Reducing fiber content of sunflower oil meal through treatment of enzymes produced from Arachnoitus sp.

A multi‐enzyme mixture containing cellulases and hemicellulase activity, produced from Arachniotus sp., a white rot fungus, were applied on sunflower oil meal (SFOM) to degrade its fiber content. SFOM was treated with different concentrations of enzyme solution at variable pH, and incubated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 60°C, for different time periods ranging from 3 to 48 h to determine the maximum increase in metabolizable energy content by saccharification of fiber into sugars through enzymatic degradation. Maximum saccharification of SFOM fiber was obtained at a 1:1 enzyme substrate ratio, pH 4.0 and incubation for 36 h at 40°C. A reduction of 47.27% in crude fiber contents of sunflower oil meal was observed after enzyme treatment at optimized conditions. Enzyme treatment resulted in reduction of 41.53 and 31.87% in acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents, respectively. An increase of 28.09% in nitrogen free extract contents of SFOM was found after enzyme treatment. True metabolizable energy contents of SFOM, after enzyme treatment, were increased from 1898.4 to 2314.9 kCal/kg.     

Physiological responses of saplings of rainforest timber species differing in successional group to light regimes and nitrogen

Saplings of 19 valuable rain forest timber species representative of three successional status groups (early secondary, late secondary and climax) were grown in a polyhouse to examine their responses to three light intensity/quality treatments and nitrogen supply. Solar radiation was modified using painted polyethylene sheet to mimic natural light environments across a rain forest vertical column as follows: 1. Transparent plastic, 80% of full sunlight, R:FR = 0.95, 2. Blue shade, 14% of full sunlight, R:FR = 0.69; 3. Green shade, 7% of full sunlight, R:FR = 0.50. Transparent plastic conditions promoted an increase in stem height and diameter (i.e., growth), leaf thickness and gas exchange per unit leaf area. Additional nitrogen availability enhanced growth and specific leaf area (i.e., leaves were thinner), particularly in the full sun environment and on early secondary and late secondary successional species, but did not influence photosynthetic rate. Successional status of the species did not affect photosynthetic rate although early secondary successional species grew faster and had fewer branches than species of the other successional groups. We recommend that for a successful mixed stand the high-light requiring species should be planted first, with increased nitrogen supply, and the shade tolerant species should be introduced later with no extra nitrogen supply required.     

Improving drought tolerance in maize by foliar application of boron: water status,antioxidative defense and photosynthetic capacity

Boron (B) plays a vital role in cell division and elongation in apical meristem. Drought stress (DS) severely reduced the B-uptake and thus growth and crop-productivity of plants. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether foliar application of B corrects physiological-disorders under DS in two contrasting maize genotypes i.e. Dekalb-6525 (drought-tolerant) and Yousafwala-hybrid (drought-sensitive). Initially, foliar rate of B (0, 2, 4 and 6 mg L^?1) was optimized in terms of improved plant growth under drought-stress. Then, optimized rate of B (4 mg L^?1) was applied to assess the physiological and biochemical basis of B-induced improved growth of maize under deficit-moisture supply. Drought-stress reduced the growth of plants by lowering in water-status (leaf water-relations), photosynthetic capacity (gas-exchange aspects, photosynthetic-pigments), membrane permeability, imbalance in redox potential (oxidative-stress, antioxidant-defense system) and tissue-B concentration. Application of B considerably improved maize growth by improving water-status, photosynthetic capacity, tissue-B concentration as well as up-regulation of antioxidative defense-system. Moreover, ameliorative effects of B on maize was also evident from stress relieving indicators such as slight decrease in accumulation of proline, total free amino-acids, total soluble-sugars and MDA content under water-deficit conditions. In addition, cultivar Dekalb-6525 showed considerable improving response to B application over Yousafwala-hybrid.     

Consequences of high temperature under changing climate optima for rice pollen characteristics-concepts and perspectives

The enhancement in both frequency and intensity of high temperature, besides its large variability will result in up to 40% yield reduction in rice by the end of 21^st century. Vegetative growth in rice continues with day time temperature up to 40°C but development of florets is extremely sensitive to temperature higher than 35°C. The effect of night time temperature stress is even more adverse than day. Heat stress results in deprived anther dehiscence, impaired pollination and abnormal pollen germination that cause floret sterility. The decrease in pollen viability is presumably caused by imbalance in proteins expression, abandoned biosynthesis, partitioning and translocation of soluble sugars, imbalance in phytohormones release, and loss of pollen water content. Rice responds to heat stress by adjusting various physiochemical mechanisms viz., growth inhibition, leaf senescence and alteration in basic physiological processes. Antioxidant enzymes, calcium and iron also play an important role in managing heat stress. Response of rice to heat stress varies with plant ecotype, growth stage, heat intensity and time of stress application. High temperature stress can be managed by developing heat-tolerant genotypes. Rice breeding and screening may be based on anther dehiscence, pollen tube development and pollen germination on stigma.     

