Chemical composition,antioxidant and antibacterial activities of extracts from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Schinus molle</Emphasis> wood branch growing in Egypt

In the present work, for the first time, the chemical components of essential oils (EOs) and extracts from wood branch (WB) resulted from the tree pruning wastes of Schinus molle L. grown in Egypt were evaluated for their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. EOs, methanol (ME), dichloromethane (DCME) and water (WE) extracts as antioxidant and antibacterial activities were measured. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as analysis of extracts by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were reported. The major components in EOs were α-elemol, β-pinene, and α-phellandrene, in ME were 6-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-cyano-4-(N-benzylpiperazino)-2H-pyran-2-one, and 2-naphthalene methanol, decahydro-α,α,4a-trimethyl-8-methylene, in DCME were 12-methyl-E,E-3,13-octadecadien-1-ol, and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dioctyl ester, and in WE were β-eudesmol, and (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester. The highest total antioxidant activity was found with EOs (90 ± 1.23 %) and WE (86.30 ± 1.40 %). The lowest IC₅₀ values of 13.11 ± 3.00, and 12.66 ± 2.15 μg/mL were found with WE and EOs, respectively. EOs and WE were observed to have good antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Sarcina lutea, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Micrococcus luteus. In conclusion, the Schinus molle L. WB EOs and extracts might, indeed, be used as a potential source for pharmaceutical or food industries.     

Effects of leaf area and auxin on rooting and growth of rooted stem cuttings of neem

Green stem cuttings, obtained from 2-year old managed stockplants, with 30, 50 or 100% leaf area were rooted in a non-mist propagator following treatment with 0, 0.2, 0.4 or 0.8% IBA solution. The rooted cuttings were transferred to polythene pots and grown in a nursery for 12 weeks. Rooting percentages of IBA treated cuttings did not significantly differ from those of control cuttings. Likewise leaf area did not significantly influence the percentage of cuttings that rooted. The effects of leaf area and/or IBA treatment in the propagation unit were manifested on the growth of rooted cuttings in polythene pots. Number of roots increased with the increase in IBA concentration and this response was enhanced by increasing leaf area. Root biomass increased with the increase in leaf area even in the control cuttings. Root development was highly influenced by the leaf area and IBA, and hence the growth of rooted cuttings. Cuttings treated with 0.2 or 0.4% IBA at 100% leaf area yielded the best performing rooted cuttings.     

Bacteria wilt of Casuarina equisetifolia in India

Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) was consistently isolated from the wilted plants of Casuarina equisetifolia. The isolate gave positive reaction to oxidase, catalase and gas production from nitrate and negative reaction for arginine dihydrolase and acid was produced from various carbohydrates. Wilt produced on tomato, egg plant and capsicum indicated that the pathogen belongs to Race I and Biovar III of P. solanacearum which is a new record from India.     

People’s attitude and use of forestland: Co-evolution of forest administration in Bangladesh

This paper explores the influence over time of past policies on people’s attitudes towards the use of forestland in Bangladesh. The discourses of the attitudes of people were captured from the observed social tradition towards forest resources. Forests were reserved systematically and solely through the Forest Department. The conservation processes were not participatory, and rights and tenure were strictly controlled. People were socially excluded and alienated from the forest, and the socio-political factors stimulated negative attitudes among people. Forests were considered to be government property, and therefore managing forests was the responsibility of the government. People only used forest resources to meet their own requirements, either with formal permission or illegally. This situation continued even after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. As a result, the forests of Bangladesh have been degraded heavily in recent decades.     

A new steroidal alkaloid from the seeds of Holarrhena antidysenterica

A new steroidal alkaloid, named antidysentericine, has been isolated from the seeds of Holarrhena antidysenterica and characterized as 3 beta-dimethylaminocon-5-enin-18-one (1).     

RNAi-mediated knockdown of INHBB increases apoptosis and inhibits steroidogenesis in mouse granulosa cells

Inhibins are members of the TGFβ superfamily and act as suppressors of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion from pituitary glands via a negative feedback mechanism to regulate folliculogenesis. In this study, the INHBB gene was knocked down by three RNAi-Ready pSIREN-RetroQ-ZsGreen vector- mediated recombinant plasmids to explore the effects of INHBB silencing on granulosa cell (GC) cell cycle, apoptosis and steroid production in vitro. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, flow cytometry and ELISA were performed to evaluate the role of INHBB in the mouse GC cell cycle, apoptosis and steroid production in vitro. The results showed that the relative mRNA and protein expression of INHBB in mouse GCs can be significantly reduced by RNAi with pshRNA-B1, pshRNA-B2 and pshRNA-B3 plasmids, with pshRNA-B3 having the best knockdown efficiency. Downregulation of the expression of INHBB significantly arrests cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle and increases the apoptosis rate in GCs. This was further confirmed by downregulation of the protein expressions of Cyclin D1, Cyclin E and Bcl2, while the protein expression of Bax was upregulated. In addition, specific downregulation of INHBB markedly decreased the concentration of estradiol and progesterone, which was further validated by the decrease in the mRNA levels of CYP19A1and CYP11A1. These findings suggest that inhibin βB is important in the regulation of apoptosis and cell cycle progression in granulosa cells. Furthermore, the inhibin βB subunit has a role in the regulation of steroid hormone biosynthesis. Evidence is accumulating to support the concept that inhibin βB is physiologically essential for early folliculogenesis in the mouse.     

