Study of muscle glycogen content in both sexes of an Indian teleost <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clarias batrachus</Emphasis> (Linn.) exposed to different concentrations of Arsenic

The present investigation has been conducted to study the effect of different sublethal concentrations of arsenic (5, 10 and 15 mg/L) on the muscle glycogen content in an Indian teleost, Clarias batrachus, during their post-spawning period (October to January).The species were exposed to various arsenic concentrations for six consecutive days i.e.,144 h. Significant differences in average muscle glycogen content were found in the treated male and female C. batrachus specimens. However, significantly higher (P < 0.01) muscle glycogen content was observed in male fish when compared to females in the untreated specimens. Arsenic caused muscle glycogenolysis in both sexes of C. batrachus. The depletions were not always dose (arsenic concentration) and time dependent, although higher concentrations were more glycogenolytic than the lower concentrations. After 96 h of treatment with arsenic, less depletion of muscle glycogen content was recorded in both sexes of fish.     

In vitro storage of fish oocytes: effect of storage temperature,media conditions and storage duration on fertilization and larval hatchability of Indian major carp,rohu (Labeo rohita)

The viability of matured oocytes stored in vitro were assessed using carp ovarian fluid (OF) and artificial carp ovarian fluid (ACOF) under different temperature regimes (4, 24, 26, 28 and 30°C) for different storage durations (0, 60, 120, 150 and 180 min). Significantly higher fertilization (74%) was achieved when the oocytes were stored using ACOF and 65% in OF after 180 min at 28°C. Similarly the hatching rates of larvae were significantly higher in the ACOF and OF, that is, 64% and 47%, respectively, after 180 min of storage. The oocytes kept in the storage containers with ACOF having 65% moisture level showed a significantly higher fertilization rate than the 59% moisture level. This study demonstrated that unfertilized matured oocytes (eggs) of rohu can be stored in vitro for 180 min without compromising the viability (fertilization and hatching) to a great extent in OF and ACOF.     

Exemplifying rhizobacteria for growth stimulation and disease suppression in finger millet

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Of 111 rhizobacteria isolated from finger millet, 30 isolates exhibiting antagonism against Pyricularia grisea (22.22–44.44%) and Rhizoctonia solani...     

Influence of Variable Amounts of Irrigation Water and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Growth, Yield and Water Use of Grain Sorghum

Sorghum hybrid CSH-6 was grown in fields in Delhi, India between July–November 1986 in order to study the effect of nitrogen nutrition and irrigation on dry matter accumulation, grain yield and water use. The treatments included 40 Kg Nha⁻¹ combined with two irrigations (30 DAS, 60 DAS), one irrigation (60 DAS) and no irrigation respectively. Rainfall during the crop season was only 17 cm. The unirrigated plants were considerably water stressed and exhibited very low leaf water potential, less leaf area, delayed anthesis, longer crop duration but shorter grain filling duration. The ears showed sterility and yield was only 0.41 t ha⁻¹ without nitrogen fertilization. Addition of nitrogen fertilizer had no significant effect on yield in unirrigated plants. A single irrigation 60 DAS increased yield due to increase in both grain number and grain weight per ear in fertilized and unfertilized crop respectively. Two irrigations in the unfertilized crop increased the yield to 2.2 t ha⁻¹ while similar treatment in the fertilized crop did not increase the yield significantly. Irrigation increased the WUE for grain yield. The results indicate that nitrogen stress and water stress reduced grain yield primarily through grain number rather than grain weight. Irrigation relieved both water stress and nutrient stress. Nitrogen nutrition was not beneficial under severe water stress conditions but was considerably helpful under mild stress. Biomass, grain yield and harvest index show significant correlation with preanthesis water use.     