Amylose contents of cereals; influence of household processing on the amylose contents of these foods

Amylose is a food starch found in cereals, legumes and root vegetables. Keeping in view the importance of amylose for various food industries as well as its importance on domestic level, the current study was conducted to analyze the amylose content of common cereals e. g rice （sela, coarse and basmati）, maize yellow, Kisan and Azam varieties and wheat （Tatara, Fakhr-e-sarhad and Bakhtawar-92） varieties as well as quantifying the influence of cooking/boiling procedures on the amylose contents of cereals. The maximum amylose content were observed for wheat variety Tatara （24.28%） followed by Bakhtawar-92 （22.74%） and Fakhr-e-sarhad （19.77%）. Among maize and rice varieties studied, Kisan and course rice were rich in amylose content with values of 27.19 and 30.48% respectively. The chapti of Tatra wheat were scored highest for appearance （7.6）, flavor （7.5）, texture （7.6） and overall acceptability （7.55）. The roti of Kisan and Azam varieties got maximum appearance score of 7.6 as compared to 7.4 for maize yellow variety. Basmati rice was scored highest regarding appearance （8.4）, flavor （8.6）, texture （8.6） and overall acceptability （8.53. The moisture content ranged from 10.61 （Azam） to 8.01% （wheat variety Fakhr-e-sarhad）. Cooking reduced the amylose content of wheat bread from （19.77%-24.28%） to （15.47%-15.94%） with cooking time of 5 min, maize bread from （21.48%-27.19%） to （19.53 %-25.85%） with maximum cooking time of 10 min and boiled rice from （24.90%-30.48%） to （24.18%-30.19%） with cooking time ranging from 12 to 20 min. It can be inferred from these studies that the reduction in amylose content were more in chapti/roti preparation of wheat and maize varieties as compared to boiling of rice varieties and that significant varietals differences exist in amylose content of the uncooked samples.     

Response of two-row malting spring barley to water cutoff under sprinkler irrigation

Agricultural production in irrigated areas is becoming more water-constrained. Scheduling the timing of the last irrigation on cereals is one effective method of reducing seasonal water use while maintaining crop yield and quality. The last irrigation application time and its impact on two-row malting barley (Hordeum distichum cv. Moravian 37) yield, quality, and economic benefits were studied in the 2000, 2001, and 2002 cropping seasons. Irrigation was stopped for the season at Milk, pre-Soft Dough, Soft Dough, and post-Soft Dough grain formation stages. The Soft Dough water cutoff treatment produced the highest grain yield of two-row spring malting barley. Water cutoff before or after Soft Dough stage reduced the grain yield significantly at P < 0.05, but the quality of grain for malt production was not significantly different when water was cut off at pre-Soft Dough or post-Soft Dough stages. Irrigation cutoff at Milk stage produced the lowest grain yield with the lowest quality. Decreases in grain yield and quality with the last irrigation at post-Soft Dough reduced grain value by $174 ha⁻¹ relative to Soft Dough, while irrigation costs were higher (Fig. 6). The economic benefit due to labor and power cost reduction from earlier irrigation cutoff does not offset the resulting loss of grain value/ha for any treatment except post-SD under current southern Idaho energy and labor cost conditions.     

Therapeutic Potential of Marine Bioactive Peptides against Human Immunodeficiency Virus: Recent Evidence,Challenges, and Future Trends

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic and potentially fatal ailment caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and remains a major health problem worldwide. In recent years, the research focus has shifted to a greater emphasis on complementing treatment regimens involving conventional antiretroviral (ARV) drug therapies with novel lead structures isolated from various marine organisms that have the potential to be utilized as therapeutics for the management of HIV-AIDS. The present review summarizes the recent developments regarding bioactive peptides sourced from various marine organisms. This includes a discussion encompassing the potential of these novel marine bioactive peptides with regard to antiretroviral activities against HIV, preparation, purification, and processing techniques, in addition to insight into the future trends with an emphasis on the potential of exploration and evaluation of novel peptides to be developed into effective antiretroviral drugs.     

Postharvest application of gum arabic and essential oils for controlling anthracnose and quality of banana and papaya during cold storage

Management of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. is the most important issue for the tropical fruit industry because of resulting financial losses. Antifungal effects of gum arabic (GA) (10%), lemongrass oil (LG) (0.05%), cinnamon oil (CM) (0.4%), and their combinations were investigated in vitro and in vivo for controlling postharvest anthracnose of banana and papaya. LG at 0.05% and 0.4% CM showed fungicidal effects against Colletotrichum musae and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, causal organisms of banana and papaya anthracnose, respectively. GA alone did not show any fungicidal effects while the combination of 0.05% LG and 0.4% CM with Ten percent GA alone showed more fungicidal effects. However, potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium modified with 10% GA combined with 0.4% CM showed the most promising results among all treatments against C. musae and C. gloeosporioides in suppressing the mycelial growth (73.4%) and (70.0%) and spore germination inhibition (88%) and (85%), respectively. In vivo studies also revealed that 10% GA combined with 0.4% CM was the optimal concentration in controlling decay (80%) and (71%), showing a synergistic effect in the reduction of C. musae and C. gloeosporioides, respectively, in artificially inoculated bananas and papayas. The results regarding quality evaluation also confirmed the efficacy of 10% GA combined with 0.4% CM coatings since ripening was significantly delayed, in terms of percentage weight loss, fruit firmness, soluble solids concentration and titratable acidity. The results suggest the possibility of using 10% gum arabic combined with 0.4% cinnamon oil as a biofungicide for controlling postharvest anthracnose in major tropical fruit such as banana and papaya.     

Constituents of Salvia moorcroftiana.

A new aromatic ester, 3-oxodecan-1-o1 p-hydroxybenzoate (1) was isolated from Salvia moorcroftiana aerial parts along with four other constituents.     

New diterpene from Hedychium villosum.

The stems of Hedychium villosum yielded the new diterpenoid 1, named villosin, along with coronarin E and beta-sitosterol. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including mono- and bi-dimensional NMR.