Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences
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NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL PERTURBATIONS IN Caenorhabditis elegans EXPOSED TO ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDES
Get PDFThe ubiquitous use of pesticides all over the world leads to adverse effects on both targets as well as non-target species. The extensive and uncontrolled use of organophosphates (OPs), a large group of pesticidal compounds in agricultural and household products are resulting in high exposure to humans. This research has been carried out to study the adverse effect of OPs i.e., chlorpyrifos, trichlorfon, and disulfoton on model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to evaluate their behavioural as well as developmental toxicity at different time intervals i.e., 4, 24, 48, and 72 hours (hrs) of exposure. A significant difference was observed in all the behavioural endpoints like locomotion, egg-laying, offspring count, and learning along with developmental parameters like mortality, paralysis, and growth rendering from moderate to high toxic effects. Based on the above screening, trichlorfon resulted in glutamatergic and cholinergic neurodegeneration along with elevated autofluorescence. Loss in Yellow fluorescent Protein (YFP) and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was recorded by 57.96% and 30.52% using transgenic strains OH11124 (otIs388 [eat-4(fosmid)::SL2::YFP::H2B + (pBX)pha-1(+)] III) and OH13083 (otIs576 [unc-17(fosmid)::GFP + lin-44::YFP]). These results have shown the biological potency of toxicants in C. elegans and pave the way forward to provide insight into various neurogenerative diseases in humans
TOXICITY OF ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES ON HUMAN SKIN DERMAL CELLS
Get PDFZinc oxide (ZnO) has special physical and chemical characteristics which enable it to be utilized in numerous applications including electronics, sunscreens, pigments, and most notably in biomedical applications. Nanoemulsions containing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are progressively sought-after as an active component in cosmetic formulations and are used in sunscreens, moisturizers, and antiaging products. Zinc paste bandages including Unna boot consist of open wove cotton gauze treated with ZnO paste are now common medicaments for leg ulcers. The damaged and broken skins are vulnerable to ZnO NPs uptake. This being the case, ZnO NPs on the skin surface can affect the functions of surrounding cells in numerous ways by penetrating into the skin cells. This could exert toxicity effects on the skin cells over time depending on the concentration and site of ZnO NPs exposure. This review brings together some findings regarding the toxicity of ZnO NPs on human skin dermal cells and thus in turn enlightens the safer usage of ZnO NPs in skin care applications
EFFECT OF GREEN TEA EXTRACT ON MODULATING THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF STANDARD ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST THE CLINICAL ISOLATES OF Acinetobacter baumannii
Get PDFMost of the clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii are found resistant to the β-lactam antibiotics. This research aimed to determine the ability of green tea extract in modulating the antibacterial activity of standard antibiotics amoxicillin, cefotaxime, and imipenem against the clinical isolates of A. baumannii. The clinical isolates used in this study were collected from the Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, Wahidin Sudiro Husodo Hospital Makassar, Indonesia. To determine whether the bacterial isolate is resistant, the experiment was carried out using disk agar diffusion and Vitek-2 methods. Further, the antibacterial activity of the green tea, selected antibiotics, and their combination was determined by using a checkerboard microdilution assay. Results of the study revealed that among the selected two clinical isolates one of the A. baumannii isolates was found resistant to selected standard amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefotaxime, and imipenem, while the other one was found sensitive. Further, green tea extract with a concentration of up to 1.2 mg/ml didn't have any significant effect on the inhibition of A. baumannii growth. Similarly, at the same concentration (1.2 mg/ml) no modulation effect of green tea extract was reported on the antibacterial activity of amoxicillin, cefotaxime, and imipenem against the A. baumannii isolates
DROUGHT MITIGATION THROUGH HYDROGEL APPLICATION IN RICE (Oryza sativa L.) CULTIVATION
