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Role
of Superoxide Dismutase During Stress Signaling in Withania
somnifera (L.) Dunal
-- Renu
Sahu, Sabiha Naz and Modhumita Ghosh
Plants
exposed to stress undergo changes in their metabolism in
order to adapt to the changes in their environment. The
present study deals with the effect of abscisic acid (ABA),
poly ethylene glycol (PEG) mediated water stress and NaCl
stress on superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in leaves
of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. Leaves of W. somnifera
were incubated in vitro with different concentrations of
ABA, NaCl and PEG with duration ranging from 0 to 8 hours.
Both ABA and NaCl had a significant effect on the enzyme
activity with maximum activity occurring during 4th
and 6th hour in both stresses. However, the PEG
mediated drought stress revealed no significant change in
the SOD activity. The results in the present study highlights
a probable occurrence of oxidative burst in Withania leaves
during 4th and 6th hour of stress
signaling.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Use
of Low Calorific Fast Food from Fruit Pulp and Betel Leaf
Extract in the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus
-- Arijit
Nath, Saptarshi Sen, Chaiti Nath, Esheeta Ghosh, Prerana
Agarwal and A K Mitra
The
antioxidant fast food was prepared from papaya, guava, banana
and betel leaf extract (20:60:15:5 by wt).The food contained
low carbohydrate(13.78 g) and ash (0.64 g), while vitamin
C(124.48 mg) and potassium(301 mg) contents were very high.
Male albino rats were divided into four different groups.
The first group was treated as control and administered
with standard diet. The remaining three groups were administered
with alloxan in divided doses (totalling to 450 mg/kg body
wt). The dose of alloxan was finalized after conducting
a pilot experiment. The second group was administered with
antioxidant diet prepared from fruit pulp and betel leaf
extract. The third group was administered with antioxidant
and normal diet in the proportion of 1:1. The fourth group
was given normal diet. The feeding trial was continued for
a period of six weeks and only after seven days of inducing
hyperglycemia, weekly monitoring of body weight was carried
out. The blood sample was collected, the rats were dissected
,and selected organs (liver, spleen, pancreas, and kidney)
were collected. The organs were weighed and histology was
performed. Blood sugar level was determined. The alloxan
induced hepatic damage and pancreatic disorganization were
greatly reduced by the treatment of antioxidant food. The
maximum increase in body weight was observed in the fourth
group while minimum in the third group. The pancreas showed
maximum increase in the alloxan treated group, which was
minimized by the antioxidant almost close to normal.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Characterization
of Chitinase from Serratia marcescens GG5
-- Gursharan
Singh and G S Hoondal
Chitinase
from Serratia marcescens GG5 was optimally active at pH
6.5 and temperature 50 oC. The enzyme retained
90% activity at 50 oC for 30 minutes. Addition
of EDTA , Glutathione, Cysteine-HCl and Sodium azide (1mm)
enhanced chitinase activity by 30, 10, 9 and 12% respectively.
Chitinase from this bacterium degraded the swollen chitin
into N-acetyl-D-glucosamine as revealed by Thin Layer Chromatography.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Relative
Metabolic Activities in the Germinating Seeds of Lentil
(Lens culinaris) Treated with 4-Cl-IAA
-- S
A Hasan, B Ali, Q Fariduddin, S Hayat and A Ahmad
The
effect of auxin (IAA or 4-Cl-IAA) on the process of germination
in lentil (Lens culinaris) was studied. The surface sterilized
seeds were soaked in IAA (10-6 M) or 4-Cl-IAA
(10 - 10 M, 10 - 8 M or 10 - 6
M) for 12 hours. The treated seeds were allowed to
germinate in sterilized petri plate at 25 ± 2 0C
in an incubator. The germinating seeds were sampled at 24,
48 and 72 h after germination to study the relative water
content, rate of water uptake, mean daily germination, final
germination percentage, level of protein and carbohydrate
and the activity of nitrate reductase. The seedlings exhibited
a linear increase in all the above parameters as the germination
progressed. However, the varied concentrations of auxin
differed from each other with respect to the degree of response.
At the earliest stage (24 h) 10 - 6 M of 4-Cl-IAA
was the most effective treatment. Whereas from 48 h onwards,
10 - -8 M of 4-Cl-IAA excelled in its effect
and generated the best response. Overall, 4-Cl-IAA was superior
to IAA in its effect.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Effect
of Pesticides on Rhizobium and Nodulation of Green
GramVigna radita (L.) Wilczek
-- T
Srinivas, M Sridevi and K V Mallaiah
The
effect of forty different pesticides on two Rhizobium isolates
from green gram Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek were studied.
