Cannabis sativa is known among many cultures for its medicinal potential. Its complexity contributes to the historical application of various parts of the plant in ethno-medicines and pharmacotherapy. C. sativa has been used for the treatment of rheumatism, epilepsy, asthma, skin burns, pain, the management of sexually transmitted diseases, difficulties during child labor, postpartum hemorrhage, and gastrointestinal activity. However, the use of C. sativa is still limited, and it is illegal in most countries. Thus, this review aims to highlight the biological potential of the plant parts, as well as the techniques for the extraction, isolation, and characterization of C. sativa compounds. The plant produces a unique class of terpenophenolic compounds, called cannabinoids, as well as non-cannabinoid compounds. The exhaustive profiling of bioactive compounds and the chemical characterization and analysis of C. sativa compounds, which modern research has not yet fully achieved, is needed for the consistency, standardization, and the justified application of Cannabis sativa products for therapeutic purposes. Studies on the clinical relevance and applications of cannabinoids and non-cannabinoid phenols in the prevention and treatment of life-threatening diseases is indeed significant. Furthermore, psychoactive cannabinoids, when chemically standardized and administered under medical supervision, can be the legal answer to the use of C. sativa.

Pectin is a natural polymer that is found in the cell walls of higher plants. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of pectin extracted from lemon in two different geographic regions (Peddie and Fort Beaufort) in two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) named PP 2023, PP 2024, FBP 2023, and FBP 2024. The dried lemon peels were ground into a powder, sifted to obtain particles of 500 μm, and then subjected to pectin extraction using a conventional method involving mixing lemon peel powder with distilled water, adjusting the pH level to 2.0 with HCl, heating the mixture at 70 °C for 45 min, filtering the acidic extract, and precipitating pectin with ethanol. The yield of these pectin samples was statistically significant, as FBP 2024 had a maximum yield of 12.2 ± 0.02%, PP 2024 had a maximum yield of 13.0 ± 0.02%, FBP 2023 had a maximum yield of 12.2 ± 0.03%, and PP 2023 had a maximum yield of 13.1 ± 0.03%, The variation in yield could be due to the differences in the growing conditions, such as the climate and soil, which could have affected the pectin content in the lemons. The physicochemical characterization of all samples proved that our pectin samples could be used in the pharmaceutical and food industries, with anhydrouronic acid content which was greater than 65%, as suggested by the FAO. The scanning electron microscope analysis of all extracted pectin was rough and jagged, while the commercial pectin displayed a smooth surface morphology with a consistent size. FTIR confirmed the functional groups which were present in our samples. Thermogravimetric analysis was employed to investigate the thermal behavior of the extracted pectin in comparison with commercial pectin. It was found that the extracted pectin had three-step degradation while the commercial pectin had four-step degradation. Additionally, pectin samples have been shown to have antioxidants, as the IC₅₀ of PP 2024, PP 2023, FBP 2023, FBP 2024, and Commercial P was 1062.5 ± 20.0, 1201.3 ± 22.0, 1304.6 ± 19.0, 1382.6 ± 29.9, and 1019.4 ± 17.1 mg/L, respectively. These findings indicate that lemon pectin has promising characteristics as a biopolymer for use in biomedical applications.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are described as a collection of chronic diseases that do not typically develop from an acute infection, have long-term health effects, and frequently require ongoing care and therapy. These diseases include heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic lung disease, neurological diseases, osteoporosis, mental health disorders, etc. Known synthetic drugs for the treatment or prevention of NCDs become increasingly dangerous over time and pose high risks due to side effects such as hallucination, heart attack, liver failure, etc. As a result, scientists have had to look for other alternatives that are natural products and that are known to be less detrimental and contain useful bioactive compounds. The increasing understanding of the biological and pharmacological significance of carbohydrates has helped to raise awareness of their importance in living systems and medicine, given they play numerous biological roles. For example, pectin has been identified as a class of secondary metabolites found in medicinal plants that may play a significant role in the treatment and management of a variety of NCDs. Pectin is mainly made of homogalacturonan, which is a linear polymer composed primarily of D-galacturonic acid units (at least 65%) linked in a chain by α-(1,4)-glycosidic linkages. There are also modified pectins or derivatives that improve pectin’s bioavailability. Pectin is found in the cell walls of higher plants (pteridophytes, angiosperms, and gymnosperms), particularly in the middle lamella of the plant material. Citrus pectin is used in various industries. This article compiles information that has been available for years about the therapeutic importance of pectin in chronic diseases, different modes of pectin extraction, the chemistry of pectin, and the potency of pectin and its derivatives.

