从害虫马尾松毛虫中提取甲壳素的初步研究

采用酸碱法对马尾松毛虫蛹中甲壳素的提取方法进行了初步研究。重点分析了N aOH不同处理条件对脱有机物质和甲壳素产率的影响,确定了从马尾松毛虫蛹中提取甲壳素的基本工艺:(1)脱矿物质:盐酸浓度为2.5%,浸泡时间为20 h,浸泡温度为30℃;(2)脱有机物质:N aOH浓度为6%,浸泡温度为75℃,浸泡时间为10 h;(3)脱色:双氧水浓度为9%,浸泡时间为2.5 h,浸泡温度为80℃。在此条件下,获得的甲壳素产品为白色粉状固体,其N含量为6.87%,灰分为1.19%,水分为8.37%。产率为29.97%。产品的N含量达到食品级甲壳素标准,灰分含量达到工业级甲壳素标准。实验有助于后续深入研究马尾松毛虫蛹中甲壳素的提取,也为今后进一步制备虫蛹壳聚糖打下了基础。     

Effect of a Single Dose of Cadmium on Pregnant Wistar Rats and their Offspring

Cadmium (Cd) is a well‐known toxicant targeting many organs, among them placenta. This heavy metal also has embryonary and foetal toxicity. This study was undertaken to analyse the effect of a single Cd dose administered at 4, 7, 10 or 15 days of gestation on the offspring of pregnant rats sacrificed at 20 days of gestation. Cadmium chloride was administered subcutaneously at 10 mg/kg body weight to Wistar pregnant dams; control animals received a proportionate volume of sterile normal saline by the same route. Maternal uteri, livers, kidneys and lungs, and foetuses were examined at necropsy. Samples of maternal organs and whole foetuses were collected for histopathologic examination, determination of Cd levels and staining by the Alizarin red S technique. Results revealed a clear embryotoxic and a teratogenic effect of this heavy metal, the former as a significant increase in the number of resorptions, and the latter as significant decrease of the gestational sac weight, and the size and weight of foetuses of Cd‐treated dams as well as induced malformations in skull bones, vertebrae and thoracic, and pelvian limbs. The deleterious effects found were similar to those previously reported for other animal models suggesting a high conservation of the pathogenic mechanisms of Cd. Additionally, many of the addressed aspects showed a slight dependence on the time of administration of the toxic that might be due to the accumulation of the metal in different organs, as we were able to demonstrate by the analysis of its concentration.     

Role of catecholamines and nitric oxide on pigment displacement of the chromatophores of freshwater snakehead teleost fish,Channa punctatus

We are reporting for the first time that the catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) inhibit the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on melanosome dispersion in freshly isolated scales of the freshwater snakehead fish, Channa punctatus. We studied the effect of NO and catecholamines on the pigment displacement by observing the changes in the melanophore index. The scales when treated with solution containing NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) showed dispersion of melanosomes, whereas NO synthase blocker N-omega-Nitro-l-arginine suppresses this action of SNP. Treatment with adrenaline and noradrenaline on the isolated scales caused aggregation of melanosomes. Scales treated with solution containing catecholamines and SNP resulted in aggregation of melanosomes suggesting that catecholamines mask the effect of SNP. These results suggest that the catecholamines are inhibiting the effect of NO and causing the aggregation of the melanosomes may be via surface receptors.     

Nitric oxide inhibited the melanophore aggregation induced by extracellular calcium concentration in snakehead fish, Channa punctatus

We studied the role of nitric oxide (NO) and extra-cellular Ca(2+) on the melanophores in Indian snakehead teleost, Channa punctatus. Increase of Ca(2+) level in the external medium causes pigment aggregation in melanophores. This pigment-aggregating effect was found to be inhibited when the external medium contained spontaneous NO donor, sodium nitro prusside (SNP) at all the levels of concentration tested. Furthermore, it has been observed that SNP keeps the pigment in dispersed state even after increasing the amount of Ca(2+). In order to test whether NO donor SNP causes dispersion of pigments or not is checked by adding the inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, N-omega-Nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) in the medium. It has been noted that the inhibitor L-NNA blocked the effect of NO donor SNP causing aggregation of pigments. In that way NO is inhibiting the effect of extracellular Ca(2+), keeping the pigment dispersed.