International Journal of Scientific Research in Biological Sciences
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Extraction of Glucose from Colocasia esculenta Starch: A Major Substrate for Ethanol Production
Get PDFGlobal energy consumption and demand are on an ever-rising trend. The current situation has led to an increased dependence on fossil fuels, thereby leading to dwindling fuel reserves, a rise in fuel prices, and several environmental problems. To alleviate the current pressure on conventional fuel sources researchers have started to shift their focus onto new renewable options like biofuels. Global mandates of blending bio-ethanol with petroleum have been accepted differentially in different countries. The global biofuel market is expected to rise in the coming years and pose huge opportunities for researchers as well as stakeholders. Starch is a major substrate for the production of glucose which in turn acts as a primary substrate for the production of ethanol. The current work emphasizes the use of Colocasia esculenta (Taro) starch for the production of glucose which could be further used for biofuel production. The glucose was produced from taro starch by acid hydrolysis using hydrochloric acid as the hydrolyser. Process parameters like acid concentration, temperature, and time of incubation were optimized. At an optimum acid concentration of 5%, the temperature of 100°C, and incubation time of 20 minutes, 25.3 mg of glucose per gram of starch (2.53%) was produced. The glucose yield was found to be comparatively higher as compared to other starchy plants reported. Keeping in mind the wide availability of the plant, and the ability to grow in wide conditions, it could be used as a potential source for the production of bioethanol.
 
Hepatic and Immuno-Remediating Potential of Phenolic Rich Concentrate of Phyllantus Amarus (Schum & Thonn) Whole Plant in Acute High Salt Diet Assaulted Animal Model.
Get PDFGluttonous habits on high salt diets have been accounted to be deleterious to human ecosystem worldwide, derailing homeostatic threshold, immunological inertia and eventually resulting to hepatic degradation. These influences had prompted many enthusiastic researchers to further investigate on the better/alternative medicinal option to ameliorate the high preponderance of salty-diet related immunological and hepatic derangement, and subsequently complementing the non-readily available but expensive orthodox medicine. Hence, this study thus evaluated the lethal dose and protective potential of Phenolic rich concentrate (PRC) of Phyllanthus amarus (Schum and Thonn) whole plant against acute High salt diet (HSD) (8%) assaulted immunological inflammations and hepatic functionality in animal model. The healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats n=30 were divided into five groups: Group 1: control, Group 2: High salt diet, Group 3: High salt diet+75mg/kg/bdw, Group 4: High salt diet+100mg/kg/bdw, and Group 5: High salt diet+150mg/kg/bdw of PRC. The results obtained (p<0.05) indicated the lethal dose of the concentrate was more than 5000mg/kg/bdw. Moreover, significant excitations were recorded in the level of inflammatory cytokines, interleukin 2(IL-2), interleukin 6(IL-6), interleukin 8(IL-8), Tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF?) and serum enzymes, Aspartate transaminase(AST), Alkaline phosphatase(ALP), Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and Creatine kinase(CK) of rats fed HSD. Though IL-8 was utterly impaired among others, however, the PRC significantly ameliorated all the compromised markers to near normal level in a dose-dependent manner. The results thus established the connectivity of the plant as used in trado-medicine and also accomplished the efficacy of PRC in remediating HSD induced immunological and hepatic derangements.
 
Evaluation of Antibacterial Potential of Butea Monosperma Leaf Extract
Get PDFButea monosperma leaf extract was evaluated in vitro for its antibacterial activity against various bacterial species i.e. Bacillus subtilis, staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using Agar well diffusion technique. Different concentrations of leaf (500- 2000µg), extracted with petroleum ether was evaluated. All the concentrations of leaf extract shoed antibacterial activity. The antibacterial potential of extract increased with the increase in concentration of test solution. Higher activity was reported at 2000µg of leaf extract in all four bacterial genera tested. Among all, high inhibition zone were observed against P.aeruginosa (1.9 cm) followed by S.aureus (1.8 cm), B.subtilis (1.7 cm) and E.coli (1.6 cm).
 
