Biotechnology Journal International
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Optimization of Spirulina’s Phycocyanin Extraction Yield Using Response Surface Method
No full textBesides cultivation, extraction is also a critical stage in enhancing the yield of phycocyanin production - a highly valuable compound from Spirulina biomass. In this study, the combined effect of three important variables in the ultrasonic-assisted extraction process on phycocyanin extraction yield, namely extraction temperature, sonication time, and solvent pH were investigated through a central composite design experiment. Furthermore, the response surface method was applied in order to define an optimal condition to achieve the highest extraction yield. The results showed that when temperature ranged from 35ºC to 45ºC, sonication time from 20 to 50 minutes, and solvent pH from 6 to 8, the average yield of 30.135±1.552 mg/g was obtained with an average purity of 0.871±0.043. A regression model was also successfully developed, which allowed a good prediction of extraction yield based on the three mentioned variables. On the other hand, an optimal condition for extraction was also proposed with sonication time = 43.57 minutes, extraction temperature = 37.6oC, and solvent pH = 6.7. These results were practically valuable for the improvement of phycocyanin extraction from Spirulina biomass
Evaluation of Total Hydrocarbon Contents in the Leaves of Selected Crops Grown on Crude Oil Polluted Agricultural Soil
No full textAim: The Total Hydrocarbon Content (THC) levels in the leaves of three edible plants (Allium cepa, Telfairia occidentalis and Zea mays) grown on soil polluted with 100 ml of crude oil were examined.
Study Design: This experiment was conducted in two groups where the soil samples were polluted before planting (PB) and polluted 2 weeks after planting (PA).
Place and Duration of Study: The research was carried out at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, Nigeria, within a period of 4 weeks based on each group’s pollution time.
Methodology: The tests for total hydrocarbon content (THC) were analyzed at different wavelengths for polluted soil and leaf samples using UV-Vis spectrophotometric method. Soil THC tests were determined on days 0, 14 and 28 respectively while THC tests on leaves of study plants were assessed on day 14 and 28.
Results: The total hydrocarbon content values of the unpolluted soil (UPS) and the non-planted polluted soil (PS) subjected to this analysis on day zero were (UPS = 96.38 mg/kg; PS = 1082.80 mg/kg). However, results obtained on day 14 and 28 showed significant difference (P < 0.05) between the unpolluted soil sample (UPS) and all the planted polluted soil for Telfairia occidentalis (TOPB, TOPA), Allium cepa (ACPB, ACPA), Zea mays (ZMPB, ZMPA) as well as, the non-planted polluted soil (PS). For the leaf samples, TOPB had the highest THC value of 14.47mg/kg and 36.73 mg/kg for day 14 and 28 respectively while ZMPB had the lowest value of 5.38mg/kg at day 14 and ZMPA, the least THC value of 7.76mg/kg at day 28.
Conclusion: Based on the varying THC levels observed in the leaves of crops used for this study; it was connoted that, bioaccumulation of hydrocarbons depends on the plants phytoremediation capability and the mode of pollution as observed in TOPB
Anthelmintic Potential of Vernonia amygdalina on Toxocara canis in Domesticated Dogs
No full textToxocariasis is a worldwide zoonotic parasitic infection and one route of preventing the disease in dogs and subsequent transmission to humans, especially children, is through treatment with anthelmintic. A study aimed at assessing the anthelmintic efficacy of Vernonia amygdalina leaves extract on Toxocara canis in domesticated dogs was carried out where the proximate and phytochemical components of the leaf extract were determined using the standard method and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, the anthelmintic efficacy was assessed in vitro and in vivo respectively. The study revealed that this plant contained alkaloids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenol and steroids. Lethal concentration (LC50) of 14.83ml/mg at 12 hours and a percentage egg reduction of 84% after 2 weeks was recorded, which revealed that the plant leaves have anthelmintic potential and this could be attributed to the presence of flavonoids which are associated with the treatment of gastric infections and also n-Hexadecanoic acid which accounts for it anthelmintic (nematicidal) effect, alongside Octadecanoic acid which is an anti-inflammatory compound
The Response of Local White Guinea Yam Cultivars to the Vine Cutting Propagation Technique Using Locally Available Rooting Substrates
No full textGood quality planting materials for yam cultivation is a major challenge and adapting the most preferred local varieties to high ratio propagation methods such as the vine cutting could help ameliorate this constraint. An experiment was conducted in the screen house at CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute to assess the response of ‘Labako’, ‘Nyamenti’ and ‘Kpamyo’ (check) to vine cutting under different substrates. The experiment was 3 x 6 factorial arranged in a completely randomized design with 3 replications. Single node cuttings were obtained from 3 months old plants and established in the various rooting substrates (carbonized rice husk; fermented rice bran; aged rice husk; top-soil ,cocopeat and carbonized rice husk + top-soil; 2:1).Highly significant differences (P<0.001) existed in main effects and interaction of the factors. All cultivars attained 100% survival in CRH (carbonized rice husk) and cocopeat. Kpamyo and Nyamenti had 89.6% regeneration in cocopeat, FRB (fermented rice bran) and CRH. Labako exhibited the maximum shoot growth (31 cm) in CRH whiles the minimum (10 cm) was observed in ARH (aged rice husk) for Kpamyo. Six nodes were produced by Nyamenti in CRH, whiles Kpamyo produced 3 nodes in the same substrate. Labako initiated 88% tuberization, higher than Kpamyo with 75%. Generally, the cultivars were successfully adapted to the vine cutting technique in CRH, FRB as well as cocopeat. CRH and FRB are locally available, hence less expensive to acquire and therefore recommended for cost-effective single node propagation of the popular local yam cultivars
Prevalence of Enterobacteria Species in Different Hospital Wards of a Tertiary Health Facility in Imo State, Nigeria
No full textAim: to assess the prevalence of Enterobacteria species in different hospital wards in a healthcare outfit in Imo State, Nigeria.
