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Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) - A Snapshot of Research
Get PDFMore than a billion people-one-sixth of the earth's population is infected with one or more neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in developing countries. Over the past decade, interests in NTDs have resurged as these are a barrier to achieving broader human development outcomes (e.g., improved newborn, child and maternal health, food, and nutritional safety). Several national and international organizations (such as the WHO, USAID, CDC, and others) concentrate on NTDs and fighting to control or prevent them. This review describes a brief introduction to NTDs, the global burden of the diseases in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years lived with disability (YLDs) and years of life lost (YLLs). This paper also reviews the negative impact of these diseases on global economies and discusses strategies for public health to prevent and eliminate these diseases, the achievements and challenges that can be achieved to address adversity there
Density, diversity and community composition of trees in tropical thorn forest, peninsular India
Get PDFTropical thorn forests (TTFs) are characterized by the presence of small and thorny trees which usually shed their leaves in dry season. A quantitative phytosociological study was conducted in Uthumalai Reserve Forest of Peninsular India to record density, species richness, diversity and population structure of trees. Diameter of all free standing trees ≥1 cm diameter at breast height (DBH, cm) was measured at 1.37 m above the ground. A sum of 4135 trees ≥1cm DBH recorded from one hectare study plot. With 2272 (54.94%) individuals Dalbergia spinosa dominated the study plot followed by Commiphora berryi (484, 11.70%), Grewia flavescens (259, 6.26%), Dichrostachys cinerea (206, 4.98%) and Anogeissus pendula (171, 4.14%). In total, 26 species belonged to 19 genera and 15 families found in one ha study plot. The family Mimosaceae had a large number of species followed by Apocynaceae, Capparidaceae, Tiliaceae, Rhamnaceae. Rubiaceae (each 2 species). Stand basal area of tree community recorded as 15.238 m2 ha-1. Commiphora berryi constituted 50.80% (7.74 m2 ha-1) of stand basal area followed by Dalbergia spinosa (19.43%, 2.96 m2 ha-1). The forest showed a reverse J shaped population structure. Shannon diversity (H), equitability (H’) and Simpson’s dominance (D) indices of study area recorded as 1.76, 0.54 and 0.335, respectively. Dalbergia spinosa, Commiphora berryi, Grewia flavescens, Dichrostachys cinerea and Anogeissus pendula topped the species important value index with 87.80, 73.53, 20, 19.79, 17.43 scores, respectively. In family important value index, Papilionaceae topped the list followed by Burseraceae and Mimosaceae with scores 129.32, 74.23 and 34.43, respectively. The study area endowed with a moderate species richness and diversity, and acts as one of the homes for an IUCN’s vulnerable tree species
Response of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems in Excoecaria agallocha to salt stress
Get PDFThe effect of NaCl stress on antioxidant enzymes activities was investigated in the leaves of Excoecaria agallocha. Plants were subjected to different levels of NaCl. 100 to 1000 mM. Above 500 mM these mangrove seedlings did not survive. The leaves of 60 day old plants were used for the analysis of enzyme activities. Parameters of enzymatic and non enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbic acid (ASA) and alpha tocopherol were determined. The highest CAT, POD, APX, PPO and SOD activities in the leaf and root enhanced gradually up to 300 mM of NaCl, the highest ASA and tocopherol activities in the leaf and root were observed at 500 mM of NaCl. These data suggest that the capacity to limit oxidative damage is important for the salt tolerance of E. agallocha
Drug repurposing in the treatment of COVID-19: A review
Get PDFThe first outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection was in Wuhan, Hubei, China in December 2019 and declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Currently, there is no proven effective vaccine or therapeutic agent to combat the deadly coronavirus disease. Currently, prevention from the infection, control measures and supportive care help to treat against COVID-19. Until an effective vaccine is available for COVID-19 infection, one can repurpose known therapeutic agents that block the entry of the virus into the host cell and control the COVID-19 infection. Drug repurposing is the new use of old drugs. In this review, the most common and possible drug treatment for COVID-19 is highlighted. The therapeutic agents include antiviral drugs like Remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, umifenovir, favipiravir and oseltamivir and other agents. Clinical trials are ongoing to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these therapeutic agents in COVID-19 patients
Differential expression profiles of anthocyanidin biosynthesis gene during black rice seed development
