International Journal of Scientific Research in Biological Sciences
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Microbial Inhibitory Potency of Oven-Dried Mechanically Extracted Neem Seed Oil for Ecofriendly Pest Control in Food System
Get PDFThis research evaluated the anti-microbial inhibitory potency of oven-dried neem seed oil expressed mechanically for use as agricultural pest controller. The neem seed was evaluated for its moisture content and eco system friendliness. The moisture of the seed when evaluated is 9.07% which shows that high level bio-active compounds will be extracted when the oil is expressed. The ash content value is 0.133%. This shows that the neem seed oil has a negligible negative impact on the environment. The value of the oil yield mechanically expressed from neem seed oil in the research is 38.9%. The neem oil was expressed from the neem seed mechanically using a hydraulic press. The oil obtained was formulated into four concentrations of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Each concentration was tested on four fungi species and four bacteria species. The fungi evaluated were A. flavus, A. niger, P. notaium and Rhizopus nigricans while the bacteria evaluated included Escherichia coli, B. subtilis, R. meliloti and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. From the mean results, the mean growth for both fungi and bacteria reduced as concentration increased. It was observed that A. flavus was completely inhibited as the percentage inhibition was 100% at 100% concentration of the neem seed oil. A. niger, P. notatium and Rhizopus nigricans recorded 96.06% 90.35% and 90.50%, respectively for 100% concentration. On the aspect of bacteria, complete inhibition was recorded for Bascillus subtilus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa while E. coli and R. meliloti recorded 96.27% and 97.28%, respectively at 100% concentration.
 
Evaluation of Antitrypanosomal Activity of Tetracycline in Animal Model
Get PDFTrypanosomiasis remains a disease with unsatisfactory medical control. To date, its chemotherapy relies on suramin, pentamidine, melarsoprol and eflornithine. Each of these drugs is expensive, laborious to administer, lacks efficacy against some trypanosomes species and lead to some significant side effects. This study aimed to evaluate the Antitrypanosomal activity of Tetracycline in animal model. A total of 12 adult rats, 7 weeks old of both sexes were randomly divided into six groups (1, 2,3,4,5 and 6) of 2 animals each. All the Groups (1-6) were intraperitoneally infected with 0.1 ml of blood containing the parasites. Groups 1-4 received the tetracycline intraperitoneally at daily doses of 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10mg/ml/kg body weight respectively, while Group 5 received standard Trypanosomal drug of 7.86mg/kg (suramin dose) which served as the Positive control and Group 6 was infected without any treatment (Negative control). Physiological, Physical and Behavioral Changes as well as Hematological parameters were all evaluated. There was decreased in the level of parasitaemia, decrease from higher to normal body temperature, increases in body weight and survival rate, as well as low pallor of the mucus membrane, loss of condition, pyrexia, lacrimation and aggression with high food consumption in all the tetracycline treated groups. More so, a significant decrease in mean PCV, Hgb, RBC, MCV, MCH and MCHC in all the treated groups often comparing with suramin treated group P-value <0.05. It was concluded that, Tetracycline can be considered as potent Antitrypanosomal agent and can be used in the treatment of trypanosomiasis.
 
Assessment of Microbial Safety of Bread Production Process in Some Selected Bakeries in Lafia Metropolis, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Get PDFMicroorganisms in the ecosystem are always looking for nourishment in order to survive. Their feeding actions invariably have a negative impact on our food chain, which is harmful to human health. Food safety is critical in the quest for healthy diets and sustainable food systems because it ensures that food is wholesome for human consumption. The goal of this study was to investigate the microbiological safety of the bread making process in a few bakeries in the Lafia metropolitan region. In Lafia, a total of 20 samples were collected at random from four (4) separate bakeries. Aseptic samples were collected during the ingredient mixing, kneading, dough proofing, cooling, and packaging stages of the baking process. To make the stock solution for each sample, 10 g of each sample was weighed and suspended in 90 ml of buffered peptone water (BPW) and homogenized in a beaker. Using the pour-plating procedure, the stock solution was serially diluted, inoculated, and incubated on the appropriate agar. Colonies were established, enumerated, divided into subcultures, and identified. The result obtained showed that the mean heterophilic bacterial count range from 3.2 x 104 to 8.7 x 104 cfu/g; 6.7 x 104 to 1.2 x 105 cfu/g; 7.2 x 104 to 9.7 x 104 cfu/g; 0.3 x 104 cfu/g to 2.3 x 104 cfu/g during the mixing, kneading, dough rising, and cooling and packaging stages respectively. The mean coliform count during the mixing stage range from 1.2 x 104 to 6.7 x 104 cfu/g, 3.7 x 104 to 7.2 x104 cfu/g during the kneading stage, 5.9 x 104 to 8.7 x 104 cfu/g during dough rising stage and 0.9 x 104 cfu/g to 1.3 x 104 cfu/g at the cooling stage. The mean fungal count range in the different bread production processes included 0.9 x 104 to 1.4x 104 cfu/g during the mixing stage, 1.2 x 104 to 1.8 x 104 cfu/g at the kneading stage, 3.2 x 104 cfu/g to 6.9 x 104 cfu/g at the dough rising stage, while 1.3 x104 at the cooling and packaging stage was only seen in one bakery.
 
