Changes in the phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of Rock bee and Stingless bee mead during ageing

Srimeena N. and Gunasekaran S.

Mead is a drinkable honey which results from the alcoholic fermentation of diluted honey carried out by yeasts. In the current study, four meads such as rock bee honey fermented with and without the addition of sugar, stingless bee honey fermented with and without sugar were used to observe the changes in the physico-chemical and antioxidants properties occurring during ageing. In the present study, all mead samples have less than 6 % (v/v) alcohol content. During fermentation of honey, total soluble solids, reducing sugars, pH were decreased and acidity of mead was increased. Among the meads, stingless bee honey fermented without the addition of sugar had highest titratable acidity followed by stingless bee honey fermented with sugar. Stingless bee honey fermented without sugar evidenced more total phenolic content (73.45 mg of GAE/100ml of mead) and total flavonoid content (16.78 mg of CEQ/100 ml) when compared to all meads. The antioxidant activity of mead increased during ageing. High ferric reducing antioxidant power (85.56 µM Fe (II)/100 ml at 12 month aged mead), inhibition of lipid per oxidation, DPPH radical scavenging activity and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity observed in stingless bee honey fermented without sugar was followed by rock bee honey fermented without sugar. Antimicrobial, medicinal, nutritional and volatile compounds present in stingless bee honey and mead were determined through GC-MS. Stingless bee honey and mead had high medicinal, nutritional and antimicrobial compounds. Higher alcohol and esters produced during alcoholic fermentation play an important role in the flavour of wine.

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Liquid-liquid extraction of beryllium(II) using Cyanex 923 in kerosene from sodium acetate medium

Kamble P. N. and Mohite B. S.

In present study, liquid-liquid extraction of beryllium (II) from sodium acetate media using cyanex 923 in kerosene has been carried out. Beryllium (II) was quantitatively extracted from 1x10-1M sodium acetate with 1x10-2 M cyanex 923 in kerosene. It was stripped quantitatively from the organic phase with 1 M H2SO4 and determined spectrophotometrically with eriochrome cyanine R at 525 nm. The effects of concentrations of sodium acetate, metal ions, strippants and effect of diluent and diverse ion effect have been studied. Separation of beryllium (II) from other elements was achieved from multicomponent mixtures. The method is simple, rapid and selective with good reproducibility (approximately±2%).

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Thermophysical and Thermoacoustical Properties of Benzaldehyde with Toluene and 1, 4 Dioxane at Temperatures of 303.15, 308.15 and 323.15K

Reddy Golamari Siva, Reddy Ronda Srinivasa, Reddy Mallu Maheswara and Reddy G. Rajasekhar

Accurate estimations of the physical and thermoacoustical properties of aldehyde with 1,4 dioxane and toluene at different mole fractions and various temperatures in the atmospheric pressure condition are necessary in the design and optimum operation of such processes. In this study, density, viscosity, sound speed, thermoacoustical parameters and the nature of intermolecular interactions between the liquid mixture constituents: Density (ρ), Viscosity (η) and ultrasonic velocity (u) have been measured for the binary liquid mixture of Benzaldehyde with 1,4 dioxane and toluene over the entire composition range at 303.15,308.15 and 313.15K. This study involves the evaluation of different thermo acoustical parameters along with the excess properties. The Redlich-Kister model was used to correlate the measured properties. It was found that in all cases the experimental data obtained fitted with the values correlated by the corresponding models very well. The molecular interactions existing between the components were also discussed.

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Extraction Studies of Thorium (IV) from sodium perchlorate medium

Lakhan R. R. and Pawar S. D.

The extraction of Th(IV) from perchlorate medium has been studied using Cyanex-923 extractant. The metal ion was found to be quantitatively extracted with Cyanex-923 in toluene at pH range from 2.0-3.0. From the organic phase the metal ion can be stripped with 7.0M HClO4 solution. The effect of pH, reagent concentration, sodium perchlorate concentration, stripping agent, diluents and equilibration period on the extraction of Th(IV) has been studied. The stoichiometry of the extracted species of this metal ion was determined on the basis of the slope analysis method.

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Comparative Analysis of Fluoride Adsorption on Chitosan-Alumina and N-N-Dimethylamine N– Ethylamine Chitosan –Alumina

Aswar Sachin A., Yeul V.S. and Bhagat Pundlik R.