Antioxidant activity of piper betel leaf extract and its constituents

The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay of the ethanol extracts of three varieties (Bangla, sweet, and Mysore) of Piper betel (pan) revealed the Bangla variety to possess the best antioxidant activity that can be correlated with the total phenolic content and reducing powers of the respective extracts. Column chromatography of the extract of the Bangla variety led to the isolation of chevibetol (CHV), allylpyrocatechol (APC), and their respective glucosides. The HPTLC analyses of the extracts revealed similar chemical profiles in all three P. betel varieties, although the concentrations of CHV and APC were significantly less in the sweet and Mysore varieties. Among the isolated compounds, APC showed the best results in all the in vitro experiments. It could prevent Fe(II)-induced lipid peroxidation (LPO) of liposomes and rat brain homogenates as well as gamma-ray-induced damage of pBR322 plasmid DNA more efficiently than CHV. The superior anti-LPO and radioprotective activities of APC vis-à-vis those of CHV could not be explained by their respective Fe(II) chelation and .OH radical scavenging capacities. The better ability of APC to scavenge O2-. radicals and H2O2 might account for the results.     

The studies on nutrient balances in crossbred cattle bulls fed chopped green sugarcane tops supplemented with some agro industrial by- products

Fifteen adult crossbred cattle bulls, 18-22 months old (mean body weight 286.33 + 9.43) were divided into 3 groups following RBD design and were fed sugarcane tops (SCT) supplemented with some agro-industrial byproducts and concentrate feeds to determine nitrogen, Ca and P in crossbred cattle bull. For this purpose, crossbred cattle bulls were fed for 30 days ad lib SCT supplemented with Wheat bran (WB), Lentil chuni (LC) and WB + LC (50:50) in Group I, II, and III respectively. The balance values were 15.28 + 2.70, 26.85 + 4.35 and 18.00 + 3.17 for nitrogen, 11.77 + 1.34, 12.94 + 2.96 and 15.38 + 1.15 for calcium, 11.74 + 0.64, 11.26 + 1.58 and 11.69 + 0.79 for phosphorus in group I, II and III, respectively. There were no significant differences among the experimental groups in Ca and P balance values but balance of nitrogen was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in group II as compared to group I and III. It may indicated that the rumen fermentation was more appropriate in group III where animals were fed 50% lentil chuni and 50% wheat bran (supplementation of both protein and energy).     

Ontogeny and development of the gastrointestinal system in Indian walking catfish (Clarias magur) during its early development

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry - Ontogeny of the digestive tract and its accessory organs and their further development in the Indian walking catfish (Clarias magur) were examined in larvae,...     

α-Amylase inhibitor in local Himalyan collections of Colocasia: Isolation, purification, characterization and selectivity towards α-amylases from various sources

The α-amylase inhibitor from corms of Colocasia collected from Bhota village of Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh was purified to 17.21 folds with 61.61% recovery using ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration chromatography (sephadex G-200) and ion exchange chromatography (DEAE-sephadex). A single band of the purified inhibitor was obtained by Native-PAGE. SDS-PAGE revealed the purified inhibitor to be a monomer with molecular weight of 13,900 daltons. The nature of inhibition was found to be of non-competitive type as determined by Lineweaver-Burk plot and a K_i value of 0.54 nmole was obtained by Dixon’s plot. The inhibitor was found to be heat stable and retained 81.50% activity at 70 °C temperature. Inhibitor was found to have pH optima of 6.9. The purified inhibitor was found to have inhibitory activity against α-amylases extracted from the larvae of Callosobruchus chinensis, Tribolium castaneum, Corcyra cephalonica and midgut α-amylase of Spodoptera littoralis. 100% larval mortality of C. cephalonica was observed when fed on wheat flour mixed with 0.0036% (w/w) of purified inhibitor. Purified α-amylase inhibitor was found to inhibit the activity of human salivary α-amylase. It also had inhibitory activity against potato α-amylases and reduced sugar content in treated potato slices. The purified inhibitor was found to be a glycoprotein. In the present study, the ability of the inhibitor to inhibit insect amylases highlights its possible role in pest resistance and post harvest decay of crop plants. Inhibitory activity of α-amylase inhibitor against mammalian amylases could suggest its potential in treatment of diabetes and cure of nutritional problems, which result in obesity.