Get PDFSustainability in irrigation is an essential step towards responsible water consumption. In recent years, many studies have sketched climate-resilient agricultural practices to fight drought and uncertain rainfall patterns. Major rain-fed crops such as paddy and wheat require aid when there are abnormal dry spells. To mitigate the loss of crops from such events, superabsorbent polymers can be used. Soils amended with hydrogel or Superabsorbent polymer (SAP) retain moisture during drought to prevent loss of water through evaporation and percolation. This allows the crop to grow with less shock from drought. This study compares rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth rate under application (treatment groups) and non-application (control groups) of hydrogel, considering their high-water requirement. NDLR07 (recently developed) and BPT5204 (local variety) rice varieties were chosen for the current study. Randomized controlled trials were performed for each variety on a control group (NC & BC) and 3 treatment groups with 20% (NT20 & BT20), 40% (NT40 & BT40), and 60% (NT60 & BT60) deficit water supplies respectively. N, T, C refers to seed type, treatment group, control group respectively. Intermittent drought condition was imposed for 14 days to assess the resilience of crops. The water retention capacity of the sandy loam soil was better for treatment groups by 20% than control groups even at an average temperature of 40 ℃. Treatment groups continued growing through the drought phase and after, while control groups showed stagnation. Among the tested treatment groups, NT20 had the highest growth among all trials. The results of the study suggested that hydrogel application can help to combat droughts and thereby contribute to sustainable agricultural production by restricting the involvement of climate changes
EFFECT OF DOLOMITE AND CHICKEN MANURE APPLICATION ON PAK CHOI (Brassica rapa chinensis) PRODUCTION AND CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS IN TROPICAL PEATLANDS
Get PDFThe current study was aimed to determine the effect of ameliorant on Pak choi (Brassica rapa chinensis) productivity, CO2 emissions, and factors affecting the rate of CO2 emission. The study was carried out using a non-factorial completely randomized design with seven treatments. The imposed treatment are without ameliorant (control), 10, 20, 30 ton ha-1 chicken manure, 4 ton ha-1 Dolomite + Chicken Manure @ 10 ton ha-1, Dolomite 4 ton ha-1 + Chicken Manure @ 20 ton ha-1 and Dolomite 4 ton ha-1 + Chicken Manure @ 30 ton ha-1. The variables observed are the chemical properties of peat soil, fresh and dry weight of pak choi, CO2 emissions, and factors that affect CO2 emissions. The results of the study revealed that the combination of Dolomite and chicken manure has a significant effect on the studied parameters and the combination of 4 ton ha-1 dolomite + 30 ton ha-1 chicken manure had the highest pH change (average of 6.36), highest productivity, and CO2 emission (344.42 mg cm-2hr-1). Results of the study can be concluded that Dolomite and chicken manure has a significant effect on the various growth parameters of B. rapa chinensis and the properties of the peat soil
WOUND HEALING IN HUMANS BY OPTIMIZATION OF LOW FREQUENCY SIGNAL FOR PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD THERAPY
Get PDFA wound, in clinical terms, is any tissue injury that causes skin rupture which penetrates epidermis and dermis layers leading to uncovering of underneath tissues or organs. Wounds can be superficial or deep, acute or chronic, with minor to serious implications depending on the source, extent, and location. Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMF) may have varying effects depending on the type of target tissue. Triggering a biological event requires a specific signal to be applied. The effectiveness of a PEMF device is mostly determined by the waveforms utilized in conjunction with the pulsing frequency. Choosing the right PEMF signal is a crucial step in developing a device that can address the challenges associated with chronic wound healing and speed up the healing process. Therefore, the optimization of the signal generator unit in the PEMF system for wound healing applications is a necessity before starting the further process. Hence, the present work of optimization of the PEMF system was carried out by selecting an optimal signal on the signal generator which produces a significant quantity of current in the particular tissue site to provide improved wound healing results. A total of 120 signal generator designs were simulated and optimized to six signal generators having frequencies of 10Hz, 20Hz, 30Hz, 40Hz, 50Hz, and 100Hz and duty cycle 25%. For both groups, the average frequency and duty cycle were calculated and tested using independent samples t-test to see if there were any differences between them. No statistically significant difference was found for frequency (p=0.9977) and duty cycle (p=0.5090). Because of the necessity of the right PEMF signal selection for every trial to be successful, this work will act as a gateway for selecting, understanding,` and considering the proper signal which could initiate the respective biological effect and accelerate the wound healing process
OPTIMIZING THE PRODUCTION OF A FUNCTIONAL TYPE A RECOMBINANT ENDOCHITINASE FROM Trichoderma asperellum IN Escherichia coli
