Preventive effect of Shemamruthaa - an indigenous herbal formulation against 7, 12-dimethylbenz (a) anthracene induced breast cancer in female Sprague Dawley rats

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018. The major type of cancer among females is breast cancer, accounting for 24.2% of the total cancer cases. In the last decades, phytochemicals have attracted a growing attention as anti-cancer agents and the study of herbal formulations from traditional medicine represents a challenging research field.Objectives: Shemamruthaa (SM), an indigenous herbal formulation constituting petals of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and fruits of Emblica officinalis and honey was evaluated for anticancer property.Methods: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (8-week-old) were used for the study and were divided into 4 groups. Group I, normal control animals received a single oral dose of olive oil (1 ml) at the age of eight weeks (Control); Group II animals induced for mammary carcinoma with a single oral dose of 25 mg of 7, 12- dimethylbenz (a) anthracene DMBA dissolved in one ml of olive oil after overnight fasting. Group III mammary carcinoma was induced as in Group II, in addition, after three months;animals were treated with SM at the dose of 400 mg/ kg body weight/day by gastric intubation (DMBA+ SM treated). Group IV Animals received 400 mg/kg body weight of SM alone and served as SM control. The experimental design was performed in accordance with the current ethical norms approved by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), and Institutional Animal Ethics Committee Guidelines (IAEC. No. 01/030/2011). The tumour markers and the mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic genes/anti-apoptotic genes were examined by RT-PCR analysis in mammary tissues of control and experimental animals.Results: Results of the study revealed that SM treatment significantly (p< 0.05) abridged the levels of tumour markers viz. carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and breast cancer specific marker (CA-15-3) when compared to DMBA-induced rats. SM treatment significantly induced mRNA levels of p53 and Bax. Meanwhile, the cell proliferative (PCNA) and anti-apoptotic gene, Bcl-2 were down-regulated by SM treatment.Conclusion: The expression pattern of breast cancer markers and apoptotic signaling molecules analyzed in the present study signifies the therapeutic efficacy of SM against breast cancer.Acknowledgments: Food Testing Laboratory, Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, Tanjavur 613005, Tamil Nadu, India, for providing Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry and HPLC facilities

Check - list of estuarine and marine fishes of Parangipettai (Porto Novo) coastal waters.

A classified list of 410 species of fishes recorded from the coastal (neritic and estuarine) waters of Porto Novo is given. The marine fishes Dumber 215 while the estuarine ones are 125 in number. The list also includes 6 species reported for the first time from Indian waters

Influence of Chloride Ion on the Toxicity of Heavy Metal Mercury upon Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Heavy metal pollutants released into the coastal region certainly influence the bacterial population leading to the formation of metal resistant forms. The toxicity of mercury to different species of bacteria also vary. Among bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus play an important role in the disease of marine animals and human beings as pathogens. Hence the present study was aimed to understand the effect of mercury on the survival of two V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated from polluted uppanar estuary at different concentrations. (0, 1, 10, 25, 50 and 100 ppm) in the absence and presence of Nacl (1.75 and 3.5%) was carried out. Toxicity of mercury showed that  V. parahaemolyticus gradually decreased upto 1 ppm mercury and then there was a decline at higher concentration of mercury

Occurrence of Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria in Rhizospheric and Pneumatophoric Sediment of Avicennia marina

The present study deals with the isolation and characterization of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) from Avicennia marina rhizospheric sediment, pneumatophoric sediment and non-rhizospheric sediment. The sampling was carried out in four mangrove forests of Mumbai, India. The physicochemical parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, texture, total Phosphorus (P), inorganic P, organic P, Olsen P, iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc in sediment were analysed along with the isolation and molecular characterization of PSB. Significantly, lower pH was observed in the rhizospheric sediment than in the pneumatophoric and bulk sediment. Abundance of PSB was also found in the rhizospheric zone. This was supported by other physicochemical parameters such as high organic P, Olsen P, and higher bacterial count along with low inorganic P. In this study, 8 PSB were isolated and 16S rDNA sequence revealed that all the isolates belong to the genus Bacillus. Among the PSB isolates, B. subtilis sub. spizizenii TU-B-10 showed significantly higher solubilization activity (85.8±0.0 µg P released per 108 cfu in 72 hrs). The isolates that showed higher phosphate-solubilizing potentials can be explored as phosphatic bio-fertilizer to enhance the agricultural, aquacultural and mangrove productivity

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF TABERNAEMONTANA DIVARICATA (APOCYNACEAE) SECONDARY METABOLITES CAPPED SILVER AND GOLD NANOPARTICLES