Six species of Fissidens Hedw. (Fissidentaceae; Dicranales; Bryopsida), additions to Bryoflora of Andhra Pradesh
Get PDFSix species of Fissidens Hedw., viz., F. bilaspurense Gangulee, F. elongatus Mitt., F. laxitextus Broth. ex Gangulee, F. polysetulus Mull. Hall. ex Nork. & Gangulee and F. subpalmatus Mull. Hall. and Fissidens titalyanus Mull. Hall. are collected from different localities in Andhra Pradesh are being reported as new distributional records to the state, of which Fissidens bilaspurense Gangulee, F. elongatus Mitt., F. laxitextus Broth. ex Gangulee, are recorded first time from Southern Peninsular India, India.
 
Species Composition, Abundance and Diversity of Lakeshore Birds in Lake Mainit, Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to assess the avifaunal diversity of lakeshore birds in the three (3) municipalites of Lake Mainit, Agusan del Norte, Philippines namely Jabonga, Kitcharao and Alegria. It was conducted in fourteen (14) transects for a total of sixty-four (64) hours. Birds were recorded and identified using field guides, visual encounter and bio-acoustic cues. A total of one thousand one hundred twenty eight (1128) individual of birds were documented and resolved into twenty-nine (29) species of lakeshore birds belonging to fourteen (14) families. Ardeidae listed the most number of species seen viz., Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), Eastern reef-egret (Egretta sacra), Little egret (Egretta garzetta), Javan pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa), Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis), Yellow bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) and Cinnamon bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus). The Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), Javan pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa), Glossy swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta) and Asian glossy starling (Aplonis panayensis), were the most abundant species with a relative abundance of 26.4%, 14.9%, 11.4% and 6.0% respectively. The Cinnamon bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) and Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) were the least abundant species having 0.08% relative abundance and was encountered once all throughout the survey. Simpson’s index was high at Transect VIII (0.462) and low at transect V (0.089). Based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species criteria, one species was considered Vulnerable- the Silvery Kingfisher (Alcedo argentata). This study recommends additional surveys in the areas not covered by this study and a local campaign for the conservation of these lakeshore birds must be implemented to protect and conserve species considered as “vulnerable”.
 
Assessment of Meiofaunal Community Structure in Heavy Metal Containing Sediment of Tapi River, India
Get PDFMeiofauna is a vital constituent of freshwater systems because it helps in the biomineralization of organic matter, increases nutrient restoration, works as food intended for higher trophic levels, and shows high sensitivity to environmental changes. The study was undertaken to understand the meiofaunal community composition concerning heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cd) in sediment at different sites of the Tapi River. During the study total of 44 species of 6 groups of the meiofaunal community were identified i.e., Copepoda, cladocerans, rotifers, nematodes, Oligochaeta, and Ostracoda. Among these groups, nematodes were most abundant in both seasons and Ostracoda was reported least dominant at all the sites. According to heavy metal concentration meiofaunal community composition also differed.
 
In-Vitro Total Tocopherols, Phenol and Anti-oxidative Levels of Seeds’ oil of Telfairia occidentalis
Get PDFThe seeds of fluted pumpkins are usually eaten boiled or pulverized and taken as food additive locally. As a result of this manner of utilization by the locals, this study was conducted to ascertain the contents of the total tocopherol, phenolic and the antioxidative property present in the oil of the seed. The pods of the fluted pumpkin were gotten from a farm within the Benin metropolis, Nigeria. The seeds were ground in a blender and afterward exposed to soxhlet extraction. Other standard methods were employed in this study. The quantitative analysis of these parameters showed Total Tocopherols (76.0 mg/kg ± 3.11), Total phenolic (3.34 mg of garlic acid equivalent ± 0.15). Percentage inhibition of DPPH was recorded to be 47.95 % ± 3.47, Nitric oxide scavenging capacity was 56.47 % ± 2.37 and ABTS was 51.06 % ± 2.60 respectively. The findings revealed that the seed oil of T. occidentalis possessed beneficial antioxidant properties which could be harnessed in management of disease like diabetes and cancer among others.
 