Allelopathic Potential of Selected Weeds Extract on Germination and Growth of Borreria stachydea (DC.)
Get PDFThe uses of paraquat chemicals as weedicide in agriculture soil have causes the loss of natural habitats, food, and pollution of environment, risk of human health, animals and contamination of water body. This research aimed to study the allelopathic effect of aqueous extract of Sesbania sesban (L.), Rhynchosia minima L, Indigofera hirsuta L, Tephrosia vogelli F and Crotalaria retusa L on seed germination and growth of Borreria stachydea (DC.) using in-vitro and in vivo methods at different concentrations 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. From, the results obtained, the extracts of I. hirsuta L and S. sesban (L.) had higher inhibitory effect at 20% concentration, than that of T. vogelli F, Crotalaria retusa L. and R. minema L on growth parameters of B. stachydea (DC.) when compared with control. In laboratory, most toxic plant extract against B. stachydea (DC.) was S. sesban (L.). Therefore mixed extract of these plant could be used in management of weed in order to reduce the use of synthetics herbicides in agricultural land for the control of weeds. Farmers should allow these five species with allelopathic properties to growth closed to cultivated crops.
 
Fungal and Bacterial Species Associated with the Deterioration of Fresh Tomato Fruits (Lycopersium esculentum M.) Sold in Aliero Market, Kebbi State
Get PDFLycopersium esculentum M. are economic vegetables that deteriorated due to the nutrients contain which allowed the growth of microorganisms on it. Bacterial and fungal species were identified using poured plate method and Biochemical tests. Three (3) categories of tomato fruits samples were collected, varying different degrees of spoilage; highly rotten, slightly rotten and fresh tomatoes. A total of sixty (60) tomatoes were randomly collected within Aliero central market. From the results obtained, seven fungal species and four (4) bacterial species were isolated namely; Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida species, Alternaria alternate, Trichoderma species, Penicillium digitatum, Mucor species and Aspergillus species and bacterial species identified were; Bacillus species, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus species. The mean colony counts of bacteria ranges from 2.9 x 103 to 6.0 x 102 cfu/g and spore formed per unit for fungal species ranged from 3.0 x 103 to 5.6 x 102 sfu/g. In conclusion, these spoilage of fresh tomato usually occurs during storage and transit as well as during processing. Since many microorganisms were identified as the major causal agents of the tomato fruits spoilage in the study area, proper handling procedure especially during post-harvest and pre harvest as well as during selling and buying of the tomato fruits should be employed to avoid damage that usually results to the spoilage of these vital vegetable.
 
Apoptosis Inducing Effects of Venomous Glandular Extract from Heterometrus spinifer in HepG2 Cells
Get PDFIn the search of alternative anti-cancer chemotherapeutic drugs, until recently, scorpions’ venom is one of the most promising sources which were highly sought-after. From previous studies, scorpions’ venom demonstrated promising inhibitory effect on cell proliferation and led to apoptosis in various cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of Heterometrus spinifer scorpion venom on HepG2 cells (liver cancer) to explore its anti-cancer effect in the aspects of inhibition of cell proliferation, apoptosis induction and tumor genes expression. MTT assay revealed that H,spinifer’s venom induces cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. Hoechst 33342 stained the condensed DNA caused by apoptosis in the cells treated with the venom. At the same time, propidium iodide stained the dead HepG2 cells with ruptured cell membranes. These findings showed a dose- and time-dependent cell death induced by the H.spinifer’s venom. Furthermore, TUNEL assay demonstrated the fragmentation of DNA in the venom-induced apoptotic HepG2 cells by a dose-dependent manner. Consistently, RT-PCR findings showed up-regulated expression levels for both capsase-3 and p53 tumor protein genes, explaining the cause of apoptosis and cell death. Taken together, these results highly suggest that Heterometrus spinifer’s venom can be a potential source of apoptosis-inducing agent.
 
The Assessment of Bacterial and Protozoan Contamination of Local Soup Condiment (Daddawan Batso) Sold in Sakaba Local Government Area, Kebbi State, North-Western Nigeria
Get PDFDaddawan Batso is a condiment produced by a traditional uncontrolled alkaline fermentation of the seeds of Hibiscus sabdariffa. They are abundantly produced in Nigeria especially in the North-West. The study was carried out to assess the bacterial and protozoan contamination of local local soup condiment (Daddawan Batso) sold in Sakaba Local Government Area, Kebbi State, North-Western, Nigeria. Samples were purchased and collected at random from the markets of Laraba, Makuku, Janbirni, Dankolo, Doka and Dirin-Daji towns. Clean hand gloves were used aseptically and sterilized polythene bags were labelled correctly according to the markets. The samples were then transported to the Laboratory for analysis. About 0.1 ml of the samples was inoculated on the nutrient media and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Gram staining technique was also employed and the samples observed under microscope using ×100 objective lenses. For the identification of protozoa, 1 g of the sample was soaked in 9 mls of distilled water for 7 - 10 minutes, centrifuged and observed using ×10 and ×40 objective lenses. The bacteria present were counted in colony forming unit per gram per sample. A total of six bacterial genera were isolated (Proteus sp., Escherichia sp., Klebsiella sp., Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus sp.). Further characterization revealed the organisms to be Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes, Micrococcus roseus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis respectively. Again, the morphological features of the isolates revealed that some are gram +ve (Micrococcus roseus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus spp.) while others are gram –ve (Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes). A total of eight protozoa was isolated and all were Entamoeba spp. The overall prevalence of the protozoa was 44.4%. Bacillus spp. and Entamoeba spp. were observed to be the key spoilage organisms of the condiments. Sellers should ensure that they do not expose the fermented foods during display for sale.
 