Objective: To study the antibacterial activity of Tabernaemontana divaricata (Apocynaceae) secondary metabolites capped silver nanoparticles(SNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).Methods: In the present investigation, SNPs and AuNPs were synthesized using an aqueous extract of T. divaricata leaves. Leaf aqueous extractwas mixed with 1 mM silver nitrate and chloroauric acid for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles, and the same was analyzed using ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis) spectrophotometer and particle size analyzer. The antibacterial activity of SNPs and AuNPs was determined against various bacterial culturesincluding laboratory isolates using the agar well diffusion method.Results: The results recorded from UV-Vis spectrum supported the biosynthesis and characterization of SNPs and AuNPs. The SNPs when comparedto AuNPs, showed the highest antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.Conclusion: The present study envisions on the biosynthesis of SNPs from T. divaricata plant which are emerging as antibacterial therapy in modernmedical applications.Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Gold nanoparticles, Silver nanoparticles, Tabernaemontana divaricata

Growth performance of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis in a low cost medium: An assessment

The unialgal culture of Spirulina platensis was sub-cultured in Zarrouk’s medium under photoautotrophic conditions. Initially, indoor batch cultivation was carried out for a week in four different types of cultivation media viz., Zarrouk’s, Modified Zarrouk’s, prescribed Nallayam Research Centre (NRC), and Modified NRC. In modified medium, urea and phosphoric acid of NRC medium were replaced with sodium nitrate and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (anhydrous) and concentration of ferrous sulphate heptahydrate was reduced. The batch and airlift indoor culture experiments were carried out with an illumination of 3500±100 lux, photoperiod of 12:12 hour light and dark periods and temperature of 24±1°C. The specific growth rate value was 5.7 % higher in Zarrouk’s medium as compared to modified NRC medium. However, the cost of modified NRC medium was considerably lower than Zarrouk’s medium; therefore, modified NRC medium was selected for outdoor studies. The outdoor mass cultivation was done under natural conditions with the solar radiation reaching the surface of culture was between 2160 and 8450 lux and temperature ranged from 27 to 34°C. An assessment of the performance of growth in batch, airlift and FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) tanks revealed that culture grown in airlift units showed best growth which was evident from higher specific growth rate and number of doublings per day. There was a 3.4-fold increase in cell density (in terms of turbidity at 750 nm) of the cultures in such units. The growth in outdoor FRP tanks was also comparable to the airlift cultures

Animal hygiene and sustainable livestock production: impact of ground water contamination with arsenic

There is a growing concern all over the world about contamination of ground water with Arsenic. One of the major repercussions of arsenic contamination is degradation of animal hygiene that ultimately affects sustainable livestock production. The reports suggest that concentration of Arsenic in ground water of twenty one countries is well above the guideline values. Use of such contaminated water for animal husbandry and livestock production compromises with the hygienic value of animal products. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop low cost treatment technologies for reducing the level of arsenic in ground water to maintain the hygiene and sustainability of livestock production. Most of the traditional treatment technologies are costly and less effective in reducing arsenic concentration to safer limits. Therefore, during present study, an attempt was made to design a low-cost algal adsorbent based filtration unit consisting of polyurethane columns with entrapped algal adsorbents. The column was made of adsorbents of algal origin like agar-agar, alginic acid, calcium alginate and Spirulina platensis biomass entrapped in polyurethane foam matrix. The performance of the column was assessed in terms of removal efficiency and the quantity of metal sequestered in unit time interval. The results from the study the show that algal biosorbents and S. platensis biomass combination has a capacity to adsorbed arsenic from aqueous solution. The simple design, easy fabrication and no energy requirement for the operation of the filtration unit developed under the present study is suitable to rural areas where arsenic contamination of ground water is adversely affecting the animal hygiene and sustained livestock production

Occurrence and Abundance of Phosphatase-Producing Bacteria in Mangrove Ecosystem

The study detailed the isolation and characterization of phosphatase producing bacteria (PPB) from rhizospheric, pneumatophoric and bulk sediments of Avicennia marina along Mumbai coast, India and also estimated alkaline phosphatase activity in sediment in addition to the Phosphatase enzymatic activity of isolates. The inorganic-organic nature of phosphorus was also examined. About, 42 PPB were isolated and identified from the sediment samples. 16S rDNA sequence revealed that all the isolates belong to the genus Bacillus except the one which belong to Geobacillus in the environment and B. anthracis str. Ames showed the phosphatase-producing activity of 84.11±0.01 µg p-NP released per 1×108 cfu in 72 hrs. The isolates, B. cereus strain APT23 and B. thuringiensis strain INRS4 showed the next best phosphatase activity. It was observed that PPB was very much abundant in A. marina mangroves. The pneumatophoric sediment showed significantly higher number of PPB with higher alkaline phosphatase activity, inorganic P and low organic P than those of other sediment types indicating that pneumatophoric region of A. marina harbours favourably the phosphatase-producers than the rhizospheric or bulk sediments and forms the first reference worldwide depicting this relationship. The isolates that showed higher phosphatase-producing potentials can be explored for using as phosphatic bio-fertilizer to enhance the agricultural, aquacultural and mangrove productivity on a larger scale