International Journal of Scientific Research in Biological Sciences
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Dyeing of cotton with natural dyes from Bluebell vine, Globe amaranth, Marigold and Shoe flower
Get PDFNatural dyes are known for their use in coloring of food substrate, leather as well as natural fibers like wool, silk and cotton as major areas of application since pre-historic times. In the present study, dyeing pigments were extracted from the flowers of blue bell vine, globe amaranth, marigold and shoe flower and application on cotton fabrics were analyzed. Two mordants ferrous sulphate and copper sulphate were used. The result revealed that different shades were obtained from the dyes when subjected to mordant treatments. Dyes obtained from these flowers can be utilized for various industries such as textile, cosmetics, leather, food and pharmaceuticals.
 
Novel Fruit Juice Based Nutraceutical Formulation with Probiotic and Cholesterol Reduction Properties
Get PDFThis work encompasses the use of a sporulating probiotic culture, Brevibacillus borstelensis, to prepare a nutraceutical product with a mixed fruit juice as a carrier for the culture. Lyophilization of the formulation was carried out using different dehydrating agents, pectin, ascorbic acid, gelatin, gum Arabic and maltodextrin in specific permissible concentrations. Pectin gave the best results in terms of consistency and appearance of the nutraceutical powder, hence was used in the final formulation. The nutraceutical powder was then analysed for its shelf life, physical, chemical and nutritional profile. It was also tested for heavy metal contaminants, antibacterial activity and cholesterol reduction capability. Microbiological safety of the formulation was verified according to FSSAI manual. Encouraging results were obtained from the analyses. Lyophilization helped retain the nutrients of the fruits as well as improved the keeping quality of the formulation. The novel probiotic containing nutraceutical powder prepared could be helpful to lactose intolerant population. Its cholesterol reduction property could be beneficial to hypercholesteraemic individuals.
 
Acaulospora paulinae, a new record of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species from Telangana state, India
Get PDFAcaulospora paulinae was isolated from the rhizosphere soils of Setaria italica (Poaceae), Emilia sonchifolia and Vernonia cinerea (Asteraceae) from Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy Districts, Telangana, India. The spores are globose to subglobose, 60-95µm in diameter. Sometimes ovoid 60-70 X 80-95 µm. Hyaline to sub hyaline or pale yellow. The spore wall composed of three layers. The surface of the middle layer is ornamented with evenly distributed pits 2.0-2.5 X 3.0-3.5 µm. A. paulinae spores were found in sandy loam soils with decreasing spore numbers. A. paulinae is a characteristic member of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in soils with pH 5.3-8.5 in sandy loam soils of Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy Districts, Telangana, India
 
ArticleSeasonal Incidence of Tobacco Caterpillar, Spodoptera Litura (Fabricius) Infesting Groundnut Crop at Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
No full textThe field experiment were conducted at Research Cum Instructional Farm at IGKV, Raipur (C.G.) during kharif 2018, to know the seasonal incidence of tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura infesting groundnut. Tobacco caterpillar appeared during 37th standard meteorological week (SMW) with a mean population of 0.24 larva/plant. The peak population were observed in the second week of October with a mean population of 2.28 larva/plant. Thereafter, the population declined gradually and reached to a minimum level of 0.36 larva/plant during 44th SMW i.e. 29th Oct-04November. The correlation between tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura and weather parameters during kharif 2018 results indicated that the population demonstrated a significant negative association with evening relative humidity (r = -0.602), while it showed significant positive association with maximum temperature (r= 0.708) and sunshine hours (r= 0.626). The population of tobacco caterpillar in groundnut had non-significant positive correlation with mean temperature(r= 0.334), while non significant negative correlation with rainfall (r= -0.483), minimum temperature(r= -0.247), morning relative humidity(r= -0.531) and wind velocity(r= -0.414).
 
Production of a Recombinant Anti-tyrosinase Chimeric Peptide in Methylotrophic Yeast, Pichia pastoris
Get PDFIn recent years, application of peptides increased as therapeutic agents due to their high activity per unit mass, highly specific and low toxicity. Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) is a substantial workhorse in pharmaceutical biotechnology, especially for heterologous peptide production. Hence, a recombinant antityrosinase peptide that is vital for formulating skin lightening agents is carried out in the present study. P. pastoris X33was employed in chimeric peptide expression and production. Coding gene (669 bp) encoding for a protein of small peptides separated with NG 223 amino acid having antityrosinase activity was cloned into pPICZα vector. Zeocin based selection of transformants was conducted in YEPD medium. The recombinant plasmid was isolated and digested with Sal I. Subsequently, it was transformed by electroporation and expressed under the control of the AOX1 promoter in P. pastoris X33. His Tag based approach (Ni-Agarose) was used to purify the recombinant peptide. The purified recombinant chimeric peptide (25 kDa) was characterized using SDS-PAGE. The culture when induced with 0.5% (v/v) methanol average yield was 40 mg/mL for 72h. The chimeric peptide was digested with hydroxyl amine and peptide cocktail purified by size exclusion chromatography. Antityrosinase potential of cocktail of purified peptide fractions was 62%. The recombinant chimer peptide characterized in the study can be used as a proxy in formulating skin lightening agents.
 
