Rapid urbanization and associated emissions have increased the need to quantify the carbon-storage role of urban green spaces. This study assessed the carbon sequestration potential of roadside tree corridors in Makurdi, within Nigeria’s Guinea Savanna Zone. In this study, sequestration potential denotes standing above-ground carbon stock and carbon dioxide-equivalent stock rather than an annual rate. Six 2 km road segments were purposively selected, and all live trees with diameter at breast height ≥10 cm within a 2 m-wide band on both sides were inventoried, covering 4.8 ha. Stem diameters at the base, middle and upper sections and total height were measured. Tree volume was estimated using Newton’s formula; above-ground biomass was derived from tree volume and wood density; carbon stock was calculated as 50% of biomass, and carbon dioxide-equivalent stock was obtained by multiplying carbon stock by 3.67. The inventory comprised 1,760 trees representing 25 species. Naka Road had the highest numerical mean biomass, carbon stock and carbon dioxide-equivalent stock (2.28, 1.14 and 4.19 t, respectively), but the road effect was not significant, F (5, 1754) = 0.70, p = 0.624, η² = 0.002. Azadirachta indica had the highest descriptive species-level values (5.07, 2.53 and 9.30 t), whereas Moringa oleifera had the lowest. The findings provide a corridor-specific baseline for conserving established roadside trees and guiding diverse, site-appropriate planting. Broader inventories, validated area-based totals, repeated measurements and an urban-emission inventory are required to estimate annual sequestration and mitigation contributions.
The cryopreservation of semen is a prerequisite for artificial insemination, germplasm banking and the global distribution of elite livestock breeding. However, spermatozoa are particularly sensitive to cooling and freezing/thawing processes due to the presence of large amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their plasma membranes and limited cytoplasmic antioxidant stores. An increase in reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction, acrosomal injury and DNA fragmentation occurs due to stress associated with cryopreservation, which results in the lowering of motility as well as viability and post-thaw low quality of sperm. Alpha-lipoic acid is a natural disulfide compound that acts as a redox-active antioxidant and mitochondrial metabolic cofactor. Its reduced form known as dihydrolipoic acid possesses antioxidant actions by scavenging free radicals, regenerating endogenous antioxidants, promoting mitochondrial energy metabolism and preventing oxidative damage. This review synthesizes direct ALA evidence across buffalo, cattle bulls, goats/bucks, rams, boars, poultry and common carp, with additional comparative evidence from honeybee drone semen. Across these species, protective effects are dose- and formulation-dependent: optimized ALA generally improves sperm motility, viability, membrane and acrosome integrity, mitochondrial function and antioxidant status, whereas excessive concentrations or prolonged post-thaw exposure can be neutral or detrimental. Therefore, ALA should be optimized for each species, extender and preservation protocol rather than treated as a common semen additive.
Malaria is a persistent public health impediment in sub-Saharan Africa, necessitating an incessant search for new, effective, and low-cost antimalarial agents from medicinal plants. This study was designed to evaluate the antiplasmodial efficacy of the ethanol crude extract of the stembark of Detarium senegalense. Standard methods were employed to identify the major secondary metabolites. In vivo antiplasmodial activity of the extract in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice was carried out as per the standard suppression test. The LD50 was elicited in mice using a standard procedure. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of important bioactive components such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, and glycosides. The suppressive test showed a significantly suppressed parasitemia on a completely drug-dependent basis, with high inhibition (72.4%) observed in mice administered with the extract at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight. extract. The mice treated showed increased mean survival time and reduced clinical symptoms compared with the negative control group. The LD50 test did not produce any mortality or visible signs of toxicity even at the highest dose of 2000 mg/kg, which indicates that the extract is relatively safe. These findings lend support to the traditional use of D. senegalense in the treatment of malaria and emphasize its potential for significant antimalarial drug discovery. Further studies are needed to explore the active principles producing the observed biological activities through the isolation and characterization of their chemical structures, with testing of efficacy.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80–85% of lung cancers and remains a major cause of cancer mortality. Molecular heterogeneity, acquired resistance to targeted therapies, immune escape, and treatment-related toxicity continue to limit durable disease control. Natural products and standardized botanical formulations have contributed substantially to anticancer drug discovery and are being investigated as complementary approaches in NSCLC; however, the strength of evidence varies markedly across experimental and clinical settings. This critical narrative review evaluates molecular mechanisms, preclinical evidence, human studies, and translational barriers relevant to natural-product-based interventions in NSCLC. A structured literature update was performed in August 2026 using PubMed/MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov, supplemented by backward reference checking, with emphasis on NSCLC-specific studies and explicit separation of in vitro, animal, observational, randomized, and registry evidence. Preclinical studies indicate that selected compounds can modulate apoptosis and cell-cycle control, context-dependent autophagy, tumor-microenvironment signaling, immune responses, angiogenesis, and metastatic pathways. Human evidence is considerably more limited and is concentrated in EGFR-mutant NSCLC treated with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulations alongside EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Translation is further constrained by low or variable bioavailability, dose-dependent toxicity, herb–drug interactions, heterogeneous product composition, and incomplete quality control. Concentrated green-tea extracts and triptolide illustrate that “natural” does not imply low toxicity. Artificial-intelligence-assisted screening and synthesis-aware computational tools may accelerate candidate prioritization, but they do not substitute for pharmacokinetic, toxicological, and prospective clinical validation. Natural products therefore remain promising research candidates and potential adjuncts rather than established replacements for evidence-based NSCLC therapy.
Caffeine synthase (CCS1; EC 2.1.1.160) is a S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM; S-adenosyl-L-methionine) dependent N-methyltransferase that executes the final methylation steps of caffeine biosynthesis in coffee, tea, and related plants. While paraxanthine can act as an efficient substrate, it contributes to a comparatively minor branch in the overall pathway. We conducted an integrated in silico analysis of CCS1, covering sequence retrieval, structure prediction, 3D modeling, and mutation assessment. Secondary structure was inferred using PSIPRED; physicochemical indices were computed via AA-PROP; 3D models were generated by I-TASSER and evaluated by Verify3D; and missense effects were prioritized using PolyPhen-2, PROVEAN, I-Mutant, and PhD-SNP. Taken together, our results reinforce CCS1’s membership in the methyltransferase superfamily, support a Rossmann-like fold, and highlight residues plausibly linked to substrate preference and structural stability. These findings provide a computational foundation for engineering low-caffeine cultivars and for hypothesis-driven wet-lab experiments on purine alkaloid metabolism.
