Journal of Applied and Natural Science
Not a member yet
2928 research outputs found
Sort by
Antioxidant activity and production of secondary metabolites of adult plant and in vitro calli of Anodendron paniculatum
Get PDFThe members of the family Apocynaceae are the rich in alkaloids, terpinoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and hydrocarbons. Anodendron paniculatum Roxb. is an woody climber, the roots of which have been used to control vomiting and cough. In the present study, adult plant and tissue culture plant extracts of A. paniculatum collected from Eastern Ghats, Araku, Andhra Pradesh were used for the production of their secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity. Methanol extracts of calli showed high contents of total phenol and alkaloid with 25.53 and 25.98 mg/g respectively. Methanol extract of tissue culture plant at higher concentrations showed better antioxidant activity with reference to standard ascorbic acid. For this study different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml) of extracts were prepared by using four different solvents. Tissue culture extracts from methanol showed maximum scavenging activity with 231.9±1.39 % at 200 µg/ml of concentration, while that of adult plant extracts showed the scavenging activity of 189.1±0.74% only. These results on high antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of A. paniculatum calli can be attributed to the presence of high phenolic and alkaloid contents in calli when compared to that of adult plant extract
Variation in spike initiation in some Piper longum germplasms of North East India
Get PDFThe risk of adverse reactions in herbal remedies is less and has become popular to be used traditionally for treating various diseases. The species associated with genus Piper are important medicinal plants used for preparation of herbal medicines. The present investigation was carried out in the Experimental farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-13 during 2013-14 and 2014-15 to investigate the flowering variation of some Piper longum germplasms of North East India. A total of 16 Piper longum germplasms including ‘Viswam’ as check variety were evaluated and experimental data revealed significant difference in spike initiation time among the germplasms with shortest spike initiation period (245.30 days) that recorded in germplasm PLJ-19 while the check var. recorded 287.40 days. Significant and shortest period for spike initiation to maturity was recorded in germplasm PLJ-19 (61.04days) followed by PLJ-01 (61.00days), PLJ-11 (61.38days) and check var. (70.03days).The number of flowering spike per plant ranges in between 58.53-113.73. The highest number of flowering spike per plant 113.73 was observed in germplasm PLJ-19 followed by PLJ-01 (109.40), PLJ-11 (104.11), PLJ-16 (100.33) and were found to be superior over check var. (92.07). The present findings has a significant contribution in determination and identification of germplasm having shorter spike formation period with higher number of flowering spike as the variation in piperine content depends on both the characters also
Growth and yield attributes of wheat crop in response to application of micronutrients: A review
Get PDFWheat is one of the most important cereal crop and staple foods in the world. Increase in productivity of wheat by balance nutrient management is one of the most crucial factors. The main objective this study is to assessing the role of micronutrients in improving different components of wheat yield. There are different methods of application such as seed priming, soil application and fortification but foliar application is more beneficial. This is due to response of foliar application has positive and quadrate in nature i.e. the optimum dose of foliar application of zinc for grain yield of wheat was observed as 0.04%. Among treatments of micronutrient alone or combined forms give better results over control. Results have show that micronutrient application substantially improved leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration, CGR (Crop growth rate), RGR (Relative growth rate), NAR (Net assimilation rate), plant height, spike length, spikelets/spike, grains/spike, test weight, tillers m-2, grain yield, chlorophyll content and biological yield as well as harvest index of wheat. The yield and quality of wheat products improved and boosted by micronutrient applications. Therefore, human and animal health will be protected with the feed of enriched and balanced nutrition of produce as well as it will help in facing the severe global food security
Diagnostic characters of three nymphal instars and morphological features of adult Collard-dove louse Columbicola bacillus (Phthiraptera : Insecta)
Get PDFThe morphological features of three instars of nymphs and adults of Columbicola bacillus (Ischnocera: Phthiraptera) collected from Collard-dove Streptopelia decaocto were studied. Present report furnishes Second instar nymph can be separated from first instar due to appearance of additional seta on pterothorax on seventh to eight adominal segments. Third instars can be distinguished from second instar due to appearance of pleural seta on abdominal segment seventh to ninth
