Zinc-diosmin complex modulates the activities of liver carbohydrate metabolic enzymes in high fat diet fed-low dose streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetes in experimental rats

Veerasamy Gopalakrishnan and Sorimuthu Pillai Subramanian

Sedentary life style, obesity and chronic hyperglycemia have been implicated in the initiation, progression and onset of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Glucose is an indispensable fuel for the production of energy in the form of ATP to maintain body functions but at the same time, it leads to several metabolic complications at high concentrations. Changes in glucose metabolism in diabetes mellitus are frequently accompanied by impairment in the activities of enzymes that regulate carbohydrate metabolism. The enzymes that control glucose metabolism in liver tissues are considered as potential targets for the maintenance of normal glycemic control in diabetic individuals. Recently, we have reported that oral treatment with of zinc-diosmin complex at a concentration of 20mg/kg.bw. for a period of 30 days significantly ameliorates hyperglycemia in HFD- low dose STZ induced T2DM in rats. Hence, in the present study, an effort has been made to explore the potential effect of zinc-diosmin complex on the regulation of key metabolizing enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism in hepatic tissues of T2DM rats. The impairment in the activities of enzymes that regulate carbohydrate metabolism in hepatic tissues of rats induced with experimental diabetes was significantly reverted to near normal levels by the oral treatment with zinc-diosmin complex. In addition, oral administration of zinc-diosmin complex to diabetic rats showed significant reduction in the levels of fasting blood glucose and glycosylated heamoglobin and increased level of plasma insulin. Thus, the present data evidenced that the oral administration of zinc-diosmin complex to diabetic rats regulates glucose homeostasis by regulating the activities of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes.

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In vitro Phosphate solubilization by Halotolerant Pseudomonas aeruginosa PHSD5 isolated from Paddy Rhizosphere

Singha Sourav and Putatunda Chayanika

Phosphate solubilizing bacteria present in plant rhizosphere are capable to solubilize inorganic phosphate and thus make it available to plants. In the present study, isolation of halotolerant Phosphate solubilizing bacteria from the coastal region of West Bengal was carried out. A total of 12 isolates were obtained from three paddy rhizosphere soil samples. The isolates were subjected to primary and secondary screening and PHSD5 which showed highest phosphate solubilization during secondary screening selected for subsequent studies. The conditions for in vitro Phosphate Solubilization by the isolate were optimized. The isolate showed maximum Phosphate solubilization (176 ng/ml) under optimized condition (C source Sucrose, N source Beef Extract, pH- 7, 0.6 M NaCl concentration, incubation period 7 days with agitation). On the basis of 16srDNA sequencing, the isolate was found to be Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Genebank Accession Number KJ940979).

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Changes in polyphenols during fermentation of Eleusine coracana and its antimicrobial activity on bacteria normally implicated in clinical infections

Ramakrishnan Sudha Rani, Chelliah Ramachandran and Antony Usha

The current study was undertaken to determine the effects of fermentation on total phenolics content in finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and the antibacterial activity of the grain extract. The fermentation of finger millet was carried out at different time periods (0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36 and 48 h). The total polyphenols decreased (10.376±0.05 to 3.269±0.08 µgg-1) during 48 h of fermentation. Lactobacillus casei KS9, Enterococcus faecalis KS4 and Saccharomyces cerevisae KS10 were found to be dominant in the 18 h fermented finger millet flour. The highest antimicrobial activity was also observed at 18 h of fermentation against 6 clinically isolated dysentery causing pathogenic microorganisms among which maximum zone of inhibition (25 mm) was observed for Micrococcus luteus. The pathogenicity of the microorganisms was tested against 3 antibiotics having different modes of action. Well diffusion method was used to assess the effect of the extract on Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus. At dilution of 200mg/ml, only mild activity against Aspergillus fumigatus and Staphylococcus aureus was noticed. The highest activity was produced by Micrococcus luteus which is comparably less than that of the standard drugs Norfloxacin (10 mcg), tetracycline (30 mg) and vancomycin (30 mg). In conclusion, this study has shown that the extract of finger millet possessed some degree of antimicrobial activity especially at low dose.

