Journal of Underutilized Legumes

Morphological and Biochemical Assessment of Basella alba Linn. and Basella rubra Roxb under Drought Stress

A.O. Oluwajobi — 2025-01-21

This research investigated the biochemical and morphological responses of Basella alba and B. rubra to drought stress. The research was performed in the screen house, sandy-loamy soil was collected and four levels of drought regime was used as treatment and a control experiment was set up for the two vegetables. Drought interval of 5, 10, 15 and 20 days were used as treatments while a control experiment which was not starved of water at any point. Five replicates were set up for each treatment. The stress was introduced at 12 Weeks after planting (WAP). Results showed that reduction in selected morphological characteristics. Number of leaves per pot (4.33), plant height (10.76cm), leaf area (12.87m²m^?2) and stem girth (0.72cm) were higher in the control than in the drought-exposed groups. For the index of tolerance (STI), the shoot fresh weight STI at day 5 (152.50%) was observed to be higher, the root fresh weight STI 5(151.00%) and 10(34.05%) significantly (p<0.05) increased when compared with day 15 (32.05%) and 20 (31.70%); in Basella rubra, the stomata of the control group are few compared to other treatments both at the adaxial and the abaxial surface (75.75; 70.37) of the leaf. There was increase in carotene levels for both plants after 20 days exposure. The study revealed the variation in the ability of these two vegetables to survive various water shortage regime which explains why the vegetables goes into hibernation during extreme drought, it also showed water stress effects on the biochemical contents of these vegetables.

Phylogenetic Analysis and Protein Structure Characterization of the matK Gene in Sphenostylis stenocarpa and Related Legumes

N.E. Edu — 2025-01-23

Legumes are essential for global nutrition and agriculture, providing significant protein, vital nutrients, and beneficial compounds. African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa), an important legume for agriculture and food security, faces challenges like high anti-nutritional factors, hard seed coats, long lifecycles, and photoperiod sensitivity. Their genetic diversity and that of related legumes remain underexplored. The Maturase K (matK) gene, a chloroplast marker with a high substitution rate, is widely used in studying genetic diversity and species evolution. This study focuses on the matK gene in legumes, specifically analysing S. stenocarpa and related species, to enhance understanding of their genetic diversity and potential for improvement. Nucleotide sequences for several leguminous species, including S. stenocarpa, Sphenostylis angustifolia, Vigna aconitifolia, Vigna angularis, Vigna umbellata, Vigna mungo, Cajanus cajan, Phaseolus vulgaris, and Glycine max were retrieved from NCBI database. Phylogenetic relationships were assessed using MEGA 6 software with Clustal W alignments and 1000 bootstrap resampling. The secondary and tertiary structures of proteins of the matK gene were predicted using the GORIV and Phyre2 tools, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two primary clusters: one containing exclusively P. vulgaris with high bootstrap support, and another encompassing the remaining legumes, further divided into sub-clusters with C. cajan distinct from Vigna species. Structural analysis showed S. stenocarpa exhibited the highest percentage of alpha helix (36.54%), while C. cajan displayed the lowest alpha helix and highest random coil. Notably, P. vulgaris had the highest percentage of extended strands (35.21%). Tertiary structure predictions indicated that while Vigna species shared similar folding patterns, P. vulgaris and C. cajan had unique tertiary structures. These findings underscore significant evolutionary differences among the legumes and highlight the potential for genetic enhancement of these important crops.

Antimicrobial and Phytochemical Evaluation of Vigna subterranean (L.) Verdc. (Bambara groundnut)

A.A. Sarki — 2025-01-25

Vigna subterranean, an underutilized legume commonly utilized in local therapy to resolve health conditions mediated by bacterial and fungal infections, was the primary purpose of this research work. The main objectives were to carry out a comprehensive examination of specific chemical components of the plant and explore the antibacterial and antifungal efficiency of the ethanolic extract from the root of V. subterranean. After the samples were collected, they were dried in the shade, pulverized, and then macerated (with 100% ethanol) to extract the components. The resulting liquid extract was subjected to evaporation to attain dryness and then underwent both phytochemical screening and antimicrobial assessment employing varying concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/ml) to evaluate the susceptibility of clinical bacterial strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) and also a fungus (Candida albicans) utilizing established protocols, with Ciprofloxacin and Fluconazole utilized as positive controls for antibacterial and antifungal investigations, respectively. The phytocompounds present are steroid, alkaloids, tannins, saponins and flavonoids while anthraquinone was conspicuously absent. The results revealed that the effectiveness of the extract from this plant is dose-dependent, with the most significant inhibition zone observed at 1.5 mm/ml for both antibacterial and antifungal evaluations. The antimicrobial properties demonstrated were enhanced when plant extracts were augmented with Ciprofloxacin against the test isolates. The findings derived from this study emphasize the potential of the V. subterranean root as a promising reservoir for antimicrobial agents, thereby corroborating the historical usage of the plant in traditional medicine to combat microbial infections.