Effects of extraction methods on phenolic contents and antioxidant activity in aerial parts of Potentilla atrosanguinea Lodd. and quantification of its phenolic constituents by RP-HPLC

The effects of different solvent systems (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and their 50% aqueous concentrations) and extraction procedures (microwave, ultrasound, Soxhlet and maceration) on the antioxidant activity of aerial parts of Potentilla atrosanguinea were investigated by three different bioassays: 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP). The 50% aqueous ethanol extracts exhibited strong antioxidant activity measured in terms of Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) [(54.34 to 122.96, 29.82 to 101.22 and 13.64 to 41.43) mg of Trolox/g] with ABTS (*+), DPPH (*) and FRAP assays, respectively. In general, TEAC of Soxhlet extracts was found to be 1.8 and 3 times higher than ultrasound and maceration but slightly (1.2 times) higher than microwave. A positive correlation (r(2) = 0.931 to 0.982) was observed between total polyphenol (TPC) and total flavonoid (TFC) contents which ranged between 26.7 to 30.7 mg/g gallic acid equivalent and 16.8 to 20.8 mg/g quercetin equivalent respectively, with antioxidant activity. In addition, some of its bioactive phenolic constituents which contribute largely toward antioxidant potential such as chlorogenic acid, catechin, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and quercetin were also quantified in different extracts by RP-HPLC.     

Does white wine qualify for French paradox? Comparison of the cardioprotective effects of red and white wines and their constituents: resveratrol, tyrosol, and hydroxytyrosol

It is generally believed that the French paradox is related to the consumption of red wine and not other varieties of wine, including white wine or champagne. Some recent studies have indicated that white wine could also be as cardioprotective as red wine. The present investigation compares the cardioprotective abilities of red wine, white wine, and their principal cardioprotective constituents. Different groups of rats were gavaged with red wine, white wine, resveratrol, tyrosol, and hydroxytyrosol. Red wine and its constituent resveratrol and white wine and its constituents tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol all showed different degrees of cardioprotection as evidenced by their abilities to improve postischemic ventricular performance, reduce myocardial infarct size and cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and reduce peroxide formation. It was discovered in this study that although each of the wines and their components increased the enzymatic activities of the mitochondrial complex (I-IV) and citrate synthase, which play very important roles in oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis, some of the groups were more complex-specific in inducing the activity compared to the other groups. Cardioprotective ability was further confirmed by increased expression of phospho-Akt, Bcl-2, eNOS, iNOS, COX-1, COX-2, Trx-1, Trx-2, and HO-1. The results of this study suggest that white wine can provide cardioprotection similar to red wine if it is rich in tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol.     

Charcoal and smoke extract stimulate the soil microbial community in a highly weathered xanthic Ferralsol

The influence of charcoal and smoke condensates (pyroligneous acid, PA) on microbial activity in a highly weathered Amazonian upland soil was assessed via measurements of basal respiration (BR), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and exponential population increase after substrate addition. PA extracts are commonly used for fertilizer or as pest control in Brazil, where phosphorus (P) availability and nitrogen (N) leaching are among the most severe limitations for agriculture. Microbes play an important role in nutrient cycling and solubilizing of phosphate. BR, microbial biomass, population growth and the microbe's efficiency (expressed by the metabolic quotient) increased linearly and significantly with increasing charcoal concentrations (50, 100 and 150 g kg⁻¹ soil). Application of PA caused a sharp increase in all parameters. We suppose that the condensates from smoke contain easily degradable substances and only small amounts of inhibitory agents, which could be utilized by the microbes for their metabolism.     

Morpho-Physiological Responses of Grape Rootstock ‘Dogridge’ to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation Under Salinity Stress

Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) alone or in combination with bacterial consortium (AMF+BC) inoculation prior to induced salinity (NaCl @ 150 or 250 mM) were studied on root growth; plant biomass; leaf area; Na⁺ and K⁺ contents; leaf water potential (Ψ_w); osmotic potential (Ψ_π); photosynthesis rate (P_n); and contents of chlorophyll, phytohormones, and polyamines in the grape rootstock ‘Dogridge’, popular among Indian vine growers. AMF inoculation in the NaCl untreated rootstocks plants increased root growth, root and shoot biomass, and leaf area and improved leaf Ψ_w, Ψ_π, P_n, and chlorophyll content, and also countered the stress-induced decline in the NaCl treated plants. The abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinins, and polyamine-spermidine and spermine contents in the leaves of NaCl untreated or treated were significantly increased by the AMF inoculation. Among the treatments, AMF with BC was relatively more effective than AMF alone with respect to changes in above morpho-physiological characters. The results depicted that AMF (AMF alone or AMF+BC) inoculation significantly improved salinity tolerance of grape rootstock and tolerance is induced by improvements in plant water balance, K⁺:Na⁺ ratio, and P_n, besides distinct accumulations in ABA and polyamines-spermine and spermidine. The above findings have potential in suggesting the AMF usefulness in improving the efficacy of ‘Dogridge’ rootstock in grape cultivation under salt affected soils.     