Definition of mtDNA Markers for Studies in Pampas Deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) based On Fecal Samples
Get PDFPampas deer, Ozotoceros bezoarticus (Linnaeus, 1758), is found within a wide geographic distribution in Latin America with five subspecies recognized (O. b. bezoarticus, O. b. celer, O. b. uruguayensis, O. b. arerunguaensis and O. b. leucogaster). The limited access to biological material and the lack of genetic structure information, however, hinder the conservation strategies for the species and the management of free-living populations. Therefore, we selected informative regions and developed primers for amplification of small sequences of mitochondrial DNA (Cytochrome-b, Dloop, ND5 and COI) to provide tools for studies using non-invasive genetic sampling. We evaluated the polymorphisms and phylogenetic signal of each region and successfully amplified it in fecal DNA samples of pampas deer from Pantanal. As results we described a set of primers that allow amplified DNA present in any fecal material to be applied in different approaches of conservation genetics. The methodological approach described here will favor genetic analyses of wild populations and highlights the relevance of non-invasive sampling to assist the decision-making and conservation strategies for this species.
 
The study of the Relationships of Microcystis aeruginosa to the Geographically Diverse Distribution
Get PDFCyanobacteria blooms occurred worldwide, including in India Microcystis aeruginosa is a cyanotoxins producing species that occurs in aquatic habitats such as lakes and rivers and varies with different geographical locations. Microcystin (Hepatotoxin) causes serious health hazards in humans, animals, and aquatic living organisms. The ability of microcystin to inhibit the growth of cancer cell lines may lead to the discovery of effective anticancer drugs, pharmacological and toxicological significance of the cyanobacterial genera Microcystis. The influence of nutritional, physicochemical, and environmental factors had effects on the release of microcystin (Hepatotoxin) in Microcystis aeruginosa in different aquatic environments of central India. In this study, we investigated the distribution of potentially-toxic Microcystis aeruginosa for environmental factors that influence the abundance of Microcystis aeruginosa cell density in lakes, dams, and rivers of different aquatic regions (Bhopal, Ujjain, Tikamgarh, Gwalior, and Rewa) of central India. Microcystis aeruginosa populations were found in 97.5% of the sites, with the number of cells peaking in the rainy season (7.3 x 106 cells L?1), followed by similar trends in the winter season (6.1 x 106 cells L?1), and a significant decrease in the summer (4.2 x 106 cells L?1). Seasonal significant differences were observed in the rainy (p>0.07), winter (p>0.05) and summer (p>0.02) seasons in Microcystis aruginosa. Thus, a significant difference in microcystin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa cells and Chl-concentrations throughout the year, correlating with these various biological and physicochemical parameters, confirms the importance of local environmental factors like phosphorus, nitrate, DO concentration, and pH, as well as regional conditions like distance from built areas and nature reserve parameters, in influencing the geographical distribution of toxigenic Microcystis. Furthermore, the results show that microcystin identified the pharmacological importance of the cyanobacterial genera Microcystis aeruginosa.
 
Lipid Profile Alterations in Different Tissues of Channa punctatus, During Different Periods of Fasting and Refeeding
Get PDFMany animals undergo starvation every year for environmental reasons. Animals respond to starvation by changing their biochemical and physiological systems in adaptive ways that trigger the loss of body weight due to a lack of food. The organism tries to conserve energy by reducing the number of calories. In this study, Channa punctatus was administered for fasting periods of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days and refeeding periods of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The findings confirmed that after 7 days of fasting, liver lipids depreciated but recovered after 7 days of refeeding. Mobilization of lipids occurs in the muscle tissue after 14 days, and these reserves begin to re-establish themselves after 21 days of refeeding. However, after starvation, the lipid content in the muscle, gills, and kidney was reported in decreasing order, and the lipid profile concentration level increased after 28 days of refeeding in these tissues. Notably, the alterations in the metabolism of lipids through these stages can be considered survival approaches used by Channa punctatus. The alteration in the metabolic profile of the tissues, that influences in the stages of fasting, and the types of assets mobilized were all evidence.