Issue 1: Nigerian Journal of Postharvest Research
Articles in This Issue
From Waste to Worth: Utilizing Agro-Residues in Climate-Smart Feed Systems to Reduce Nigeria’s Agricultural Postharvest Losses. Nigerian Journal of Post-Harvest Research, 3(1), 1-11.
Agro-residue utilisation presents a transformative opportunity to reduce postharvest losses and improve livestock feed systems within climate-smart agriculture frameworks. This systematic literature review evaluates how crop by-products are repurposed for sustainable animal nutrition in Nigeria. Drawing from 75 publications screened between April and May 2025 across Scopus, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, and institutional repositories (FAO, ILRI, FMARD), the review synthesises evidence published between 2015 and 2025. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke's six-step approach, with triangulation applied to balance peer-reviewed sources and grey literature. The review identified five core themes: types and regional availability of agro-residues, nutritional composition and processing innovations such as fermentation and urea-ammoniation, socioeconomic benefits including feed cost reduction and rural employment, environmental advantages such as reduced methane emissions and soil enrichment, and policy enablers and barriers shaping adoption pathways. Findings reveal that while cassava peels, maize stover, and legume haulms offer viable feed alternatives, adoption is constrained by weak infrastructure, fragmented policies, and limited access to affordable processing equipment. Recent innovations, such as community-based feed hubs and microbial detoxification, have shown measurable improvements in feed quality and climate resilience. The review recommends coordinated policy implementation, decentralised processing investments, and gender-inclusive extension systems to accelerate scale-up. These strategies are essential for embedding agro-residue valorisation into Nigeria's livestock value chain and advancing food system sustainability.
Effect of Senna occidentalis Seed Extract and Hyptis suaveolens Essential Oil on Aflatoxin B1 Contamination of Stored Maize. Nigerian Journal of Post-Harvest Research, 3(1), 12-23
Aflatoxin B1 contamination in stored maize, primarily caused by Aspergillus flavus, poses a significant threat to food safety and public health. This study aims to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of Senna occidentalis seed extract and Hyptis suaveolens essential oil as natural alternatives to synthetic fungicides. A. flavus was isolated from infected maize kernels and confirmed through DNA extraction, PCR amplification of the ITS region, and BLAST analysis, which revealed 100% sequence identity with GenBank accession OR646810.1. Plant materials were extracted using ethanol maceration (S. occidentalis) and steam distillation (H. suaveolens), followed by GC-MS profiling. Maize grains were treated with 5 mL, 10 mL, and 15 mL doses of each extract and stored for 30 days at 30 °C. Aflatoxin B1 levels were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The research findings showed that untreated maize contained 101 ± 1.0 µg/kg aflatoxin B1, while grains treated with synthetic fungicide (SAAF) had 5.0 ± 0.1 µg/kg (98% inhibition). S. occidentalis extract reduced aflatoxin levels to 15.3 ± 1.0, 10.3 ± 1.0 and 6.3 ± 1.0 µg/kg at 5 mL, 10 mL, and 15 mL doses, respectively (85–94% inhibition). H. suaveolens essential oil achieved reductions to 20.3 ± 1.0, 13.3 ± 1.0 and 8.3 ± 1.0 µg/kg (80–92% inhibition). The 15 mL dosage was the most effective for both treatments, approaching the efficacy of the synthetic fungicide. The antifungal activity is attributed to phytol, linoleic acid and esters in S. occidentalis, and terpenes such as eucalyptol and caryophyllene in H. suaveolens. These findings demonstrate the potential of plant-based treatments as eco-friendly and effective alternatives for aflatoxin mitigation in maize storage systems.
Effects of Thermal Pretreatments on the Yield, Quality, and Phytochemical Profile of Ugba Seed Oil. Nigerian Journal of Post Harvest Research,,3(1), 64-76.
Traditional extraction of Ugba seed oil from raw seeds offers limited insight into the effects of pre-treatment; therefore, this study examined how different pre-treatment procedures influence the yield and chemical properties of Ugba seed oils. The seeds were subjected to different pre-treatments, such as cooking and roasting, and later blended into powder. Oil was extracted from each pre-treated powder by deploying the Soxhlet extraction protocol. The recovered oil was analysed for yield, quality attributes, chemical composition, and phytochemical contents. The oil yield for raw Ugba seeds was 46.88%, 42.38% for cooked Ugba seeds, and 58.19% for roasted Ugba seeds. The results showed peroxide values ranging from 2.51 to 6.84 meq O2/kg fat, free fatty acids ranged from 0.25 to 7.37%, while thiobarbituric acid values ranged from 0.03 to 1.84 mg/g. The iodine value, saponification value, unsaponifiable matter, smoke point, and viscosity values exhibited significant differences (p<0.05) among themselves, ranging from 85.10 to 124.55 g of I2/100 g, 176.45 to 211.37 mg KOH/g, 0.84 to 2.09%, 191.86 to 233.00°C, and 15.55 to 35.13 Pa.s, respectively. Flavonoids ranged from 0.01 to 1.40 CE mg/g, tannins from 0.00 to 1.02 mg/100 g, saponins from 0.00 to 4.49 mg/100 g, and alkaloids from 0.00 to 8.82 mg/100 g. Roasted seeds recorded the highest percentage oil yield, but with oil products of lower chemical stability, while raw seeds provided higher quality oil. This underscores the critical role of pre-treatment in optimising oil yield and quality.