Awareness and incidents of occupational health hazards among female workers of small scale food processing units of Punjab state
Get PDFFemale workers have to work both in the industry as well as at the home to meet their family’s daily need. The work pattern in food processing units is very repetitive and exposes workers to several health risks. Lack of protective clothing and equipment also exposes workers’ health to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) hazards and diseases, thereby reducing their efficiency and productivity. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to explore the awareness and incidents of occupational health hazards among female workers of small scale food processing units. The study was carried out on 30 women workers engaged in small scale food processing units. The sample was randomly selected from five randomly selected food processing units of Punjab state. Personal interview method, using an interview schedule, and observation technique were adopted to collect the relevant data. Results revealed that most of the respondents were aware about many of the occupational health hazards related to their work and all the respondents were suffering from muscle pain and discomfort because of working in awkward posture for long working hours. Majority (85 %) of the respondents were aware about the regular use of Personal Protective Equipment/Clothing (PPE/PPC) at workplace, but only 33.3 per cent were using apron, 36.7 per cent were using gloves, 26.7 per cent were using face mask and 40 per cent were using head cover at the workplace. Also because of the pain in the lower back of the respondents, many of their routine activities got affected. The present study highlighted the occupational health hazards faced by the workers of small scale food processing units and the causes of health hazards. It will be beneficial for the workers and the employers of food processing units to take preventive measures to avoid or reduce any health risks at the workplace
A review on ecotoxic potential of pollutants in fish
Get PDFFishes in the aquatic food web are at the top of most aquatic food chains and form an important link in the aquatic-terrestrial food chain also. They are easily available in the wild, market, can be easily maintained in the laboratory and act as important models for indicating the outcome of exposure of human populations to toxic and genotoxic chemicals in drinking water. They respond to toxicants in a manner similar to higher vertebrates and metabolize and accumulate pollutants. Food is a major route for exposure of human populations to toxic chemicals in water so fish and shell fish have been recognized as major vectors for transfer of contaminants to humans, as these major sources of protein in many countries, are often contaminated with high concentrations of pollutants. In living systems, these are biotransformed to various toxic derivatives which react with DNA and lead to tumour development are carcinogenic and/or mutagenic to life leading to the number of cancer cases. Epidemiological studies have revealed that workers in the dye industry had a higher incidence of urinary bladder tumours than that of the general population. Therefore, in the present review an attempt has been made to document the work done in past on the use of fishes for studying toxicological changes induced by pollutants. Actually, toxicity and genotoxicity of dyes in fish has not been much explored, therefore along with the few reports available on dyes, literature on toxicity and genotoxicity of other aquatic pollutants has also been reviewed in the present study
Electrocoagulation coupled with adsorption for effective removal of eosin yellow and nigrosin dyes in aqueous solution
Get PDFThis paper deals with the study of suitability and efficiency of electrocoagulation (EC) coupled with adsorption to remove dye from synthetic dye solution. The EC cell consisted of mild steel (MS)/copper plates as electrodes and dye solution as electrolyte. The effects of operating time, concentration, supporting electrolyte, current density and pH have been investigated to find out the optimum operating conditions for EC. The concentration of dye was successfully reduced (EY) ?50% and Nigrosin dye ?99% during EC under the optimum operating conditions of initial concentration 0.5ppm, 20ppm, current density 0.04 A/cm2, 0.015 A/cm2, supporting electrolyte 4g, 4g, electrolysis time 20min, 10min, Eosin Yellow and Nigrosin dye respectively, the removal efficiency of the dyes were found 46.69% and 99%, electrical conductivity were 125.0 S/m and 105.7 S/m and TDS left in the EC treated solution were 82.0 and 69.3 ppt. Further proceedings with solution for adsorption process help to improve the dye removal. Results of the studies are electrical conductivity 20 S/m and TDS 30 ppt for EY, for Nigrosin 64.2 S/m and 42.1 ppt
Evaluation of antioxidant potential of alcoholic stem bark extracts of Bauhinia variegata Linn.
