Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Efficacy of natural plant products, Azadirachta indica, Ocimum sanctum and Pongamia pinnata in the management of greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. under laboratory conditions
Get PDFUse of Natural plant products in the management of the greater wax moth, G. mellonella L. under laboratory conditions was carried out. The results revealed that the larval mortality of wax moth varied significantly with three different plant products concentrations. The mortality was high with seed extract of Neem (Azadirachta indica) and is ranging from 84.81 ± 2.7 to 93.65 ±3.25 per cent at different concentrations. Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) leaf extract of different concentrations showed moderate larval mortality for different instars ranging from 65.36 ±4.36 to 73.41± 4.46 percent. The corresponding mortality for Pongamia (Pongamia pinnata) seed extract was low 31.10 ± 3.38 to 52.1 ± 19.85. The effects of tulasi were moderate while pongamia caused the lowest mortality. Of the three plant products tested Neem performed better under all the experimental conditions
The influence of zinc on early growth and nutrient uptake by pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F) in an ultisol
Get PDFThe study investigated the influence of zinc on some growth parameters of Telfairia occidentalis as well as its effect on some soil chemical properties in field experiment carried out at the experimental farm of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. Four levels of treatment namely 0, 20, 40 and 80kg ZnSO4 ha-1 were used in an experiment laid out in a randomized complete block design with 3 replicates. Results showed that the soil Zn, N, P, K, Mg, exchangeable acidity, increased inconsistently from 0.002 mgkg-1, 0.60 gkg-1, 2.70 mgkg-1, 0.09 cmolkg-1, 0.30 cmolkg-1, 2.40 cmolkg-1 to 154.18 mgkg-1, in 80 kgZnha-1, 0.63 gkg-1 in 0 kgZnha-1, 3.86 mgkg-1 in 0 kgZnha-1, 0.12 cmolkg-1 in 80 kgZnha-1, 0.41 cmolkg-1 in 0 kgZnha-1, 2.50 cmolkg-1 in 80 kgZnha-1 respectively. The free Fe oxide, free Al oxide, amorphous Fe oxide and amorphous Al oxide also increased from 5.92%, 0.74%, 0.07%, 0.03% to 6.18% in 0 kgZnha-1, 1.98% in 80 kgZnha-1, 0.74% in 80 kgZnha-1, 0.35% in 80 kgZnha-1 respectively. While the soil pH, organic carbon, Ca and Na also inconsistently decreased from 5.70, 10.70 gkg-1, 1.60 cmolkg-1, and 0.06 cmolkg-1 to 5.09 in 20 kgZnha-1, 10.30 gkg-1 in 20 kgZnha-1, 0.36 cmolkg-1 in 80 kgZnha-1 and 0.041 cmolkg-1 in 20 kgZnha-1 respectively. The K, Mg and Zn content of the root increased with increase in Zn treatment whereas the Na decreased with increase in Zn application. The root Ca and P were however not consistent. In the shoot, the Mg, N, K, Ca, Na and Zn minerals also increased with increase in Zn application. The P content of the shoot was however not consistent. With the exception of Na uptake by the root, which decreased with Zn treatment, the entire nutrients uptake, plant height, number of leaves and the dry matter yield increased with increased Zn treatments. The leaf area and stem girth were however not consistent with increase in Zn application
Photoperiodic modulation of circadian rhythms in the silk gland protein profiles of Bombyx mori and its influence on the silk productivity and quality
Get PDFCircadian rhythms in the silk gland protein profiles of Bombyx mori were analyzed under 12 h light and 12 h dark cycle (LD), continuous light (LL) and continuous dark (DD) conditions. The phase response curves of protein rhythms indicate the prevalence of a series of silk cycles, each comprising three phases; transcription, translation and consolidation of silk proteins. In the 24h- protein rhythm, the silk cycle repeats every 3h, 42 m under LD, 2h, 36m under LL and 3h under DD. The light and dark conditions advanced the rhythm of each silk cycle by 48m and 24m respectively. As a result the silk gland completes 7 rounds of protein synthesis under LD, 9 rounds under LL and 8 rounds under DD during the 24h-free running time of the rhythm. The light-induced clock-shift in the protein rhythm caused significant gains in economic parameters of sericulture with positive signals for enhancing silk productivity and quality
Effect of combinations of four trace elements on cadmium bioaccumulation in a few tissues of male albino rats
Get PDFThe present study is designed to investigate the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) in selected tissues such as liver, kidney, testis and small intestine of male albino rats treated for Cd and after combined supplementation with Zinc (Zn) + Iron (Fe) and Selenium (Se) + Copper (Cu). The wistar albino rats were treated with cadmium chloride(CdCl2)at a dose of 1/10th LD50 i.e. 22.5 mg / kg body weight for 7, 15 and 30 days(d) time intervals. After 15 d to Cd treatment, the rats were then supplemented with the above combination of two trace elements and thenobserved for accumulation of Cd at specific time intervals. These trace elements at a dosage of 1 mg/ kg body weight of Se, 16mg/kg body weight of Cu, 12 mg / kg body weight of Zn and 40 mg / kg body weight of Fe were given as supplements. There was significant Cd accumulation in liver and kidney among the selected tissues before to supplementation and there was significant decrease in the Cd accumulation levels in all the tissues after trace element supplementation. Moreover the 30d Zn + Fe supplemented rat kidney showed maximum decrease in Cd accumulation (8.327?g/g wet wt. of the tissue)
A preliminary study on amphizoic amoebae with special reference to their preference for bacterial food
