Biosciences

The emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria has made natural products attract more attention in the medical field. Honey is one such natural product and its medicinal importance has been recorded since ancient times. The in-vitro antibacterial effectiveness of different types of honey (raw and processed) was tested against two species of bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative), using the disk diffusion method. Disks impregnated with different concentrations of processed and unprocessed honey were applied to Mueller Hinton agar plates inoculated with the two bacterial species, and the diameters of the zones of inhibitions measured after 24 hours of incubation. Both types of honey showed antibacterial activity against the tested organisms, with the zones of inhibition (ZOI) ranging from 7 mm to 25?mm. S. aureus was more susceptible (maximum zone of inhibition of 25mm) while E. coli was less susceptible (maximum inhibition zone of 17mm). Both raw and processed honey significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited growth of both species of bacteria at a minimum concentration of 40%. The results of this study point to the potential use of honey as an antibacterial agent and therefore a possible alternative therapy against ailments caused by these two bacterial species.

The phytoremediation capability of Eleusine indica on Copper and Nickel contaminated soil samples was investigated using standard techniques. Soil sample and seeds of E. inidca were collected from a farmland in Obe, Nkanu West L.G.A of Enugu State. 0%, 1%, 2% and 3% potted treatments of Copper and Nickel contaminated soil were made for three samples (initial sample, sample without plant and sample with plant). The plant samples were subjected to Bioaccumulation factor and Translocation factor examination while the Soil collected from these samples were subjected to soil analysis tests (Metal determination, pH, Soil moisture content, total organic carbon, and cation exchange capacity). The results from the study revealed Eleusine indica as a phytoremediator having BAF>1 for Cu (0% = 1.25, 1% = 1.35, 2% = 1.31 and 3% = 1.36) and Ni (0% = 1.31, 1% = 1.53, 2% = 1.80 and 3% = 2.06) contaminated soil samples. The translocation factor (TF) were also observed to be greater than 1 (TF>1) in all the treatments for both Cu and Ni contaminated soil. Heavy metal contamination of soil reduces its total organic carbon and increases its cation exchange capacity. Eleusine indica is a hyperaccumulator, its root stores more heavy metals and thus suitable for phytoremediation.

Power remains a germane ingredient of national development. It serves as bedrock of societal growth as it is needed in almost area of economy ranging from education, health, transportation, Information and Communication technology and manufacturing. Educational institution serves as centers of innovation where cutting edge researches are carried out to improve societal wellbeing and at the same time provide affordable solution to various problems facing nature. For this research to be effectively carried out, stable supply of electricity is needed as most equipment needed for the research are powered by electricity. Unfortunately, Nigeria power system has been facing a lot of challenges that sabotages the stability of its supply. This review takes a look at the available resources inherent in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions that can provide a substitute and at the same time complement the existing supply. Biogas been a renewable energy product was identified and estimated to be a veritable means of generating independent power for the academic community. It was evaluated based on reasonable population prediction that a total of 177,000m3 of biogas corresponding to energy generation of 221.25MWh can be generated daily from total waste in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Challenges facing adoption of biogas policy were highlighted and recommendations were made.

Salmonellosis causes substantial morbidity and mortality in Sub Saharan Africa. This warranted the appraisal of antibiotic susceptibility patterns of clinical Salmonella isolates from the study catchment area. The study aimed to determine in vitro antibiotic susceptibility profile of Salmonella species isolated from stool samples. Kirby Bauer and MIC results indicated significant resistance to antimicrobial agents(p<0.001). One isolate exhibited resistance to ten antibiograms tested and the resistance phenotype was; Ampicillin, tetracycline, cotrimoxazole, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamycin, sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and ciproflaxin (AmpTCotStKGmSxCNaCip). Routine surveillance of local system is vital to monitor emerging resistance trends in study area.

The use of essential oils in the food industry, as natural sanitizing agents, requires the definition of optimal conditions. The aim of the present work was to evaluate some antifungal activity parameters as mycelial growth inhibition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil from Benin against Aspergillus (flavus and tamari), Fusarium (poae and verticillioides) and Penicillium (citrinum and P. griseofulvum) species isolated from traditional cheese wagashi. The chemical composition of the essential oil extracted from fresh leaves was studied by GC-FID and GC-MS and showed (E) ethyl cinnamate with (E)-cinnamaldehyde and benzyl benzoate (39.9, 25.0 and 20.5% respectively) as major compounds. The evaluation of fungal activity showed a significant fungistatic activity against both Fusarium species and Penicillium griseofulvum with a MIC ranged from 800 to 1000 mg/L due probably to the prominent concentration in (E)-cinnamaldehyde of C. zeylanicum essential oil. Results obtained in the present study indicate the possibility of exploiting Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential to preserve wagashi from Fusarium and Penicillium contamination.