The role of nickel on somatic embryogenesis in Setaria italica L. in vitro

Nickel (0.13, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/l) increased the efficiency of somatic embryogenesis in leaf base and mesocotyl derived calli of Setaria italica. A lower concentration of nickel in the culture media promoted long-term maintenance of embryogenic calli that regenerated into plantlets. The plants obtained from embryogenic calli grown on Ni-containing medium showed tolerance to nickel. The growth of embryogenic callus was the maximum at 1.5 mg/l as compared to a lower or a higher concentration of Ni. Use of nickel may help in the induction of high frequency somatic embryogenesis in Setaria italica. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A quantitative method for detecting ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria in coastal aquaculture systems

There is a need to quantify autotrophic nitrifiers in coastal aquaculture systems for evolving a bioremediation strategy. Autotrophic nitrifiers are extremely slow‐growing organisms, which cannot be detected by traditional methods as they are notoriously difficult to culture. Molecular techniques based on functional genes could be deployed for the detection of nitrifiers. Ammonia monooxygenase (amoA), that catalyses the oxidation of ammonia to hydroxylamine in the rate‐determining step of nitrification is largely unique to ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB). In the present study, a quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction assay targeting amoA was developed to estimate AOB population size in coastal soil, ammonia‐removing bioaugmentors and the solid matrix. To achieve this objective, different set of primers and a dual labelled probe have been designed for SYBR Green and TaqMan real‐time assays. The abundance of AOB ranged from 10⁴ to 10⁶ order of magnitude in the samples. In the present study, biofilm formation of the consortium of nitrifying bacteria onto bagasse has also been quantified. The results demonstrate that the developed method is a rapid and sensitive tool for the quantitative detection of nitrifying bacteria in aquatic and related environment. This helps in making the bioremediation approach for ammonia removal by immobilization of nitrifying bacteria onto the natural substrate.     

Identification and pathogenicity study of emerging fish pathogens Acinetobacter junii and Acinetobacter pittii recovered from a disease outbreak in Labeo catla (Hamilton, 1822) and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) of freshwater wetland in West Bengal,India

The disease outbreaks in aquaculture system of wetlands are the major cause of fish mortality. Among various bacterial septicaemic diseases, fish mortality caused by Acinetobacter spp. is recently reported in different fish species. Fish disease outbreak was investigated in a wetland of West Bengal, India to identify the aetiological factors involved. The moribund fish were examined and subjected to bacterial isolation. Two bacterial causative agents were identified as Acinetobacter junii and Acinetobacter pittii by biochemical characterization and 16S rRNA gene amplification. Both the isolates were oxidase‐negative, nitrate‐negative, catalase‐positive and indole‐negative. The molecular identification using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic tree analysis further confirmed the two Acinetobacter spp. with 97%–99% similarity. The antibiotic resistance patterns of these two bacteria revealed that both of them were resistant to β‐lactam, cefalexin, cephalothin, amoxyclav, cefuroxime, cefadroxil, clindamycin, vancomycin and penicillin. In addition, A. pittii was also resistant to other antibiotics of cephams group such as ceftazidime and cefotaxime. In the challenge experiment, both A. junii and A. pittii were found to be pathogenic with LD₅₀ of 1.24 × 10⁵ and 1.88 × 10⁷ cfu/fish respectively. Histopathological examination of gill, liver and kidney revealed prominent changes supporting bacterial septicaemia. The investigation reports for the first time on concurrent infection by A. junii and multidrug‐resistant (MDR)‐A. pittii as emerging fish pathogens to cause severe mortality in Labeo catla and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix in a freshwater wetland.     

Changes in soil and water quality at sediment–water interface of Penaeus vannamei culture pond at varying salinities

The health of the pond environment in shrimp farming is important for sustainable and profitable aquaculture, in which sediment–water interface is the most important influencing area. With this objective, the key parameters of water and sediment at the interface was studied in shrimp ponds with varying salinities and compared with the surface water and soil to understand the variations and the underlying causes. Total ammonia nitrogen and total alkalinity were higher in water at the interface as compared to surface water, whereas pH, nitrite, oxide forms of nitrogen (NO₃), phosphorus (PO₄) and oxidizing bacteria were observed to be lower. There was no significant difference with respect to macrominerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium between water at the interface and surface. These changes are profoundly influenced by the uppermost 1.0‐cm thick sediment layer, where the maximum transition of nutrients takes place with the water column. The outcome of the study highlights the effectiveness of water sampling for metabolites at the interface, which reflects at an early stage any potential deterioration of pond environment, which will help the farmer to initiate timely mitigation measures.     

Tillage and nitrogen management effects with sequential and ready-mix herbicides on weed diversity and wheat productivity

In this experiment, weed management was studied in zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) wheat with and without crop residue and nitrogen (N). The treatment ZT with crop residue retention (R) and 75% of required N plus GreenSeeker? (GS)-aided N management (ZTRNGS) resulted in a reduction of density and dry weight of weeds compared to CT and ZT without residue. Sequential application of pendimethalin and sulfosulfuron (PMT-SSF) reduced the weed density and dry weight compared to the weedy check (WC). Importantly, the richness and diversity indices were high in ZTRNGS and in WC treatments. Greater wheat grain (5.11 t/ha) and biomass yield (13.31 t/ha) were observed in ZTRNGS than CT without residue and blanket split application of N (CTN). The treatment ZTRNGS recorded 14.1% and 16.9% higher gross and net returns, respectively, over CTN. This study demonstrates that surface retention of crop residue in ZT is more useful than residue incorporation under CT for effective weed control, improving crop yield and profitability.