荨麻皮刺水提液对小鼠离体肠平滑肌运动的影响

【目的】研究荨麻促进消化道平滑肌运动的植株主要部位,分析其可能的受体机制。【方法】用生物信号处理系统监测麻叶荨麻皮刺与内茎(不含皮刺)水提液对小鼠离体小肠平滑肌的影响。【结果】2倍浓度递增(0.1%~3.2%)的皮刺剂量依赖性增加小肠收缩幅度、收缩张力和收缩峰值(P<0.05),但对收缩频率无影响(P>0.05);而内茎浓度达0.4%后使小肠收缩频率减慢(P<0.05)。0.8%皮刺一次性用药后小肠收缩幅度、收缩张力、收缩峰值均显著升高(P<0.05),而同剂量内茎对小肠收缩无影响(P>0.05)。M-受体阻断剂ATr与0.8%皮刺联合用药可使收缩幅度显著减弱(P<0.05)。【结论】荨麻植株的皮刺对消化道平滑肌具有促进作用,且可能部分作用是通过激活M-受体而实现。     

Chemical composition and in vitro antifungal activity of Sambucus ebulus and Actinidia deliciosa on the fish pathogenic fungus,Saprolegnia parasitica

The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition of Sambucus ebulus and Actinidia deliciosa ethanolic extracts as well as their in vitro antifungal activity on the mycelial growth of the water mold, Saprolegnia parasitica. The preliminary minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) were determined by the HeMP method and finally, concentrations of each extract ranging from 1 to 10% were prepared by an agar dilution method to assess the in vitro antifungal activity, quantitatively. Both herbal extracts inhibited growth of Saprolegnia hyphae in vitro. Complete in vitro growth inhibition was found at a concentration of ≥5% for S. ebulus, whereas it was not observed even at 10% concentration of A. deliciosa. Based on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, the main constituents of S. ebulus include monophthalate (66.17%), fatty acids (26.47%), phytol (4.25%), and acetic acid (2.11%). Using colorimetric assays, A. deliciosa contained phenolic contents at 162 mg gallic acid (GAE)/g DW and flavonoid contents at 2.31 mg quercetin (QE)/g DW. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that S. ebulus and A. deliciosa showed some antifungal activities against S. parasitica with formerly exhibiting stronger activity (p < 0.05).

     

Inhibition of protease activities in discus Symphysodon spp. by three plant meals

Based on biochemical assays and electrophoretical methods, the inhibitory effects of three plant meals (soybean meal, wheat meal, winged bean meal) on digestive alkaline proteases of discus were investigated. Casein assays revealed that increasing levels of soybean meal caused a linear inhibitory effect on activity of protease. SDS-PAGE images revealed that trypsin and chymotrypsin were the inhibited enzymes. Soybean showed the lowest inhibition rate followed by wheat meal and raw winged bean. There was a quadratic relationship between wheat meal levels and its inhibition of protease acitivity. The highest inhibitory effect was obtained with the winged bean meal with inhibition of caseinolytic activities ranging from 3.6–98.6%. Results from this study showed the potential of both soybean meal and wheat meal as ingredients for practical diet for discus, while demonstrating the need for further improvement in processing method for winged bean meal.     

Prenatal Development of the Eye Tunics in the Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Studies of ocular development in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) have not been reported previously. The aim of the present investigation was therefore to document the major landmarks and the time course in the prenatal development of the eye tunics in dromedary camel and its accommodation with the surrounding hard environment of the desert. Serial histological sections of dromedary camel embryos and foetuses were used. Age estimation was made on the basis of gestational size, crown vertebral‐rump length (CVRL), which ranged 1.2–110 cm. The eye of the dromedary camel developed in a similar manner to that of the human and domestic animals eyes; the principal differences were in the time of occurrence of certain developmental events, pigmented peripheral cornea near the limbus, a remarkably thickened Descemet's membrane and pigmentation in the corneo‐scleral junction, which represent an adaptive modification in relation to a severe environment.