Influence of Rooting Media on Chrysopogon Zizanioides (L.) Roberty

The present study was carried out to find the influence of some organic materials on the optimum biomass production of Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty (Vetiver) using soil (S), vermicompost (VC), cow dung (CD) and coir pith (CP) at different ratios. The final day results showed that the ideal combination for the growth of the Vetiver is 1:1:1:1 v/v ratio of VC/CD/CP/S. The pH, electrical conductivity (EC), nitrogen (N)- phosphorus (P)- potassium (K), organic carbon (OC), and carbon (C)/N ratio showed in 1:1:1:1 v/v ratio of (VC/CD/CP/S), on 120th day were 7.3, 0.38 dS m^?1, 1.36%, 0.11%, 8.7%, 20.5% and C/N ratio is 15:1. The root and shoot length, fresh weight, dry weight, number of culms, and total chlorophyll content of Chrysopogon zizanioides were 65cm, 197 cm, 312 g, 104.4 g, 36 culms/plant and 40.57 mg/g at 1:1:1:1 v/v ratio of (VC/CD/CP/S) treatment and compared to control sets, the increasing ratio were 6:1, 3:1, 12:1, 12:1, 3:1, 2:1 respectively.     

Host immune responses after administration of inactivated Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus vaccines—III. Kinetics for neutralizing antibody immunoglobulin class responses in donors and adoptively-immunized recipients

C57B16 mice were immunized with either live, attenuated TC-83 strain VEE virus vaccine or formalin-inactivated VEE vaccine combined with Bordetella pertussis. The kinetics of specific donor and adoptively-immunized recipient anti-VEE neutralizing antibody responses were studied. Donor mice immunized with either live or inactivated VEE virus vaccine combined with potent adjuvants develop specific anti-VEE IgM and IgG responses as early as 7 days post-immunization. Anti-VEE IgM antibody responses comprise the majority of anti-VEE neutralizing antibody at this early time period. By 14 to 21 days post-immunization, anti-VEE IgG responses predominated. When adoptively-immunized recipients were studied, the anti-VEE IgM to IgG predominance seen in donors early after administration was reversed, and for each time-period studied, recipients' serum anti-VEE antibody class responses consisted principally of IgG rather than IgM antibody. Since T-cells cooperation with B-cells is critical in the IgM-IgG antibody shift, these studies support the critical role T-cells exert in adoptive transfer in a murine model of experimental VEE infection. Furthermore, immunization with either live or inactivated VEE vaccine coupled to a potent adjuvant induce comparable donor and adoptively-immunized recipient anti-VEE antibody class responses.     

Anti-oxidant activity of Centella asiatica on lymphoma-bearing mice

Oral treatment with 50 mg X kg(-1) day(-1) of crude methanol extract of Centella asiatica for 14 days significantly increased the anti-oxidant enzymes, like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), and anti-oxidants like glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid decreased in lymphoma-bearing mice.     

Ascorbic Acid Effectively Improved Lutein Extraction Yield from Australian Sweet Lupin Flour

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Lutein is a xanthophyll, a bioactive phytochemical that presents itself as colourful pigments in plants. Australian sweet lupin flour has been...     

巴西橡胶树抗氧化胁迫基因——超氧物歧化酶基因的遗传转化及植株再生

本研究采用农杆菌介导法成功实现巴西橡胶树（Hevea Brasiliensis Muell．Arg）的遗传转化及植株再生。试验中以橡胶树未成熟花药的愈伤组织为转化材料，并通过与含有巴西橡胶树超氧物歧化酶基因（HbSOD）表达载体的根癌农杆菌进行共培养最终获得转基因植株。所用表达载体为CaMV 35S启动子控制下的组成型质粒表达载体．其中带有GUS（β-葡糖醛酸酶，uidA）报告基因，nptⅡ（新霉素磷酸转移酶）选择性标记基因，以及HbSOD（巴西橡胶树超氧物歧化酶）目的基因。为了进一步优化转化体系，试验中还就共培养时间，共培养基成分。以及卡那霉素浓度等因子对转化效果的影响进行了系统性的比较研究和分析。其结果显示，在卡那霉素浓度为300mg／L的培养基上存活的转化愈伤呈现出强烈的GUS阳性反应。之后，这些转化愈伤在含有2．0mg／L精胺及0．1mg／L脱落酸的MS2培养基上再生出体细胞胚胎。然后。成熟胚胎在附加0．2ms／L赤霉酸、0．2mg／L细胞分裂素。以及0．1mg／L吲哚-3-乙酸的MS4培养基上得以继续萌发并进一步发育成小植株。试验中所得转化频率为锄。转化植株在形态上与非转化植株相似。GUS组织学分析显示，GUS基因在转基因植株的胚胎及叶片中均得到表达。PCR（多聚酶链式反应）扩增及基因组Southern印迹杂交分析进一步证实了转基因植株基因组中uidA、nptⅡ及HbSOD基因的存在。     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of naturally occurring folates during tempe preparation