Study Design: The randomized complete block sampling design was adopted for the study.
Place and Duration of the Study: Sample: Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Aboh-Mbaise General Hospital, and Imo State Specialist Hospital. Between May to October, 2021.
Methodology: Using Cochran formula, a total of 360 samples were collected for the study from bedpan, ward floor, bed cover, and staff gloves, at maternity, ICU, and surgical theatre wards. Sample were collected by swabbing the surfaces using sterile swab sticks soaked in saline water. Following standard microbiological procedures, which include bacteria culturing in MacConkey agar to select for Enterobacteria, subculturing on salmonella-shigella agar and cetrimide agar to obtain pure cultures of specific bacteria species; the samples were subjected to morphological, and biochemical characterization. The prevalence was determined and compared for significance (P = .05).
Results: The investigation showed the presence of Escherichia coli (29%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26.84%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (25.11%), and Shigella species (19.05%), in all the outfits investigated, with their percentage occurrences. The wards floor showed the highest number of Enterobacteria species (38.96%) while the staff gloves showed the least (9.96%). Based on the wards investigated, surgical theatre showed the highest prevalence rate (20.25±6.55) and ICU had the least prevalence rate (17.75±5.63). The prevalence pattern of Enterobacteria species were significantly (P = .01) dependent on the healthcare outfits. The prevalence pattern between the hospital wards was not significant (P = .59) and there was no significant interaction between the hospital wards and hospital equipment (P = .84).
Conclusion: Enterobacteria species was present in the healthcare outfits (bed pan, ward floor, bed cover and staff gloves). Its prevalence is dependent on these hospital outfits but not influenced by the wards or the interaction between wards and hospital outfits
Structural and Rheological Properties of Exopolysaccharides Produced by Some Lactic Acid Bacterial Strains Isolated from Palm Wine
No full textAims: This study evaluated the physical, chemical and rheological properties of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) isolated from palm wine.
Materials and Methods: EPSs from palm wine LAB strains were produced on 6% sucrose broth, purified and freeze-dried prior to analyses. Molecular weights (MW), rheological and structural composition (functional groups) of the EPSs were determined using standard methods and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
Results: The average MW of the EPSs ranged from 2.02×106 to 6.53×106 Da while the flow index (n) values ranged from 0.03-3.13 at 0.2%, 0.06-1.51 at 0.4%, 0.38 - 1.85 at 0.6%, 0.14 - 2.26 at 0.8% and 0.55 - 6.42 at 1% concentrations at elevated temperatures for EPS solutions from the ten LAB species. The FTIR spectrum revealed prominent peaks of various groups of OH (3420 cm-1) and CH3 bending (2090 cm-1) in all the EPSs corresponding to both hydroxyl and amine groups, and aliphatic C-H bonds, respectively. EPS synthesized by Leuconostoc lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp lactis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum showed weak absorption peaks (1148 – 1145 cm-1) indicating the C-O-C and C-O bonds, while absorption peaks of Lactobacillus lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (1267 – 1253 cm-1) indicated O- acetyl ester and other non-sugar components.
