Bio Technology

A total of ten plant samples of Rhus mysorensis (Darsan) from unique locations of Sanganer region of Rajasthan were collected for isolation of fungal endophytes. Of these, maximum frequency of Fusarium species (26.33 %) were recorded which are morphologically similar but ecologically variant. The present paper discusses the diversity of Fusarium species (Fusarium oxysporum & Fusarium roseum) within the Rhus mysorensis plant samples of unique location of sanganer region of rajasthan on the basis of frequency distribution and occurrence.

Aeromonas species are ubiquitous bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic milieus. They are becoming renowned as enteric pathogens of serious public health concern as they acquire a number of virulence determinants that are linked with human diseases, such as gastroenteritis, septicaemia, and skin diseases. Identification of Aeromonads to the species level is problematic and complex due to their phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity. With the aim of clarifying taxonomic relationships among the strains, Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic sequence (REP) was used as molecular marker for biotyping Aeromonas strains isolated from surface and sub- surface soil sediments from Forest ecosystem. Out of a collection of 120 strains isolated from surface and sub-surface soil sediments, 15 strains were confirmed as Aeromonas based on phenotypic fingerprinting obtained from 69 biochemical tests. Genetic diversity among Aeromonas sp. was determined by analysing their REP fingerprint patterns using NTSYS pc software package and UPGMA cluster method. Considerable amount of genetic diversity was observed among the isolated strains. Furthermore, dendrogram demonstrated the existence of distinctive clusters at various similarity levels. These fingerprinting techniques can therefore be used to recognize the relatedness of strains derived from clinical and environmental isolates, which helps in further characterization of factors/genes responsible for the disease.

The present study deals with the isolation of polyurethane (PU) degrading microorganisms from the soil, analysis of biodegradation and optimization of various factors (temperature, pH and by using different co-metabolites). Soil sample was collected from dumping area, Sector H/8, Islamabad, Pakistan and was used as a source for isolation of polyurethane degrading bacteria. Sterilized polyurethane films were buried in soil for three months. The PU pieces were taken from the soil, washed with sterilized distilled water and enriched in liquid MSM for a period of one month. Six different bacterial strains were isolated through enrichment technique, which were identified on the basis of standard morphological and biochemical tests. The study yields that the bacteria with the ability to degrade polyurethane were isolated from soil. It is therefore concluded that soil contains the potential candidates for bioremediation of plastic wastes.

Solanum nigrum Linn. (Solanaceae) has been extensively used in traditional medicine and other parts of the world to cure liver disorders, chronic skin ailments (psoriasis and ringworm), inflammatory conditions, painful periods, fevers, diarrhea, eye diseases etc.Present study showed that the ethanolic extract of Solanum nigrum which contain highest amount of flavonoids and phenolic compounds so can exhibit the greatest antioxidant activity and among other extract used for the study. Solanum nigrum species contain the highest phenol and Flavonoids, thus can be used to explore new drugs. The results revealed that there is relation between phenol and flavonoids content with antioxidant activities.

Environmental contamination by textile dye effluents is of greater concern nowadays. The use of biological process for its elimination is a convenient way to get rid of it. This study sought to explore the potential use of bacterial isolates from textile dye contaminated soil in the degradation of the dyes. Different optimizing parameters such as pH, temperature and concentration have been worked out to find out the effective degradation. The work involved isolation of isolates (S1,S2 and S3) for the degradation of three different dyes (Black B1, BlueNE2RL, and Red BS11) at different parameters such as pH (pH6, pH7 and pH8), Temperature ( Room temperature and Incubation temperature) and Concentration (5mg/l and 10mg/l). The results show varying degree of degradation under various optimizing conditions. The optimal conditions for the effective degradation for all three dyes were found to be at neutral pH and slightly acidic pH, at incubation temperature and at concentration of 5mg/l. Thus this study demonstrates means of developing a management strategy based on the biodegradation process for the effective removal of persistent textile dye.

Natural products remain either the source of the inspiration for a significant proportion of the new small molecule chemical entities introduced as drugs. Actinomycetes are the largest antibiotic producing genus in the microbial world discovered so far. The number of antimicrobial compounds reported from the different species of actinomycetes per year has increased almost exponentially for about two decades. As marine environment are different from terrestrial it is concluded that marine actinomycetes might produce various types of novel bioactive compounds and enormous antibiotics. The objectives of this study is to isolate actinomycetes from salt pans of Marakanam to optimize and screen the production of secondary metabolites from the isolated, two isolated selected actinomycetes and to the check the antimicrobial activity of these metabolites against pathogens. Out of 30 actinomycetes isolates Ros11 and Ros25 were screened and characterized based on antimicrobial properties. The secondary metabolites were extracted from Ros 11 and Ros 25 by chemical solvents, ethyl acetate and acetone. Using well diffusion method it was observed that secondary metabolites of Ros 25 formed maximum inhibition zones, 10mm, 12mm and 15mm against Staphylococcus aureus and fungal pathogens Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigates, respectively. The Ros 25 isolate could be the better candidate for the production of antibacterial and antifungal compounds.