A Comparative Study of Antioxidants and Antimicrobial activity in Vegetables, Leafy Vegetables and Spices
Get PDFNatural antioxidants, especially the phenolic compounds act both by reducing the content of toxic compounds in foods and providing the human body with exogenous antioxidants. Vegetables, green leafy vegetables and spices are the most important sources of antioxidants in the Indian diet and are consumed on a daily basis. In this study, eleven samples consisting of four vegetables (beet root, capsicum, tomato, carrot), five leafy vegetables (spinach, coriander, moringa, mint and curry leaves) and two spices (ginger and garlic) were studied to reveal the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant components. The qualitative analysis of the samples for phytochemicals revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids and reducing sugars in most of the extracts. Total Phenolic content was determined in the methanol extracts by using Folin-Ciocalteu method and spinach was found to contain 80mg GAE/100gm. The enzymatic assay of peroxidase by continuous spectrophotometric rate determination was performed in which ginger was found to have the highest activity of 3.25units/100grams. Total antioxidant activity was found to be high in spinach with value of 0.60mg/100grams among the samples analyzed. Ascorbic acid content was found to be high in capsicum with 280mg/100g. Zinc which acts as mineral antioxidant and a cofactor of SOD enzyme was found to be high in beetroot with a value of 3.9mg/100g. Among the samples analyzed the antimicrobial activity was found to be high in ginger after measuring the zone of inhibition. The test was performed against gram negative bacteria E. coli strain. The work is aimed to evaluate the health beneficial properties of selected vegetables, leafy vegetables and spices in terms of their antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity.
 
Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes and childhood diarrhea in the Bikaner region of Western Rajasthan
Get PDFDiarrhea caused by E. coli has been recognized as an important health problem among children in developing countries particularly in India and is a research priority of the diarrheal disease control program of the World Health Organization. Despite progress in preventing diarrhea and the spread of medical facilities in India, diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death in children, killing an estimated 321 children every day in 2015. It is the aim of the present research to gather information on current definitions, detection and prevalence, characterization of genetic determinants, virulence mechanisms, antibiotic resistance and epidemiology of the major DEC pathotypes with emphasis on the case studies conducted in the Bikaner region of Rajasthan in India. It has been found that the incidence of diarrheal diseases to be very high during the summer months followed by rainy or winter months in the Bikaner region of Rajasthan. Mode of water transportation, poor handling of water (at the household level), the presence of wastewater and unhygienic conditions predisposed children to diarrhea. In addition, indiscriminate stool disposal by mothers, lack of hand-washing before feeding their children or hand-washing without soap has also been observed to be associated with the increased threat of diarrheal infection. The health associated risks of diarrheagenic E. coli in under-five children and the possible solutions to prevent the same are discussed.
 
Antifungal activity of Salacia oblonga extracts Against Human Pathogen Candida albicans
Get PDFSalacia Oblonga shrub belonging to the family ‘Celestraceae’. It is found in India and Srilanka. We have collected the plant extract from Western Ghats, India. In traditional medicines it is used for the treatment of diabetes and can be exploited to treat many chronic and infectious diseases. The plant extracts of S.oblonga has been used on the treatment of diabetes, polyuria, gonorrhea, rheumatism, asthma and fever. We have undertaken present study to evaluate the antifungal activity of S.oblonga aerial and root extracts against human pathogen Candida albicans. Antifungal activity of methanol extract (1 mg/ml) and ethyl acetate extracts were tested. Extracts have shown good growth inhibition against Candida albicans. Identified the minimum inhibitory concentration of the plant extract 40µg/ml comparison with synthetic drug Clotrimazole 60µg/ml. Separation of the phytochemical from the crude extracts by thin layer chromatography and identified the active fraction. Our study highlighted the antifungal activity of Salacia Oblonga extracts.
 
Faunal Diversity of the Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Gujarat, India
Get PDFA study on vertebrate faunal diversity (i.e., diversity of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians) of the Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Gujarat, India was conducted from October 2015 to March 2017. The Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK) represents a unique ecosystem with combination of saline desert and a vast seasonal wetland. A large portion of the LRK is under legal protection as the Wild Ass Sanctuary (WAS). Islands (locally called bet) are the unique sub ecosystems in the ecosystem of Little Rann of Kachchh. There are around 74 bets and ‘dhasi’ in the LRK. Owing to their relatively better vegetation status, bet’s also support relatively rich fauna. Western, Eastern, Southern and Northern fringe areas of The Rann also have good habitat diversity and hence, they too have good fauna. A total of 260 species of wild vertebrates (i.e., mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians) were recorded during the present study. They included 26 species of mammals, 210 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles and 4 species of amphibians.
 
An Indian Scenario: Emerging Advances in Nanotechnology as Drug Delivery System in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Get PDFThere are several significant assays including bioavailability, Toxicity, high clearance, and further current therapies require higher and frequent dosing to gain desired therapeutic effects for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Nanoparticles have been widely investigated for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Though, higher doses of Nanocarriers also increase the incidence of dreadful adverse effects. Wherever, nanocarrier properties are most populated by the use of different approaches like targeting ligands, to change the physicochemical properties including higher encapsulation, better penetrating ability in cells etc. The main advantage of the nanocarrier that they provide longer circulation which enhances drug localization at the inflamed site and selective targeting to enhance the therapeutic index of anti-arthritic drugs. However, the optimal properties of nanocarrier also depend on the route of administration and size of particles, thus larger size show more retention upon local injection and smaller sized ones are more optimal for passive targeting. The present article discusses the emergence of nano-carriers for anti-rheumatic drugs, which delivers drug molecule to the inflamed site by topical, intra-articular (i.a) and intra-venous (i.v) administration to take advantage of therapeutic efficacy by passive and active drug delivery. Advancements have been made extensively but still better investigations are needed to achieve the risk-benefit ratio for the development of safe, stable and effective targeting nanocarriers for the e treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).