A trienzyme treatment (protease, alpha-amylase, and human plasma conjugase), followed by purification using SPE with SAX cartridges and reversed-phase HPLC with UV-PDA detection, was performed for determination of the distribution of various folate forms and content at various stages of tempe preparation. The major folate form in soybean identified was 5-formyl tetrahydrofolate (5-CHO-H4folate), followed by 10-formyl tetrahydrofolate (10-CHO-PGA), and 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate (5-CH3-H4folate), whereas folic acid was not detected and tetrahydrofolic acid (H4folate) was not detectable. The most predominant form in tempe was also 5-CHO-H4folate, followed by 10-CHO-PGA, whereas the quantities of 5-CH3-H4folate and folic acid were negligible. Quantities and retention of folate significantly decreased during the first boiling, dehulling, soaking, and second boiling procedures, yielding folate retention of 32%. A remarkable increase in folate content was found after fermentation, 5.2-fold higher than that of the boiled soybean. This may be due to de novo formation of folate by Rhizopus oligosporus, the principal mold in tempe fermentation. HPLC results were approximately 38-55% lower than the values obtained from the microbiological assay using Lactobacillus casei.     

Watching a protein as it functions with 150-ps time-resolved x-ray crystallography

We report picosecond time-resolved x-ray diffraction from the myoglobin (Mb) mutant in which Leu29 is replaced by Phe (L29Fmutant). The frame-by-frame structural evolution, resolved to 1.8 angstroms, allows one to literally "watch" the protein as it executes its function. Time-resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy of flash-photolyzed L29F MbCO revealed a short-lived CO intermediate whose 140-ps lifetime is shorter than that found in wild-type protein by a factor of 1000. The electron density maps of the protein unveil transient conformational changes far more dramatic than the structural differences between the carboxy and deoxy states and depict the correlated side-chain motion responsible for rapidly sweeping CO away from its primary docking site.     

Fortification of rice with folic acid using parboiling technique: Effect of parboiling conditions on nutrient uptake and physical characteristics of milled rice

Parboiling was used as a technique for folic acid fortification in brown rice. A range of parboiling conditions (i.e. 70 °C soaking for 1, 2 and 3 h with 0.15, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 g folic acid/300 g brown rice and milled for 0, 60 and 120 s) were studied to investigate the uptake of folic acid in the fortified rice. Approximately 20–300 μg folic acid/g was found in the fortified rice and an average of 90% of folic acid was retained in the washed and cooked fortified rice. The quality of the fortified rice was evaluated based on head rice yield (HRY), kernel dimensions and color. No significant change in HRY and grain dimensions were observed between raw and fortified rice, suggesting the economic value of rice will not be compromised with the fortification process and rice uniformity may likely be achieved after mixing with the untreated rice. Despite the inherent yellow color of folic acid, in comparison with parboiled rice, a significant difference in yellowness was exhibited only in rice fortified at 1.2 g folic acid/300 g brown, but not among those fortified at lower fortificant concentrations. The difference in lightness (ΔL^∗) (between fortified rice and parboiled rice) was reduced as soaking duration increased.     

Development, characterization and utilization of microsatellite markers in pigeonpea

Pigeonpea is a major legume of the semi‐arid tropics that has been neglected in terms of molecular breeding. The objectives of this study were to develop microsatellite markers and evaluate their potential for use in pigeonpea genetics and breeding. Two hundred and eight microsatellite loci were isolated by screening a non‐enriched partial genomic library. Primers were designed for 39 microsatellite loci, 20 of which amplified polymerase chain reaction products of the expected size. Nineteen of the primer pairs were polymorphic amongst 15 cultivated and nine wild pigeonpea accessions providing evidence for cross‐species transferability within the genus Cajanus. A total of 98 alleles were detected at the 19 polymorphic loci with an average of 4.9 alleles per locus. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.17 to 0.80 with a mean of 0.42 per locus. Less allelic variation (31 alleles) was observed within the cultivated species than across the wild species (92 alleles). The diversity analysis readily distinguished all wild relatives from each other and from the cultivated germplasm. Development of more microsatellites is recommended for future genomic studies in pigeonpea.