Nigeria is the second largest poultry industry in Africa, with its poultry industry the most commercialized livestock sub-sector. Despite its significance, the farmers still experience economic losses due to disease outbreaks. Hence, the application of standard Health Management Practices (HMPs) is very important, as these practices improve the welfare of animals and increase animal production and farmers’ income. This paper examined the determinants of HMP’s utilization and its effect on poultry farmers’ income in Ondo State, Nigeria. We used multistage sampling procedures to select 120 respondents who provided data for the study. The study used Generalized Poisson Regression (GPR) and Conditional Quantile Regression (CQR) models to estimate the determinants of HMP’s utilization intensity, and its heterogeneous effects on farmers’ income, respectively. The results revealed that the HMP’s utilization intensity was significantly driven by variables such as education, training, experience, land ownership, stock size, mortality rate, and production system. In addition, HMP’s utilization had significant heterogeneous effects on farmers’ income. Therefore, the government and other developmental agencies should promote HMP’s utilization through the provision of poultry-based skills acquisition and vocational education.

The fruits of Citrus limon are often purchased for their vitamin C-rich juice, while the fruit peel and the tree leaves are discarded as wastes. This study obtained the chemical profiles of the essential oils (EOs) of C. limon wastes (the peel and leaves), evaluated their medicinal value as antioxidants, their potential for sustainable use in agriculture as an insecticide for post-harvest preservation of grains, and their potential as a bioresource in livestock feed formulations. The EOs were isolated from C. limon leaves and peel using a hydro-distillation method on a Clevenger apparatus. The oil constituents were identified using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) hyphenated technique. The oils were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power methods. An insecticidal study was conducted using contact toxicity, fumigation, and repellence bioassay methods against Sitophilus zeamais (maize weevils). Finally, the predicted income from using lemon peel as an alternative or substitute ingredient for maize in livestock feed formulations was obtained through a conventional simulation method. Chemically, limonene was found to be present in all the EOs analyzed (12–52%), while α-pinene was only found in the fresh leaf and peel oils (13.3% and 10.6%). Caryophyllene oxide was identified as the major component of the dried leaf oil (17.7%). At 20 µg m, the dry peel oil exhibited the highest inhibitory activity (52.41 ± 0.26%) against the DPPH radical, which was comparable to L-ascorbic acid (a standard antioxidant) at 54.25 ± 3.55%. The insecticidal study revealed that the dry peel oil is a better insect repellent (73.33 ± 6.95% at 10 µL) and fumigant (LC₅₀ = 0.17 µL g⁻¹ after 48 h) natural agent compared to the peel oil. Conversely, the dry peel oil showed a better contact activity (LC₅₀ = 1.69 µL g⁻¹) against the maize weevils compared to the dry leaf oil. The simulation study showed the cost of using dry lemon peel as an alternative to maize in livestock feed formulation to be ZAR 2.8 billion, compared against the higher cost of feed formulation with maize, which currently stands at ZAR 24.9 billion. This study has shown that C. limon wastes (the peel and leaves) contain EOs with unique chemical profiles, valuable medicinal properties as free radical scavengers, and considerable insecticidal properties for agricultural use in post-harvest grain preservation, presenting a cost-effective and promising bioresource for livestock feed production.

The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) forms a significant component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This study examined the impact of ICT on agricultural development in South Africa utilizing time series data from 1995 to 2022. Agricultural development was measured through agricultural output and agriculture total factor productivity as dependent variables. Traditional factors of production (land, labor, and capital) together with ICT variables (mobile cellphone subscriptions, Internet usage, and fixed telephone subscriptions) were used. Additional variables such as inflation, human development, access to energy and climate change were used. Data analysis was performed using the ARDL approach. The findings revealed that mobile phone subscriptions and Internet usage positively affect agricultural output and ATFP in the short and long run despite having a negative effect through the second lag in the short run. Fixed telephone subscriptions negatively affect ATFP in the long run while affecting output negatively in the short run through the first lag. Land, human development index, access to energy, and capital generally exhibited an increasing effect on both agricultural output and ATFP both in the short and long run through the various models estimated. Climate change and inflation were generally found to affect both agricultural output and ATFP negatively in the short and long run. The study concluded that ICT plays a significant role in promoting agricultural output and total factor productivity growth. Recommendations included that the South African government should promote the digitalization of the agriculture sector through the provision of ICT infrastructure that can be utilized by both smallholder farmers and large-scale agricultural producers.