Conclusions: The FTIR spectra, rheological properties and molecular weight of EPSs synthesized by the ten LAB strains indicated potentials that could be exploited in different industrial applications, and as stabilizers in food industrie
Isolation, Characterization, and GC-MS Analysis of Fatty Acid of Mugil parsia Fish Oil
No full textThis paper reports the isolation, characterization, and GC-MS analysis of Mugil parsia fish oil collected from the Rupsha River in Khulna. The oil was extracted from the dried fish by using the Soxhlet apparatus with n-hexane, with an oil yield of 17± 4.0 %. The moisture, ash, and protein content of the raw fish were found to be 75.45 %, 1.258 %, and 20.00 % respectively. The physicochemical compositions of the extracted oil like color, specific gravity, peroxide value, saponification value, free fatty acid (FFA), acid value, and iodine value were determined and were found to be yellowish brown in color, 0.913±0.31, 9.9±0.1 meq/kg, 295.4±3.0 mg KOH/g, 11.9±2.0%, 5.7±0.11mg KOH/g, and 150.3±0.12 mg/100g respectively. Fatty acid composition was identified by GC-MS analysis of the Mugil parsia fish oil, showed the Phthalic acid, mono-(2-ethylhexyl) ester, palmitic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid, icosanoic anhydride, glycidyl stearate were identified as the major constituents
Evaluation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Improved Strains Potential in the Bioethanol Production from Bagasse
No full textPlant biomass can be utilized to produce bioethanol, because they are abundantly available in nature. The cost of ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials is relatively high with low yield. But this can be solved by strain improvement processes. This study is aimed at evaluate bioethanol production potential of improved strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae developed through random mutagenesis. Bagasse was hydrolysed with 1% NaOH and 1.0M H2SO4 respectively for five days. The hydrolysed bagasse was saccharified using Aspergillus niger isolated from soil samples. Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from locally produced wines; sorghum (burukutu) oil palm wine (emu) and raphia palm wine (oguro) with the highest ethanol production (5.0g/ml) were used, and then treated with physical mutagen (ultraviolet light) and chemical mutagens (Acridine dye, Bromo acetaldehyde, dithiothreitol, Ketoconazole and Nitrous acid) respectively to develop mutant with high ethanol producing efficiency under varied operational parameters. Three mutant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae namely;- SUV, SCD and SCK produced higher volumes of ethanol (7.5 g/ml, 9.8 g/ml, 11.2 g/ml respectively). SCD and SCK were able to grow at 25% ethanol concentration indicating that they had higher ethanol tolerance ability than the other strains. The optimum temperature and pH for ethanol production by all the strains were 350C and 6.0 respectively. The improved strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae developed through random mutation techniques had produced more ethanol from the bagasse than the wild-type
Inhibitory Effect of Gallium Nitrate against Staphylococcus aureus and Its Action on the Formation of Biofilms on Titanium Surfaces
No full textAims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of gallium nitrate [Ga(NO3)3], an inorganic antimicrobial agent, against the growth and biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus on the titanium surface.
Study Design: This study is a laboratory investigation involving the determination of the inhibitory concentration (IC) of Ga(NO3) 3 against the planktonic strain of S. aureus and biofilm formation on titanium coupons.
Place and Duration of Study: Sample: Center of Science and Technology for Sustainability (CCTS), Federal University of São Carlos, SP, Brazil, between March 2020 and March 2022.
Methodology: The inhibitory concentration of gallium nitrate was determined in a 96-well microtiter plate in Muller Hinton broth. The potential of the antimicrobial agent to inhibit biofilm formation by S. aureus on titanium surfaces was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The cytotoxicity potential of Ga(NO3)3 was determined on V79 cells.
Results: The results showed that the susceptibility of gallium nitrate against S. aureus was 1.40 µM, while SEM images revealed that concentrations of 90 µM inhibited biofilm formation by S. aureus.
Conclusion: This research has shown promising results regarding gallium nitrate\u27s potential of inhibiting the growth of both planktonic and sessile S. aureus cells. In addition, coating titanium surfaces with Ga(NO3)3 would be an extra alternative to prevent implant-associated infections due to its non-toxicity to cells
Network-based Toxicogenomics Approach to Unraveling the Influence of Lead and Cadmium Mixture on the Development and Progression of Hypertension
No full textHeavy metals, generally characterized by high densities and atomic weights, are ubiquitous in the environment and are a public health concern due to the several health issues they pose to humans. Of all heavy metals, lead and cadmium among others are known to be capable of inducing multiple health effects even at a low rate of exposure. Hypertension (HYP), a major cause of death and a risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases, is known to be caused by both lead and cadmium. While the mechanism underlying the development of HYP induced by independent exposure to lead and cadmium has been well studied, the mechanism underlying the induction and progression of HYP upon lead and cadmium co-exposure remains mildly explored. Hence, this study aimed to elucidate the mechanism using a toxicogenomic approach. The set of genes affected by both heavy metals was identified using the comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD) while HYP targets were retrieved from the Gene Cards database. The shared genes between the heavy metals and the disease were identified and subjected to further analysis. The results of our analysis revealed the signaling pathways that are dysregulated by lead and cadmium co-exposure while oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction were revealed as processes pertinent to the induction and progression of HYP by lead and cadmium co-exposure. Biomarkers that could be used for prognosis evaluation were also identified. Ultimately, this study supports and advances the growing body of finding on the roles played by lead and cadmium co-exposure in inducing HYP