Applied Botany

Black rot of cocoa pods, a disease caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl., causes significant production losses all over the world. To reduce the impact of this pest, genetic control using resistant varieties is favored.To do this, inoculations having shown the interest of the INERA Yangambi collection, consisting in the evaluation of the resistance of 14 “CRY” clones, vis-à-vis inoculations of a strain of L. theobromae were operated. This study, carried out in Yangambi in the DRC, using inoculation on detached pods with series of tests and a statistical test adapted to the ordinal nature of the data confirms that two clones representing 14.28% of the subjects tested do indeed constitute resistant materials. L. theobromae. In addition, 5 clones or 35.71% are considered moderately resistant. However, the other remaining materials could be integrated into many cocoa genetic improvement programs, especially those with other notable qualities. The Yangambi collection with 62 accessions,

Plant derived components have a great significance and act as potent alternatives for the treatment of cancer without having harmful after effects on human body. There are about 250,000 plant species out of which more than one thousand plants possess significant anticancer properties which has been proven by scientists. Plant derived components such as Taxol, podophyllotoxin, etoposide, camptothecin, topotican, vinblastine, etc are of great contribution towards anti-cancer activity by plants

Induced mutation is one of the best alternatives for the improvement of cowpea as it can help to regenerate and restore the variability, which is generally lost in the process of adaptation to various stresses. Genetic variability is the most essential prerequisite for any successful crop improvement programme as it provides spectrum of variants for the effective selection, which can be achieved through the processes of hybridization, recombination, mutation and selection. In the present investigation, variability induced by gamma rays, Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) and combined treatments (gamma rays with EMS) for different quantitative traits viz., plant height, days to first flower, number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, number of cluster per plant, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant and seed yield per plant in M3 generation of cowpea. Estimate of genetic parameters (genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance) for the yield and its components were higher than the control in M3 generation. The increased genetic variance in the treated material is a dependable suggestion of the effects of mutagens.

Soluble protein concentration of seventeen wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) in NaCl salinity (16 dS m-1 and two weeks exposure) was assessed to evaluate the ability of these traits in salt screening. There was an increase in protein content in salinity stress compared to control condition in root and shoot. Even thought, there was a clear relation between salt tolerance or salt sensitivity and soluble protein in shoot plant; we didn’t find any relation between tolerance and protein concentration in root. It seems that the increase in concentration of soluble protein can be a criteria to distinct salt tolerance in the shoot of early wheat plant. Therefore soluble protein concentration measurement can be applied with other trait such as Na exclusion, yield and yield components to screen wheat cultivars in salinity condition.

The Phytochemical studies were carried out on the aqueous, chloroform and ethanol extract of the powdered specimen using standard procedures. In this investigation terpenoids, steroids, tannins, saponin, and cardiac glycosides showed positive results in the extracts whereas flavonoids and phlobatannins showed negative results in the aqueous extract. Soxhlet apparatus were used for extracting the antibacterial active compounds from the powered leaves of Mentha arvensis. The discs were prepared and immersed in various solvents. Obtained pathogenic bacteria pure cultures were inoculated nutrient broth respectively. The antibacterial activities against the Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens and Staphylococcus pyogenes. Ethanol extract was found to be most effective followed by other water and chloroform extracts. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia were more sensitive for ethanol extract. Aqueous extracts showed low inhibition against the tested organisms when compared to other test plant extracts. The present study provides an important basis for the use of chloroform and ethanol extracts from the leaves of Mentha arvensis L. for the treatment of skin diseases. The crude extract as well as the isolated compounds found to be active in this study which would be useful for the development of new antibacterial drugs.

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of crude methanolic extracts of various plant parts of Phyllanthus niruri was investigated. The extracts exhibited antimicrobial activities with zones of inhibition ranging from 6 to 16 mm. All the extracts exhibited appreciable activity against all the clinically important bacterial and fungal species clinically investigated. Maximum Inhibition zone (16mm) was observed in seeds against Staphylococcus aureus and minimum in roots (5mm) against E. coli. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, alkaloids and flavonoids in the extracts. The antimicrobial activity of the extract was compared with the standard drugs. The ability of the crude extracts of P. niruri plant parts to inhibit the growth of various bacteria and fungi showed its broad spectrum antimicrobial potential, which may be employed in the management of microbial infections.

A convenient, rapid and accurate chromatographic method was developed for authentication and quality control of commercial product Flos Arnicae. Chromatography (HPTLC or TLC) was performed on silica gel 60 F254 (Merck) plates with toluene–dioxane –acetic acid (95:25:4) as mobile phase. Compounds were visualized by spraying with ‘Naturstoffreagenz A’ reagent. Detection was performed at ?=366 nm. Eight flavonoid aglycones were detected of the exudates of Arnica montana and Arnica chamissonis by co-chromatography with authentic markers. Differences in the fluorescence emission were observed in flavonoid profiles between A. montana and A. chamissonis under mentioned above conditions of analysis. Flavonoid profile of Arnica montana is presented by flavonoids with brown fluorescence while the flavonoid profile of Arnica chamissonis is composed of flavonoids with yellow-green fluorescence. These visually noted differences of the flavonoid profiles of the both species allow they to be quickly distinguished. The proposed method could be used for quality control of identity and purity of commercial product Flos Arnicae.

The ameliorating effect of Emblica officinalis was evaluated against changes in sperm and hormone of mice. The animals received aqueous preparation of Endosulfan (Pesticide) once daily for 35 days at the dose of 3 mg/kg body wt by oral gavage method and observed deleterious effect such as of reduction in the number of sperm count and motility. Declination in the level of Testosterone were observed which signify the testicular dysfunctions and finally causes infertility. To ameliorate the deleterious effect made by endosulfan, Emblica officinalis was administered to mice @ 100 mg/kg body wt & 150 mg/kg body wt The earlier study have demonstrated potent anti-microbial, antioxidant, adaptogenic, hepatoprotective, anti-tumor and anti-ulcerogenic activities in the fruits of Emblica officinalis. Emblica officinalis treatment mitigate the fluctuation in sperm count and sperm motility as well as elevated the level of testosterone which was depressed by pesticide treatment.

The search for more effective hypoglycaemic agents continues to be an area of research interest. World Health Organization recommended the use of alternative therapy especially in countries including, Nigeria, where access to conventional treatments of diabetes is inadequate. Majority of people in Abeokuta were majorly peasant farmers and petty traders who could not afford high cost of pharmaceutical remedies of diabetes which is very rampant as a result of poor feeding pattern. However, naturally endowed plants such as Hibiscus sabdariffa are found everywhere, parts of which are taken as vegetables without putting into consideration its hypoglycemic advantages. However, this study could assist in providing some information needed for the health improvement of the rural populace (Abeokuta) as regards diabetes. Combination of 300g M. lucida + 100g A.sativum+l00g Z. officinale produced the best hypoglycaemic effect (69.85%) in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of PIF in relation to the types of plantain trees in Gbadolite in the Democratic Republic. The experimental set-up used was that of complete randomized blocks with 3 treatments (T1: French; T2: True Horn; T3: False Horn) and 3 replications. Weaned per cormus, 44 rejects; 32 rejects and 30 rejects respectively for the French, True Horn and False Horn types. The French type gave more weaned offspring than the true and false horn types under Gbadolite conditions. In short, the second hypothesis is confirmed. Therefore, the french type responds to this technique than the other types.