Assessing water quality is necessary to ascertain its viability for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes. A total of 48 water samples were, respectively, drawn from the Rivers Karawa and Iyiaji located in Ezeagu and Uzo-uwani which are typical rural areas in Enugu State, Nigeria. These samples were taken in two seasons (early rainy season and late dry season). Physicochemical properties were determined using standard methods. The scaling and corrosivity potentials of the water were evaluated using the Larson-Skold index, aggressive index, Puckorius scaling index, and Ryznar stability index models. Additionally, seven irrigation evaluation criteria, as well as spatial distribution maps, were used to determine the suitability of the river waters for irrigation purposes and to interpolate the spatial distribution of the river water quality parameters. Major ion chemistry was used in the assessments. The physicochemical properties of river waters fell within the recommended standard values. However, NO₃⁻ greatly exceeded the recommended range in both rivers. The cations and anions from River Karawa were Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > Na⁺ and NO₃⁻ > Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > HCO₃⁻ > CO₃⁻ > PO₄⁻, while those from River Iyiaji were Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺ and Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻ >NO₃⁻ > PO₄⁻ > HCO₃⁻ > CO₃⁻. A piper plot showed the predominance of Ca²⁺ and Mg⁺, as well as SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻, in both rivers. The seven irrigation assessment indices indicated that the water of the Rivers Karawa and Iyiaji is suitable for irrigation purposes. In addition, the scaling and corrosivity models predicted that the river waters have high scaling and corrosivity potentials. Specifically, while the aggressive index suggested that it is severely corrosive, the Langelier saturation index suggested that the water from both rivers is supersaturated and, thus, has potential to scale.

Diabetes, a prevalent metabolic condition with a wide range of complications, is fast becoming a global health crisis. Herbal medicine and enhanced extracts are some of the therapeutic options used in the management of diabetes mellitus. The plant-derived molecules and their suitable structure modification have given many leads or drugs to the world such as metformin used as an antidiabetic drug. The stem extract of Sclerocarya birrea has been reported as a potent antidiabetic (glucose uptake) agent. However, the bioactive compounds have not been reported from S. birrea for treatment of diabetes. In this study, the spray-dried aqueous leaf extracts of S. birrea were investigated as an antidiabetic agent using a 2-deoxy-glucose (2DG) technique showing good stimulatory effect on glucose uptake in differentiated C2C12 myocytes with % 2DG uptake ranging from 110–180% that was comparable to the positive control insulin. Three compounds were isolated and identified using bioassay-guided fractionation of the spray-dried aqueous extract of S. birrea leaves: myricetin (1), myricetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide (2) and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide (3). Their chemical structures were determined using NMR and mass spectrometric analyses, as well as a comparison of experimentally obtained data to those reported in the literature. The isolated compounds (1–3) were studied for their stimulatory actions on glucose uptake in differentiated C2C12 myocytes. The three compounds (1, 2 and 3) showed stimulatory effects on the uptake of 2DG in C2C12 myocytes with % 2DG uptake ranging from 43.9–109.1% that was better compared to the positive control insulin. Additionally, this is the first report of the flavonoid glycosides (myricetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide) for antidiabetic activity and they are the main bioactive compound in the extract responsible for the antidiabetic activity. This result suggests that the S. birrea leaves have the potential to be developed for treatment of diabetes.