Hepatoprotective activity and antioxidant status of ethanolic extracts of 200,400,600 mg/kg of Alpinia purpurata rhizome was evaluated against Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. Acute and short-term toxicity studies were performed initially in order to ascertain the safety of ethanolic extracts of Alpinia purpurata rhizome. After 48 hrs of CCl4 induced, the extract was administered daily for 15 days. After administration of the last dose followed by 18 h fasting, rats were then sacrificed for observation of hepatoprotective activity. The effect of ethanolic extracts of Alpinia purpurata on the CCl4 treated rats. Ethanolic extract showed significant (p<0.05) hepatoprotective effect by lowering the serum levels of various biochemical parameters such as serum glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phospatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TBL), total cholesterol (CHL) in the selected model and liver biochemical parameters (lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes) were estimated. These biochemical observations were in turn confirmed by histopathological examinations of liver sections and are comparable with the standard hepatoprotective drug Silymarin (25.0 mg/kg body weight, p.o) which served as a positive control. Treatment with ethanolic extracts of Alpinia purpurata decreased the levels of lipid peroxidation and increased the levels of glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase. The ethanolic extracts of Alpinia purpurata rhizome exhibited hepatoprotective effect by modulating lipid peroxidation and augmenting antioxidant defense system in CCl4 treated rats.

Plant extracts of various parts viz., seeds, leaves, bark, roots and seeds have been used for water puri?cation for many centuries. According to UNICEF about 15 % population of the world is facing safe drinking water problem and 5 million people died once a year (WHO, 2006). Different plant parts of Strychnos potatorum, Tamerindous indica, Cyamopsis psoraloides, Hibisicus sabdariffa, Trigonella foenum, and Lens esculenta have been conducted using raw water with turbidity that ranged from 50 to 7500 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units). The activity of Lantana leaves were tested by two experiments. In experiment 1 colony count and turbidity methods was followed whereas in experiment 2 only colony count method was followed. The increasing concentration from 1-10 reduced the bacterial growth and turbidity also decreased with increase the concentration.

The objective of this work was to investigate the possible formation of the heterocycyclic N-nitrosomorpholine upon administration of nitrite and morpholine and also the significance of high fat diet on the metabolism of the nitrosamine, using spectrophotometric, cell fractionation, centrifugation, thin layer chromatographic, ultraviolet irradiation and in vitro and in vivo methods. The possible endogenous formation of NMOR was detected in urine collected 24hours after a combined oral administration of 20mg nitrite and 40mg of morpholine/kg through the process of thin layer chromatography. The retention factor (Rf) 0.664 and the purple chromatogram observed in the test urine using a detector NEDSA spray correlated with that of the standard thereby indicating the in vivo formation of nitrosamine. Also an in vitro study confirmed the formation of nitrosomorpholine at pH 7.4 in an appropriate phosphate buffer. The increase nitrite level after incubation of the liver microsomal fraction for 30minutes, arising from exposure to ultra violet light irradiation, confirmed the formation of nitrosomorpholine. The histopathology result of rat liver treated with concurrent administration of morpholine and NaNO2 revealed heavy hemorrhage, inflammatory cells, fat deposition and general cytolysis which confirm the toxicity of nitrosomorpholine on the liver. It is concluded that the combined administration of nitrite and morpholine produced a nitrosamine whose metabolism to toxic species in the liver tissue is attributed to the biochemical and histopathologic lesions enhanced by a high fat diet.

Lignin is a major component of wood, which is recalcitrant in nature and is not easily degraded. Its recycling is essential for the carbon cycle. Waste products from paper, pulp and wood industries impair with soil and water bodies leading to accumulation of lignin. In this review various effective physical, chemical, physico- chemical, thermo- chemicals and electrical method are discussed for lignin removal along with biological deterioration of lignin with the help of organisms (insects, fungus and bacteria). Use of microbes and insect for lignin deterioration is termed as lignin biodegradation. Lignin degradation with the help of fungi is well studied but much less studied in bacteria and insects. The present review deals with the biodegradation of lignin with the help of microbes.