Marine macroalgae (seaweeds) are renewable resources of our Earth and make a substantial contribution to marine biodiversity. Seaweeds are presently considered as the plant-based and alternative form of food, due to the presence of nutrients including carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals as well as a rich source of health-promoting compounds to control or cure the wide spectrum of disorders and diseases. About 11, 000 species of seaweeds have been reported worldwide. Among them, ca 221 of seaweed is cost-effectively important and utilized in the various broad field of science. In India, a total of 865 species of seaweeds, belonging to 234 genera were reported so far from the various coastal states. In respect of this, the current study endeavoured to itemize the presence of therapeutically and economically significant seaweeds from the coastline of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh contains the second-largest coastline (ca 973Km) among the states of India, next to Gujarat. It comprises various kinds of rocky bodies, which may perform as the suitable substratum for the enormous diversity of marine macroalgae. The rocky bodies stretched from Visakhapatnam to the Srikakulam districts. A total number of 112 stations were selected to furnish the inventory of marine macroalgae between March 2017 and August 2019. Based on the perusal of literature collection, a total of 58 species found to be the monetary potential with bioprospecting capability and being used for biological activities including antibacterial antiviral, antifungal anticoagulant antitumor, anti-inflammatory, etc. Further, the present study reviews and enumerates the consumption and utilization of seaweeds correlation with their aspects on the nutritional range, economic, and biological values.

Background: Uncontrolled diabetes is a major health problem with more than million of death occurs due to opportunistic fungal infection annually. The risk of opportunistic infections increases with high sugar level in diabetic patients causes high morbidity and mortality. These fungal infection increases with geographical location, which varies from region to region. This research was carried out to view the occurrence of fungal infections among diabetes patients in central Nepal. Methods: this is a tertiary care centre based descriptive study carried out in the Department of Microbiology, CMS-TH, Bharatpur, Nepal over a period of two year from (January 2018 to December 2020). A total of 300 clinically fungal infection suspected uncontrolled diabetes samples were enrolled for our study. Informed written consent was taken from individual patients for the research. Fungal isolation and identification was done as per standard Microbiological procedure. Result: Out of 300 clinically suspected opportunistic fungal infection in diabetes patients only showed 60 patients fungal culture positive, giving an incidence of (20.0%). The majority of infections were by saprophytic fungal species of Candida 37(61.7%) followed by Aspergillus 9(15.0%), Cryptococcus 5(8.3%) and Mucor 3(5.0%) in that order. Only 2(3.3%) Trichosporon and Fusarium each; and 1(1.7%) Pseudoallescheria boydii were also isolated from skin and soft tissue infections of diabetes patients. One 1(1.7%) dematiaceous unidentified fungus was also identified. Conclusion: The opportunistic fungi mostly isolated from diabetes patients were Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and Mucor species. Trichosporon, Fusarium; and Pseudoallescheria boydii were least isolated from different clinical samples. 

ABSTRACT:- Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are high molecular weight polymers with long chain composed of sugar residues and secreted by microorganisms into the surrounding environment. Bacterial EPS has a complex mixture of macro molecular poly electrolytes including carbohydrates, proteins and sometimes nucleic acids. Stem and root nodulating isolate of Aeschynomene indica plant was identified by 16S rRNA sequencing as Rhizobium mayense. Efficiency of Rhizobium mayense for EPS production was studied using Yeast Extract Agar as a basal medium with different carbon and nitrogen sources and the incubation was done at 30?C for 48 hours. Surface topology of EPS was found smooth by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Alcohol precipitated EPS was further purified using Sephadex G200 and Sephadex G100 gels. The rheological properties of purified EPS were studied by Ostwald’s Viscometry and BrookField’s viscometetry. Key words: 16S rRNA sequencing, Exopolysaccharide, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Gel Permeation Chromatography, Ostwald’s Viscometry, BrookField’s viscometetry.

The experiments were conducted to studied the effect of the different percent of Trigonella foenum--graecum (Fenugreek) seed extract by water and have been taken as syrup for the diabetic and high cholesterol patients, Amino acid analyzer are used in this study also saponin test.In this study there was a significant different effect of different seed extract concentration of Fenugreek (10%, 15% and 20%) in the diabetic and high cholesterol patient, at concentration 10% seed extract of Fenugreek have the low effect to decreased blood glucose(mg/dl)and cholesterol(mmol/L), but at concentration 15% seed extract of Fenugreek have the high effect to decreased blood glucose(mg/dl) and cholesterol(m mol/L),also at concentration 20% seed extract of Fenugreek have the highest effect to decreased blood glucose(mg/dl)and cholesterol(m mol/L) the normal range of blood glucose in human is 74-106(mg/dl) the normal range of cholesterol(m mol/L) in human is 0-5.2(m mol/L). It was found that the high effect of Fenugreek seed extract to reduce blood glucose, and saponin to reduce cholesterol

Nigeran medicinal plants (Acanthospermum hispidum DC, Emilia coccinea (Sims) G. Don and Euphobia heterophylla) were analysed for their chemical composition. Phytochemical screening indicates the presence of saponins (0.22 to 0.37 mg/100g), flavonoids (0.96 to 1.87 mg/100g), alkaloids (1.52 to 1.71 mg/100g), phenols (1.07 to 1.55 mg/100g) and tannins (0.06 to 0.37 mg/100g). The medicinal plants contained ascorbic acid (24.35 to 31.79 mg/100g), riboflavin (0.04 to 0.31 mg/100g), thiamin (0.20 to 0.22 mg/100g) and niacin (0.08 to 0.10 mg/100g). These herbs are good sources of minerals such as Ca, P, K, Mg, Na, Fe and Zn. The plants gave appreciable antimicrobial activities in vitro against both gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms with the zone of inhibition values ranging between (16.00mm – 32.00mm) and (11.00mm – 22.00mm) respectively. The importance of these chemical constituents is discussed with respect to the role of these herbs in ethnomedicine in Nigeria.