthesis to evaluate technological effectiveness, adoption patterns, and regulatory relevance. The evidence indicates that spectroscopic techniques enable rapid screening, while chromatographic and molecular methods provide high precision confirmatory analysis. Isotope ratio analysis supports origin verification, while digital traceability systems, including blockchain-based ledgers, improve supply chain transparency, while artificial intelligence and machine learning tools function as analytical decision-support systems that enhance pattern recognition and predictive analytics for fraud detection. However, significant limitations persist, including inadequate context specific validation, high costs, limited infrastructure, and weak integration into preventive food safety systems. Technology adoption remains uneven, with concentration in urban laboratories and limited coverage in informal markets. Strengthening food authentication in Sub Saharan Africa requires coordinated investment in low cost technologies, context specific validation frameworks, and regulatory harmonization. Integrating authentication into risk-based food safety systems is essential for improving surveillance, enhancing consumer protection, and aligning regional practices with international standards.
This review investigates scalability, environmental performance, and socio-economic sustainability of biochar production in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on traditional/low-tech solutions. Low-tech methods, including open pits, metal drum kilns, and earth mounds, are easily accessible and reasonably priced, but they can have high emissions, uneven biochar quality, and poor thermal efficiency. Standardizing enhanced low-technology designs, putting strong quality assurance systems in place, mobilizing underutilized biomass streams, and using digital monitoring and artificial intelligence to optimize pyrolysis operations are some of the main strategies proposed to achieve scalable and sustainable biochar production in the region. Retort kilns or sophisticated pyrolysis units with gas recirculation are considered medium-to-high technology to stabilize product qualities, lower emissions, and call for a moderate amount of capital and technical know-how. Along with evaluating feedstock possibilities such as invasive species, forestry wastes, and crop residues, the review incorporates techno-economic analysis, climate-smart forestry tools, and circular economy principles. Economically viable biochar systems in Sub-Saharan African contexts require either (i) integration with existing agro-industrial waste streams (e.g., rice mills, sugarcane processing) where collection infrastructure already exists, or (ii) decentralized production using low-cost kilns (< US500 capital cost) that eliminate transport through on-farm processing. To align waste management and forest conservation with goals for negative carbon soil enhancement, the paper recommends policymakers support standardized low-technology designs, create frameworks for ensuring the quality of biochar, increase the use of underutilized biomass streams, and use digital monitoring and artificial intelligence to optimize pyrolysis processes.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating neuropsychiatric condition marked by cognitive deficits and neurobiological disturbances, including oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, cholinergic dysfunction, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, and apoptosis. This study investigated the protective effects of silymarin against single prolonged stress (SPS)-induced PTSD-like changes in mice. Mice were exposed to a triple stress model consisting of restraint stress, forced swim test and brief ether-induced loss of consciousness, and left singly for 7 days of isolation. Animals were assigned to control (saline 10 mL/kg, p.o), SPS, SPS + silymarin (25, 50, 100 mg/kg, p.o), and SPS + fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, p.o) groups for 21 days. Behavioral performance was assessed using the novel object recognition, Y-maze, and open field tests. We quantified serum corticosterone concentration. Oxidative stress and immune markers, viz malondialdehyde, nitrite, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione-S-transferase (GST), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were assayed in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. Neuronal cell death and caspase-3 expression were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry. SPS exposure impaired recognition, working memory, and reduced locomotor activity, which were reversed by silymarin. Silymarin reduced SPS-induced increased malondialdehyde and nitrite levels, accompanied by increased glutathione, GST, SOD and catalase levels in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum, respectively. Silymarin treatment attenuated MPO and AChE activities in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. Silymarin modulated caspase-3 expression in a brain-region-dependent manner, notably inhibiting it in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, increasing it in the prefrontal cortex, and preserving neuronal cytoarchitecture in all regions. These findings suggest that silymarin provides broad neuroprotection in SPS-induced PTSD through apoptosis modulation, enhancing antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, with upregulated cortical cholinergic transmissions and inhibition of corticosterone release.
The increasing environmental degradation caused by conventional petroleum-based plastics has heightened the global demand for sustainable alternatives. In Nigeria, the accumulation of plastic waste in the landfills and aquatic environment has severe impacts on living organisms. To address this issue, this study explores the potential of starch-based bioplastics derived from renewable agricultural resources such as cassava, maize, and yam. These sources present a promising solution due to their biodegradability, renewability, and potential for large-scale production. Nigeria as one of the world’s largest cassava producers has a significant potential to become a hub for starch-based bioplastic production and commercialization. This review explores the viability and feasibility of commercializing starch-based bioplastics, from environmental, economic, and industrial perspectives. The research also aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges associated with starch-based bioplastic production in Nigeria. By undergoing this review, the study contributes to the development of sustainable solutions for plastic waste management and promotes the country’s transition towards a greener economy.
This study described the comparative green synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONPs) using leaf extracts of Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), Awolowo (Chromolaena odorata), and Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) as reducing and stabilizing agents. Phenol- and flavonoid-rich phytochemicals promoted nucleation, growth, and stabilization of the nanoparticles. FTIR, DLS, SEM, XRD, BET/BJH, TGA and DTA, confirmed highly crystalline, thermally stable MgONPs with extract-dependent surface properties. Dynamic light scattering showed particle sizes of 44.57 nm (Awolowo), 100.3 nm (oil palm), and 100.5 nm (rubber) with polydispersity indices < 0.5. BET surface areas were 355.96, 318.61, and 251.00 m²/g, respectively, with mesoporous structures (2.10–2.13 nm). For environmental application, the MgONPs degraded methylene blue under sunlight with efficiencies of 92.82 A novel and eco-friendly micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) method was developed for selective gold recovery from waste mobile phone printed circuit boards (PCBs). The non-ionic surfactant TX-100 was identified as the most effective for gold recovery, achieving an efficiency of up to 96