The comparative adsorption of fluoride onto chitosan–alumina and N-N-dimethylamine N–ethylamine chitosan–alumina was studied. The parameters evaluated were initial fluoride concentration and quantity of adsorbent. The optimized parameters were initial fluoride concentration 4.96 mg/L, 9.89 mg/L and 20mg/L and 50mg/L of the adsorbent. The equilibrium adsorption was analyzed by Langmuir isotherm. The Langmuir isotherm model gives the better correlation to predict the adsorption equilibrium. The maximum adsorption capacities were 86.9 % and 63.9 % for N-N-dimethylamine N–ethylamine chitosan–alumina from 4.96 mg/L and 9.89 mg /L concentration respectively. The calculated parameters showed that the process was spontaneous. The desorption experiment showed the N-N-dimethylamine N–ethylamine chitosan–alumina was more suitable as an adsorbent.

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Antagonistic activity of Bacillus kochii WP3 strain from Gorgonian coral, Junceella juncea (Pallas, 1766)

Chellaram Chinnachamy

This research was undertaken to investigate the bioactive efficacy of bacteria isolated from surface of coral, Junceella juncea (Pallas, 1766). 164 bacterial strains were isolated from the coral Junceella juncea from Tuticorin coast, Gulf of Mannar region, south east coast of India. The strains were tested for antibiotic production against selected five human pathogens. Initial screening using agar overlay method shows that a strain coded, WP3 was found to exhibit broad spectral activity inhibiting the growth of three bacteria. Based on 16s rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic identification, the stain WP3 was identified to fall under the genera Bacillus. The ethanol precipitated of the culture broth WP3 was used to obtain the crude extract of the culture strain and its activity was noted. MALDI-TOF analysis has shown that the mass of the molecules ranged from 1148Da to 1729Da. HPLC trace shows the presence of active molecules. These compounds can be isolated and characterized to be used as antibiotics in the future.

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A novel method for Determination of Bifenthrin and its metabolite residues in sub soils by GC-MS

Rao Tentu Nageswara, Tentu Manoharanaidu, Apparao Karri and Patrudu T.B.

A simple and sensitive validated GC-MS-EI (Gas chromatography mass spectroscopy Electron ionization mode) analytical method was developed for the determination of bifenthrin and its metabolite (Bifenthrin alcohol) residues in different soils. The different soils (Sandy clay, Sandy loam, Loamy sand and clay) were collected from different places. The soil identification is based on soil characteristics like Sand content, pH, Organic carbon content. The method was validated using in soils spiked with bifenthrin and bifenthrin alcohol standard solutions at different concentration levels (0.5 and 5.0 mg/L). Average recoveries (using each concentration six replicates) ranged 85-95% with relative standard deviations less than 2%, calibration solutions concentration in the range of 0.5-100 mg/L and limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.2 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L respectively. The proposed method can be applied successfully for the determination of bifenthrin and its metabolite bifenthrin alcohol residues in different soils.

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Metabolism modification and cell death induction in cancer cell lines after the chloroform extract of Kocuria sp. SRS88 treatment

Sureshan Shiyamala Devi and Sahadevan Renganathan

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative effects of Kocuria sp. SRS88 extract on HT 29 and HeLa cancer cell lines. In the present investigation, previously extracted chloroform extract of Kocuria sp. SRS88 isolated from Manora beach, Thanjavur, India was tested for its effect in cancer cell metabolism making cells susceptible to apoptosis. The chloroform extract of Kocuria sp. SRS88 significantly inhibited two cancer cell lines viability by promoting cell apoptosis. Cell apoptosis of cancer cells was made known through activation of caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation. In particular, Kocuria sp. SRS88 crude extract treated cells showed lower HIF-1α levels as compared to untreated cells. The extract was able to reduce the LDH activity and the amount of lactate was released into the extracellular environment. The antiproliferative effect of the crude chloroform extract on two cancer cell lines was evidenced by inducing cell death through an apoptotic mechanism and by altering cancer cell metabolism through HIF-1α regulation. The anticancer property of the extract may be due to the presence of several active anticancer principle compounds in the extract. The chloroform extract of Kocuria sp. SRS88 might be a good candidate for cancer prevention.

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Quaternary thin films: A review

Ho S.M.

Quaternary thin films were reported for use as the photo absorber in solar cells because of direct band gap and high optical absorption coefficient. In the past few years, there were a number of reports on the properties of thin films prepared by different deposition methods. Characterization of thin films was reported by various researchers in order to study of materials properties especially suited to solar cell applications.

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