Get PDFThe present study was carried out for the evaluation of in-vitro antioxidant potential of alcoholic stem bark (ALSB) extract of Bauhinia variegata Linn. Dried stem bark extract of B. variegata Linn. was screened to evaluate its free radical scavenging effect. Various methods like DPPH assay, reducing power assay, percentage scavenging activity of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radical scavenging activity were used for screening in-vitro antioxidant potential. Antioxidant potentials were concentration dependent which were compared with standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and ascorbic acid. The maximum scavenging effect of B. variegata Linn. alcoholic stem bark extract on DPPH free radical, superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide was 72.19 + 0.20, 81.60 + 0.22 and 76.06 + 0.16 respectively at a concentration of 2500 ?g/mL. It was clearly indicated that the alcoholic extract of the stem bark has significant in vitro antioxidant activity. Currently available synthetic antioxidants like butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT), Ascorbic acid and gallic acid appear to be associated with hepatotoxicity and many others negative health effects. Therefore, natural antioxidants may be preferred over the synthetic antioxidants
Screening for rhodanese producing Bacterium in freshly pressed Cassava effluents of a Cassava processing industry channeled to Odo-Oba Stream in Ogbomoso-Nigeria
Get PDFRhodanese is a key enzyme that plays an important role in cyanide detoxification. The enzyme was extracted, purified and physico-chemically characterised from Bacillus licheniformis which demonstrated the highest efficacy compared to the seven isolates of bacteria of the cassava processing industry effluent morpholologically and biochemically characterised. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and values were considered significant at p<0.05. This study showed that the optimum growth temperature was 350C at a pH 9.0. The highest duration time for the synthesis of rhodanese was at 40 hours. Potassium cyanide (KCN) and casein were the best carbon and nitrogen sources. The enzyme has a specific activity of 10.99 RU/mg, with a purification fold of 4.38, a percentage yield of 15.96%. The apparent Km for KCN and Sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3) were determined to be 30.24mM and 24.93mM respectively while their Vmax were 5.40 RU /ml/min and 5.07 RU /ml/min respectively. The optimum pH and temperature were 8.0 and 50 0C respectively. The enzyme showed a high stability at 500C. The enzyme showed specificity at 6.78 RU/ml/min for Na2S2O3 while it was inhibited by other sulphur containing substrates namely 2-mercaptoethanol, ammonium persulphate, and sodium metabisulphite The enzyme activity was not inhibited by metal ions such as (K+, Mg2+, Ba2+, Ni2+, Sn2+ and Na+) at 1mM and 10mM and was not significant (p>0.05). Therefore, B. licheniformis have the potentials of reducing cyanide pollution thereby enhancing effective management of cassava mill effluent before eventual discharge into the environment and this may be developed into a more effective tool for bioremediation. 
Opinion survey on the ecology of Sambar, Rusa unicolor (Artiodactyla, Cervidae) and its status with respect to crop damage in districts Jhunjhunu and Churu, Rajasthan (India)
Get PDFTo obtain the preliminary information regarding various ecological and behavioural aspects of Sambar, an opinion survey through questionnaires was carried out along with periodic fortnightly visits in and around the areas covering Bir Jhunjhunu Conservation Reserve and Bairasar Johad in district Jhunjhunu and Churu of Rajasthan (India) from July, 2018 to December, 2018. During the survey, 173 inhabitants of village Samaspur and 153 inhabitants of village Bairasar were contacted and it was observed that the population of Sambar has declined as compared to its earlier strength as reported by 58.38% inhabitants of village Samaspur and 62.1% inhabitants of village Bairasar. As far as the distribution of Sambar was concerned, 51.4% interviewees of village Samaspur and 54.2% interviewees of village Bairasar reported that Sambar population is randomly distributed in both the study areas. In relation to group size, 62.80% inhabitants of village Bairasar and 64.2% inhabitants of village Samaspur reported that group size of Sambar vary from 5-12 individuals. Further information regarding the crop damage pattern and financial loss was also collected and 61.8% interviewees of village Samaspur and 66% interviewees of village Bairasar were agree on the fact that Sambar causes damage to their crop which results in low to high financial loss. The importance of opinion survey and field survey based monitoring is emphasized for the ecological significance of the species among people of that region