Get PDFChitinases from the genus Trichoderma fungi are mainly responsible for their anti-fungal activities, which allow them to become the most widely used fungal biocontrol. Therefore, several Trichoderma chitinases have been cloned and expressed to facilitate their production and applications. A previous study of the same authors has characterized an endochitinase from a relatively novel Trichoderma spp., Trichoderma asperellum. To produce this enzyme more economically and efficiently, we reported the synthesis and expression of its synthetic encoding gene in the Escherichia coli M15 strain and established the optimal conditions for preparative scale production of the enzyme in its functional form. By lowering the induction temperatures, we observed substantial improvement in the expression levels of the active enzyme. At 30 oC and 0.5 mM IPTG induction, 1 L of cells yielded approximately 80 - 100 mg of soluble protein, accounting for about 9-11 % of total soluble protein. This figure may be an underestimation of the actual yield, as deduced from the SDS-PAGE data. The recombinant enzyme can be retrieved by simple repeated freezing and thawing cycles and purified to near homogeneity using Ni-NTA chromatography. The purified enzyme showed in vitro colloidal chitin hydrolysis activity. These results could be scaled up to produce soluble 42 kDa chitinase in E. coli. The study demonstrated an economical method to produce chitinases for various agricultural and environmental applications
THE EFFECT OF “GREEN” ANTIOXIDANTS ON LIPID OXIDATION IN DRIED SALMON (Salmo salar) DURING STORAGE CONDITIONS
Get PDFNowadays food industries were concentrating on substituting the use of synthetic natural “green” antioxidants. Therefore, the present study focused on lipid oxidations in dried salmon (Salmo salar) with and without natural antioxidants (garlic powder, cinnamon) during different storage conditions, and a comparison was made with a synthetic antioxidant Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Minced salmon fillet mass was divided into four equal parts and each part was treated with natural antioxidant under study except the control. Each of these four parts was dried in two different ways, half portion oven-dried and the other half portion freeze-dried. After 24 weeks, these samples were tested for peroxide value (PV), Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total carbonyl content/water-soluble protein. According to the peroxide value (PV) results, it was noticed that the BHT was found to be the most effective antioxidant, followed by garlic and cinnamon for oven-dried salmon. Cinnamon was found to be more efficient than garlic in minimizing PV formation in freeze-dried salmon. In general, the initial study showed that freeze-drying was more efficient than oven drying. On the other hand, total carbonyl content for oven-dried salmon treated with cinnamon, garlic, and BHT, was found to be similar to the untreated salmon. Freeze-dried antioxidant treated salmon was generally found to possess more carbonyl content over time compared to the oven dried treated salmon
CHARACTERISTICS AND MECHANISM OF POTENTIAL PROBIOTICS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FROM TRADITIONAL FERMENTED FISH PRODUCTS: A REVIEW
Get PDFLactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used in the food industry due to their probiotic properties and fermentation activities. Traditional fermented fish products are dominated by a diverse variety of lactic acid bacteria with significant probiotic characteristics. Several in vitro and in vivo studies on lactic acid bacteria from fermented fish products have confirmed LAB strains to possess characteristics to be considered as probiotics that contribute to positive health benefits to the host and are generally regarded as safe (GRAS). This paper presents a review of the characteristics of the LAB strain that is considered as a probiotic. It also presents an overview of the probiotics mechanism of action and specifically highlights the LAB species with potential probiotic characteristics isolated from traditional fermented fish products
DESMIDS BIODIVERSITY IN FRESHWATER PONDS OF DISTRICT NAGAUR, WESTERN RAJASTHAN INDIA: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
Get PDFThe present study was carried out to investigate the desmids biodiversity in traditional freshwater reservoirs of Nagaur district, Western Rajasthan, India. The samples were collected in January 2021 from the freshwater small ponds which harvests rainwater located in and around Nagaur city. These samples were analyzed by following the standard method prescribed by A.P.H.A for assessing the various physicochemical parameters such as pH, TDS, Fluoride, Nitrate, Chloride, total alkalinity, and total hardness to check drinking water quality and for ecological assessment. Furthermore desmids species-level identification and description have been done with the help of standard literatures and monographs. Results of physicochemical parameters indicate the deteriorating drinking water quality of all four sampling sites. In the present study total of 16 species belong to 5 genera i.e. Netrium, Closterium, Cosmerium, Staurastrum, and Eustrum of desmids have been recorded for the first time from the freshwater ponds located in or around the Nagaur city. The higher biodiversity of Closterium and Cosmarium species at Jhada talab confirm its significant relationship with high calcium and nutrient-rich water quality. While low biodiversity of desmids at remaining all village ponds indicates that high pH and oligotrophic quality decreases the desmids biodiversity. Results of this study might be helpful to assess the geographic distribution of desmids flora of Nagaur district and establish water quality of protected freshwater habitats as well as in updating the list of current species of desmids in this sub-region