Studies on Antimicrobial Activity of Bacillus Species isolated from soil samples against Multi-Drug resistant Enteric Bacteria
Get PDFBacillus species is one of the largest sources of bioactive natural products exhibiting a wide range of antibiotic activities. Antibiotics have been used against various infectious bacteria and fungi for over many years. The increase in the resistance amongst enteric bacteria limits the existing options of antibiotics. In the present study, resistance was highest among the E. coli (73.33%) followed by K. pneumoniae (59.09%), S. typhi (57.14%) and P. vulgaris (33.33%). 17 Bacillus spp. isolated from soil samples includes Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquifacience and Bacillus licheniformis. It was found that isolate BS7, BS3 and BS1 showed prominent antimicrobial activity against tested MDR enteric bacteria.
 
Characterization and Identification of Fungal Species Associated with the Spoilage of Cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta L.) in Gwandu Local Government Area, Kebbi State, Nigeria
Get PDFfungal species are paramount important causal agent responsible for the spoilage of Cocoyam. Samples of cocoyam were obtained in Gotomo village of Gwandu local government, Kebbi State, Nigeria. Three (3) villages were selected for sample collections within the L.G.A namely; Rafin raggaye, Shiyar gobirawa and Garba gibbar. A total of Sixty (60) tubers of Colocasia esculenta L. were collected, from each points Twenty (20) samples of Colocasia esculenta tubers were collected. Pour plate method was used in the enumeration of potential spoilage fungi in cocoyam samples. From the results obtained a total number of seven (7) fungal species were isolated and identified namely; Aspergillus niger, Mucor racemosus, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporium, Rhizopus stolonifer, Rhizopus oryzae and Penicillium expansum. The most prevalent fungal isolate was Aspergillus flavus 32.5% and Penicillium species was the least prevalent among the isolates with 5%. The mean fungal spore count (sfu/ml) showed that cocoyam obtained from Shiyar gobirawa had the highest fungal load 4.3 x 106 and the lowest was recorded in Rafin raggaye 12 x 104. These fungal species isolated in this research were said to be pathogenic that cause the spoilage of Colocasia esculenta and hence their presence on cocoyam may be additional reservoirs for the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms and this could results to infections for consumers and economic loss. This raise concern over public health risks that may be associated with the consumption of deteriorated cocoyam and proper storage, package and handling methods with good transportation should be taken to reduce the occurrence and deterioration of cocoyam by these microbes.
 
Integrated Disease Management Wilt of Lentil Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lentis
Get PDFEffect of chemical, bio-agents and Rhizobium was tested alone and in combination to see their individual as well as combined effect on wilt disease management in pot under net house conditions. Eighteen treatments were under taken in this study, among them highest per cent disease control (70.89%) was recorded with Rhizobium (ST)+ Carbendazim.(ST)+ Pseudomonas sp.(SoilT) followed by Rhizobium(ST)+Carbendazim.(ST)+ Bacillus subtilis (SoilT) (67.05), Rhizobium (ST)+Carbendazim. (ST)+T.h. (64.64%), Rhizobium(ST) + soilT T.harzianum (63.36%), Rhizobium(ST) + Carbendazim. (ST) (59.47%), Rhizobium(ST) + Pseudomonas fluorescens (SoilT) (58.94%), Rhizobium(ST)+Bacillus subtilis (SoilT) (57.12%), Rhizobium(ST) + T.harzianum(SoilT) (56.66%), Rhizobium(ST) + T.harzianum(ST) (56.41%), Carbendazim.(ST) (52.48%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (SoilT) (49.92%), Bacillus subtilis (SoilT)(46.24%), T. harzianum (SoilT) (43.52%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (ST) (42.08%), Bacillus subtilis (ST) (39.04%), T. harzianum(ST) (35.89%) and Rhizobium(ST) (17.58%) as compared to untreated pots during 2016-17.