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GC-MS metabolic finger printing tool in the Screening of potent bioactive components of Blepharispermum subsesssile

Das Soni and Sureshkumar P.

Plants are the core sources of bioactive compounds which play a crucial role in maintaining the human health. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry is the most widely used analytical technique for the identification of potential bioactive compounds from various medicinal plants. The main aim of the study was to screen and identify the various potential bioactive compounds present in the methanolic root extract of Blepharispermum subsessile DC. The GC-MS analysis showed the presence of various bioactive compounds such as palmatic acid (Hexadecanoic acid), oleic acid, linoleic acid (9, 12- Octadedienoic acid (Z, Z)-), phenols (carvacrol), esters, alkaloids (piperine) etc. in the methanolic root extract of B. subsessile which is evident from its various therapeutic activities such as anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial, antiasthama and anesthetic activities.

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Optical properties of ternary thin films (Ni3Pb2S2) prepared by chemical bath deposition technique

Ho Soon Min

Thin films of Ni3Pb2S2 were deposited on glass substrate from aqueous solutions of nickel (II) sulfate, lead (II) nitrate and sodium thiosulfate. In this work, tartaric acid acted as complexing agent. The films were studied using UV-Visible spectrophotometer in the range of 300-900 nm. The optical characterization indicates that the films have band gap that ranged between 1.2 - 1.5 eV.

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Validation of Zinc transporter specific primers in rice (Oryza sativa L.) accessions grown under Aerobic condition

Patil Ashlesha C. and Shashidhar H. E.

Nutrients in food crops can be enriched by adopting biofortification. Identifying the target quantitative trait loci (QTL) genes will help achieve biofortification with greater precision and accuracy. Sixty one rice accessions include local genotypes and improved lines were used to estimate grain (brown rice) Zn content and validation of Zn transporter specific candidate gene primers. The variation in grain Zn content ranged from 14.03 to 31.94 ppm with an average of 24.3 ppm. Of the twenty candidate gene primers used, eleven showed monomorphism and nine showed polymorphism. Of nine polymorphic primers only two primers OsZIP2_1, OsZIP3_2 showed significant association with grain Zn content with 6.1 and 10% phenotypic variation respectively.

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Will Silver Barb (Barbonymus Gonionotus) survive at Floating Net Cage in Cirata Reservoir by Gulma Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) alone?

Rostika R., Yustiati A., Herawati T. and Ahadian I.

This research aims to identify the average daily gain (ADG) and survival rate (SR) of silver barb fed with water hyacinth farmed at floating net cage in Cirata Reservoir. Experiment was conducted from December 2014 to February 2015 using complete random model consisting of four treatments and three repetitions. The treatments include water hyacinth feeding for 10%, 20% and 30% and artificial feeding for 3% of the fish's weight. Fish are fed two times a day by observing the ADG, SR and water quality. The results show that water hyacinth feeding greatly influences the ADG; the 3% feeding supplies the highest ADG by 1% while the other treatments equally contribute 0.1%. However, there is no significant difference in the average survival rate of the fish resulting in 98%.

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Biofiltration of styrene using composite beads of compost as modified biofilter media

Singh S., Rai B.N. and Singh R.S.

Compost is one of the widely used and most efficient biofilter media reported in the literature with only few limitations such as problem of compaction during long term operation and requirement of some macro and micro nutrients during its operation. In the present study, compost based modified biofilter media was prepared with objective to remove above limitations and tested against styrene loaded air stream in a biofilter inoculated with mixed culture of microorganism for a period of 123 days without supply of nutrients. Characterisation results of the media showed that it has most of the favourable properties required for bio filtration. The maximum removal efficiency of 98.2% was obtained at the styrene loading of 520.2g m-3 h-1. The maximum elimination capacity of 870.8 g m-3 h-1was obtained at the styrene loading of 980.9 g m-3 h1. Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants ECmax and Ks were also estimated and found to be 1139.24 gm-3hr-1 and 1.77 g m-3 for styrene. The ECmax calculated by kinetic model is more than maximum elimination capacity obtained in the experiment which indicates that there is still scope for improving the performance of biofilter by optimizing the process parameter.

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