Get PDFThe present study was planned to screen the growth pattern of six different species of pathogenic and non pathogenic amphizoic amoebae viz. Naegleria fowleri, N. gruberi, Acanthamoeba culbertsoni, A. rhysodes, A. polyphaga and A. glebae using six different bacterial species like Escherichia coli (Strain E1 and E2 and E. coli lactose +ve), Proteus, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas as food in their in vitro growth on non-nutrient agar medium. It was observed that out of six amoebae used; the pathogenic N. fowleri and A. culbertsoni were feeding on E. coli (all the strains). Feeding these two species of bacteria, the growth of these two amoebae was luxuriant, but not so good while feeding other strains of bacteria though they fed, survived and formed cysts. The remaining four amoebae were found to feed and survive only on E. coli (all the strain) and formed cysts but showed very poor growth while feeding on other four bacterial strains. It was inferred that E. coli is the most suitable bacterial species for in vitro growth of amphizoic amoebae for various purposes. This also reiterates that there exists a complex inter-relationship between amoebae and bacteria in different habitats
Characterization and evaluation of heavy metal tolerance of bacterial species from soil of waste area near Riyan steel rolling mills, Muzaffarnagar, India
Get PDFThe present study observed a variety of microorganisms from the soil of the waste area near Riyan Steel Rolling Mills , Muzaffarnagar. Among the microorganisms, 10 isolates of Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus showed great potential against detrimental heavy metals like Hg, Pb, Zn. Out of these 10 isolates, only 2 isolates of Bacillus subtilis (N1A2, N1P2), one isolates of P. aeruginosa N1A4 and one isolates of S. aureus A1N3 showed tremendous tolerance against various heavy metals. Bacillus subtilis N1A2 showed15x109 cfu/ml in 100?g/ml of HgCl2 whereas B. subtilis N1P2 showed 15x109 cfu/ml in 400?g/ml of zinc acetatate. Similarily Pseudomonas aeruginosa N1A4 showed 11x109 cfu/ml in 150?g/ml of lead acetate. Staphylococcus aureus A1N3 showed great resistance towards 450?g/ml of zinc sulphate and maintain their growth up to 7x109 cfu/ml. strains were identified as Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus on the basis of their morphological, physiological and biochemical and compared with their standard MTCC strains
Interesting foliicolous fungi from Southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India
Get PDFAn account of five foliicolous fungal taxa are dealt herein. Of these, Asterina glycosmidigena, A. gymnemae, Irenopsis pavoniae, Phyllachora gymnemae infected the leaves of Glycosmis pentaphylla, Gymnema sysvestre and Pavonia sp., respectively, are described as new species while, Meliola pseudarthriae var. indica is described as a new variety on Pseudarthria viscida. The detailed description of these taxa is supplemented with line drawings and photo plate
A review on treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named after German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. The Alzheimer’s disease is now becoming curable by identifying the actual cause of the disease with the proper diagnosis of the disease of the patient. The disease can now be cured by drug treatment, by hormonal treatment and by using herbal products such as medicines. The drugs are based on antagonizing action of the components against the causative agents (â Amyloid plaque, Apolipoprotein E, Tau protein) of the disease. Thecommon drugs based on their action are N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, Cholinesterase inhibitor, agents for increasing blood supply and neurotransmitter in the brain, lipofuchsin and â Amyloid plaque inhibitor, free radical scavenger, agent for metal chelator and agent for increasing macrophage activity in the brain
Development and validation of a High performance liquid chromatography- Mass spectrometry method for 17a-methyltestosterone in Aquatic water systems
Get PDF17a-Methyltestosterone is used as feed additive to manipulate the gender of fish for aquaculture. Earlier a simple, yet specific and robust validated high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of 17a-methyltestosterone in fish feed. The present work describes a highly sensitive and robust Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry method for the quantitation of 17a-methyltestosterone in aquatic water systems using 17â-hydroxy-3â-methoxyandrost-5-en-7-one as internal standard. The method was validated in the concentration range of 0.2 to 25 ng of 17a-methyltestosterone on column leading to a limit of quantitation of 0.08 ppb or 0.08 mg/L in water, and has potential to increase the limit of detection and quantitation by an order of magnitude, if required
Toxicity of Vernonia anthelmintica Linn. (Asteracea) seeds against mosquitoes vectors
Get PDFThe Toxicological activity (larvicidal, adulticidal and repellent toxicity) of Vernonia anthelmintica seeds fraction was tested against different species of mosquito vectors viz, malaria (Anopheles culicifacies and Anopheles stephensi), filaria (Culex quinquefasciatus) and dengue (Aedes aegypti). The larvicidal toxicity of Vernonia anthelmintica seeds fraction was evaluated against the early 4th instars larvae of different mosquitoes species. Mean LC50 value of the column fraction KAL-4 from seeds of V. anthelmintica against the larvae of An. culicifacies, An. stephensi, Culex quinquifaciatus and Aedes aegpyti were found to be 64 ppm, 70 ppm, 143 ppm and 166 ppm respectively. The larvicidal toxicity was more against An. culicifacies, An. stephensi than Culex quinquifaciatus and Aedes aegypti. The seed extracts did not show any adulticidal toxicity and repellent toxicity even at 10% concentrated impregnated paper and 5% on human hand, respectively