Get PDFThe black rice (Oryza sativa cv. Heugjinju) is rich in anthocyanins which is beneficial to human health. To correlate the biosynthesis of the pigments with relevant genes, the mRNA level of genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis was monitored by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) during seed development of black rice. The mRNA level of F3’H, DFR, and ANS, key enzymes in anthocyanidin biosynthesis, peaked at 10 days after flowering. In general, the absolute level of ANS was approximately one order higher than F3’H, F3’5’H, and DFR in 10 days after flowering. The transcript level of major seed protein gene GluA-3, taken as reference, was also at the highest on the 10 days after flowering. However, the level of CHS isogenes was highest at 15 or 20 days after flowering. The highest transcript level of the genes, except CHS, preceded the highest anthocyanidin content by 5 days. This pattern coincided with an increase of anthocyanin content between 10 and 15 days after flowering. From these findings, it is suggested that particular CHS isoforms might be responsible for the anthocyanin production in black rice
Allelopathy effect of Prosopis juliflora on selected grass species (Cenchrus ciliaris, Paspalidium desertorum and Lintonia nutans)
Get PDFProsopis juliflora growing frightening rate of invasiveness had affected the livelihood of the pastoral communities in the Amibara rangeland of Afar National Regional State. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the allelopathy effect of an aqueous leaf, bark, and root extracts of Prosopis juliflora on selected grass species such as Cenchrus ciliaris, Paspalidium desertorum, and Lintonia nutans. A total of 10 soil samples were collected from the Amibara rangeland of Afar National Regional State. The collected soil samples were mixed in a plastic bag to get composite soil. Further, the composite soil sample was subjected to analysis of physic-chemical characters (pH, soil organic matter, phosphorus, and nitrogen content). To study the allelopathy effect of Prosopis juliflora on selected grass species. To this, aqueous extracts were prepared from powdered leaf, bark, and root of Prosopis juliflora at different concentration levels (0%, 1%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10%). Further, the extracts were subjected to analysis of seed germination percentage and seedling growth of selected grass species such as Cenchrus ciliaris, Paspalidium desertorum and Lintonia nutans. Prosopis juliflora showed a significant inhibitory effect on seed germination of Cenchrus ciliaris, Paspalidium desertorum, and Lintonia nutans. grass species. Among the leaf, bark, and root aqueous extracts, the leaf showed the highest inhibitory effect on seed germination percentage, and the effect also concentration-dependent. Prosopis juliflora aqueous extracts of leaf, bark, and root of were exhibited significant inhibition on the fresh shoot biomass weights of Cenchrus ciliaris, Paspalidium desertorum and Lintonia nutans. when compared to the control. While the fresh shoot biomass weight of Cenchrus ciliaris and Paspalidium desertorum was highly deteriorated at (5% and 10%). Whereas, the fresh shoot biomass weight of Lintonia nutans momentously retarded at (1% and 5%) as compared to the control
An in silico approach towards exploration of the oxidative stress resistance of major withanolides of Withania somnifera in relation to COVID-19 management
Get PDFOxidative stress is the state of imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) in the biological system and the ability of the body to detoxify them resulting in increased accumulation of free radicals in the cells. This stress leads to weakening of the immune system thus leading to higher susceptibility to other infections as well. This also includes the weakening of the respiratory tract leading to increased susceptibility of viral infections as in the case of COVID-19. Treatment for any kind of abnormality requires the identification of the key target proteins and pathways that are being altered. Withania somnifera is being used in the traditional medicinal system to improve health and longevity thus creating a sense of mental as well as physical well being. The present study utilises network pharmacological approach to predict the potential oxidative stress targets of the three major withanolides: withanolide A, withaferin A and withanone. Primarily, the targets of the individual withanolides were obtained from the Swiss target and DIGEP-pred databases and the GO terms and lead hits related to oxidative stress were retrieved from AMIGO2 database. Totally 40 correlative hits were obtained as anti stress targets of the withanolides, which were subjected to functional enrichment and protein–protein interaction analysis to study the enriched pathways underlying oxidative stress response. Further the eleven crucial targets of the four selected pathways were analysed using molecular docking analysis. A total of forty protein hits were obtained as oxidative stress targets of the withanolides. Further, the pathway enrichment of these forty target genes showed the AGE RAGE signalling pathway as highly enriched pathway. Therefore, the AGE RAGE signalling pathway along with its underlying pathways namely MAPK signalling pathway, FOXO pathway and PI3-AKT pathway were chosen among all the other enriched pathways. Further the molecular docking analysis of the eleven target proteins falling under these four pathways showed good docking scores of the withanolides with all the eleven targets with the highest interaction against BCL2. From the above study, the biological targets and associated pathways of the withanolides have been retrieved. Thus the in silico approach undertaken in this study explores the role of the key withanolides in the antioxidant potential of the traditional medicinal plant Withania somnifera