Among the different pesticides tested, 10 have shown inhibitory
activity. The pesticides which did not show any effect on
Rhizobium isolates in zonal inhibition technique were tested
for their stimulatory effect on Rhizobium isolates in broth.
Dimethoate and monocrotophos were found to have stimulatory
effect on both the isolates. Five pesticides which showed
either inhibitory or stimulatory effect were tested for
their effect on nodulation. Among these, captan severely
affected the nodule number, size, leghaemoglobin and nitrogen
content. Simultaneous application of Rhizobium and pesticides
in the field was more toxic, and maximum reduction in nodule
number was also observed. But when time gap between pesticide
and Rhizobium application increases, the toxic effect reduces.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Decolorization
of Azo Dye (Congored) by Pleurotus ostreatus and
Laccaria fraterna
-- K
Balaraju, J Joel Gnanadoss, C Muthu and S Ignacimuthu
Fungi,
Laccaria fraterna and Pleurotus ostreatus are potential
microorganisms for the degradation of azodye (congored)
in this study. Dye was demonstrated by their decolorization
in the culture medium. Heat killed mycelium of Pleurotus
ostreatus showed 35% dye absorption but treated mycelium
degraded the congored up to 95% on 7th day itself.
On the 14th day, except a small peak at UV region,
the entire chromatophoric peak was removed due to fungi.
Heat killed mycelium of L. fraterna exhibited 40% absorption,
while treated mycelium showed 92% degradation on 7th
day. On the 14th day and 21st day,
94-96% degradation was effected due to the fungal mycelium
and their extracellular enzymes.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Contaminated
Milk Production in the Villages of Dehradun District (Uttarakhand),
India
-- Harish Chandra,
Jatin Srivastava, M K Tripathi, Nishant Rai, Sachin Chauhan
and Ajay Singh
Escherichia
coli and other microorganisms underscore the importance
of milk and similar milk products as the causative agent
for several infections in humans. The present study deals
with the contamination of milk in the villages of Dehradun
district. Seventy four percent milk samples have been found
to be contaminated with E.coli. Though pasteurization most
often kills a majority of bacteria in milk, some strains
produce enzymes that survive the pasteurization treatment.
Heat stabile enzymes have the capability of further degrading
the processed product, especially long-life milk products.
The present study reveals the infection potential and resistant
microbes in Dehradun city.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Research
Note
Sub-Clinical
Upper and Lower Airway Diseases Among Workers Exposed to
Welding Operations
-- Kesavachandran
C, Mathur N, Rastogi S K and Bihari V
Welding
is a process of joining metals by melting and fusing. The
trade of welding also involves cutting metal objects, grinding,
brazing and in some applicators soldering. Welding is an
indispensable trade in modern society and is ubiquitous
in industry. According to the National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1988, there are at least 2,000,000
welders in the world . Welding itself consists of a number
of complex operations that include exposure to toxic gases
(particularly nitrogen dioxide and ozone), metal fumes (Zinc
oxide, copper, chromium oxides, nickel), particles (iron),
infra red irradiation, ultra violet irradiation, noise and
extremes of temperature.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Expert
System for the Management of
the Pests and Diseases of Oil Palm
-- Chong
Swee Seen, Latifah abd Manaf and Nur Ilyana Mohd. Zukki
In
Malaysia, the oil palm is a major element in agricultural
diversification. Countries in Latin America are establishing
oil palm plantations to meet the domestic oil requirements.
Thus, it can be seen that oil palm has become a significant
sector of the economies of many developing countries. With
the rapid expansion of oil palm cultivation, the injurious
pests of the oil palm include nematodes, mites, insects,
birds and mammals. The Malayan wood rat is a major pest
in plantations of oil palm in Malaysia, where it inflicts
important economic losses, if population is not controlled.
Rodents are also normally found in the plantation and might
significantly affect crop production and livelihood of farmers
in the plantations. The identification of diseases and application
of suitable remedy are essential. For such guidance and
advice the plantation owners have either to be expert of
it or they will have to consult other experts or the agricultural
institutions. However, in the developed world, the modern
agriculture have evolved into a complex business. The process
of decision making requires accumulation and integration
of knowledge and information from many diverse sources.
This has originated the concept of computer-based farm management
and precision agriculture. The potency, scope and appropriates
of expert system technology in the area of horticulture
have been well-realized a decade back in the developed countries
and several successful systems have been developed specially
related with decision making, disease, disorder, pest diagnosis
and others. Therefore, through expert system the process
of decision making is the interplay of knowledge and information.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
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