Performance of black pepper varieties as intercrop in coconut gardens in the lower Brahmaputra valley of Assam state, India
Get PDFBlack pepper (Piper nigrum) is well habituated as an inter/under/mixed crop in plantation crops. A field experiment was conducted at Horticultural Research Station (AICRP on Palms), Kahikuchi of Assam Agricultural University for 12 consecutive years (2009-2021) for studying the performance of black pepper varieties/hybrids when grown as intercrop in 38 year old Assam Green Tall. Panniyur-1 produced a higher number of laterals with more spread compared to other varieties. Similarly, a significantly higher number of spikes (134.0), spike length (15.0 cm) and number of berries per spike (82.0) were also recorded in Panniyur-1. Sreekara recorded the lowest spike length (9.8 cm), while IISR Malabar Excel recorded the lowest number of spikes (85.0). Six-year mean dry berry yield indicated that the yield was significantly higher with Panniyur-1 (1.60 kg vine-1) followed by Sreekara (1.49 kg vine-1) and average yield of 1.00 kg vine-1 recorded in IISR Malabar Excel, IISR Thevam and IISR Shakthi. The oleoresin content (11.7%) and piperine content (5.2%) was found highest in Panniyur-1, followed by Sreekara (10.9 % and 4.5%) whereas, the lowest oleoresin content (8.8%) and piperine content (2.9%) were recorded in IISR Malabar Excel and IISR Thevam, respectively. Intercropping of black pepper in coconut garden recorded the highest net return (` 237088 ha-1) and B: C ratio (3.48) followed by Sreekara (` 212764 ha-1; B: C ratio 3.12) and the lowest net return (` 177938 ha-1) and B: C ratio (2.61) were obtained in IISR Malabar Excel
Productivity, export competitiveness and the changing structure of trade in spices and plantation crops: An exploratory analysis
Get PDFEnhancing trade competitiveness is viewed as one of the desired objectives of agricultural policy. It is also a widely held notion that enhancing productivity will result in commensurate improvement in competitiveness in global trade. This paper explores the relationship between productivity growth and export competitiveness (measured by revealed comparative advantage) in selected crop commodities in the spices and plantation crop sector. Secondary data on productivity and exports of selected crop commodities across spices and plantation crops for the last three decades is used to study the relationship. We find no evidence to imply that productivity growth will ensure better export competitiveness in these crops. The increasing competition for export markets among producing countries and increasing trade between producing countries adversely affect export competitiveness. The inter-trade among producing countries for spices is used to illustrate this point. The Grubel-Lloyd index is used to highlight the increasing intra-industry trade and the consequent change in the trade structure of these commodities from an Indian perspective. The study finds that a narrow focus on productivity gains at the country level will not enhance competitiveness in an increasingly open global trade scenario. The study outlines possible elements of complementary strategies (value addition, farmer collectivization, international cooperation) for enhancing the prospects of these commodities in the agricultural trade basket
Microbial inoculants and Trichoderma viride consortia for growth promotion and disease management in ginger: Microbial consortia for growth and disease management in ginger
No full textA study was conducted to evaluate the effect of microbial inoculants consortia on ginger under field conditions. Three biofertilizers comprising of Azospirillum lipoferum (nitrogen fixer KAU-AZO), Bacillus megaterium (phosphate solubilizer KAU-PSB), Bacillus sporothermodurans (potash solubilizer KAU-KSB) and two biocontrol agents namely, Pseudomonas fluorescen (KAU-PF) and Trichoderma viride (KAU-TV) were used in the study. Compatibility studies revealed that all the isolates were compatible with each other. However, P. fluorescens and T. viride were incompatible with each other under in vitro. Under field evaluation, consortia of microbial inoculants performed better than the single inoculants in terms of yield and disease management. The organic Adhoc package recorded the minimum incidence of rhizome rot (2.09 %) among all the treatments. However, KAU-AZO + KAU-PSB + KAU-KSB + KAU-TV recorded the minimum rhizome rot (5.23%) incidence among the consortia. In the case of Rhizoctonia leaf blight disease, consortia of KAU-AZO + KAU-PSB + KAU-KSB + KAU-PF showed the minimum incidence (5.21%). In general, consortium of A. lipoferum, B. megaterium (PSB), B. sporothermodurans (KSB) and T. viride was the most efficient for plant growth promotion and disease management in ginger