Economics of production and marketing of banana in Chitwan district, Nepal

The study was conducted in several place of Chitwan, Nepal from where 90 representative farmers and 20 traders were selected randomly as sample. The farmers were categorized into small, medium and large farm based on land holding size. The finding showed average productivity was maximum in medium size farm. Total cost of banana cultivation per bigha (1.5 bigha = 1 hector) was NRs. 239031 (106 NRs. = $1) excluding land rent. The share of planting material was 12.66%, manure 13.55%, fertilizer 16.49%, micro-nutrient 2.59%, pesticides 10.54%, labor 19.48%, animal/ machine 19.23%, marketing & transport cost 2%, and miscellaneous 3.46%. The average return rate found to be highest in large farm and lowest in small farm. The average profit of banana cultivation found to be NRs. 131902.3 per bigha. The average benefit cost ratio was 1.55 in the study area. Producer–Collector–Wholesaler–Retailer–Consumer was the most prevalent marketing channel, through which 94.74% volume was traded. Disease and pest infestation was the major production problem and fluctuation in price for marketing. The average share of banana on annual income for farmers found to be 41.34 %, indicating commercial cultivation in study area

Bullying, Depression and Anxiety among Secondary School Students of Illam, Nepal

Background: Bullying is an intentional act of hurt and frighten others, it is common in schools. Different kind of bullying student may include physical, verbal, emotional and cyber bullying in the school. Objectives: To assess bullying, depression and anxiety among students and to find out association between bullying, depression and anxiety. Materials and method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was adopted with sample size of 306. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample. Bullying (physical, verbal, emotional, sexual and cyber bullying) questionnaire was developed on the basis of Olweus Bullying Profile, Depression and anxiety was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS version 16. Results: Present study found that 112 (37%) of respondents had experienced bullying among them physical bullying 41(36.6%), verbal bullying 40 (35.7%), emotional bullying 10 (8.92%), sexual bullying 11(9.82%), and cyber bullying 10 (8.92%). More than half (52.6%) of the respondents had minimal depression followed by mild depression 35.6%. More than two-third (69.9%) of the respondents had low anxiety. Conclusion: Bullying is common in schools. Minimal Depression and low anxiety were common in students which ultimately leads to suicidal ideation. There was significant association between physical, verbal, and sexual bullying with gender and obtained percentage in last year summative annual exam. Awareness program should be initiated to identify bullying and proper reporting which will ultimately improve the mental health of school students. Keywords: Anxiety, bullying, depressio

LC-HRMS-Based Profiling: Antibacterial and Lipase Inhibitory Activities of Some Medicinal Plants for the Remedy of Obesity

Globally, obesity is a serious health concern that causes numerous diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Medicinal plants have been used to aid in weight loss since ancient times. Thus, this research is focused on the exploration of pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity and secondary metabolite profiling of Bergenia ciliata, Mimosa pudica, and Phyllanthus emblica, selected based on an ethnobotanical survey. The lipase inhibition was investigated using 4-nitrophenyl butyrate (p-NPB) as a substrate. To uncover further therapeutic potentials of these medicinal plants, antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts were also determined. The ethyl acetate plant extracts showed higher antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Shigella sonnei. The MIC of ethyl acetate extracts of medicinal plants considered in this study ranges from 1.56 to 6.25 mg/mL. The hexane fraction of Mimosa pudica and Phyllanthus emblica showed a higher lipase inhibitory activity as compared to others, with IC50 values of 0.49 ± 0.02 and 2.45 ± 0.003 mg/mL, respectively. In the case of Bergenia ciliata, the methanolic extract inhibited lipase more effectively than others, with an IC50 value of 1.55 ± 0.02 mg/mL (IC50 value of orlistat was 179.70 ± 3.60 µg/mL). A mass spectrometry analysis of various solvent/solvent partition fractions (extracts) revealed 29 major secondary metabolites. The research offers a multitude of evidence for using medicinal plants as antiobesity and antimicrobial agents

Antidiabetic, Antimicrobial, and Molecular Profiling of Selected Medicinal Plants

Natural products have been the center of attraction ever since they were discovered. Among them, plant-based natural products were popular as analgesics, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and cosmetics and possess widespread biotechnological applications. The use of plant products as cosmetics and therapeutics is deep-rooted in Nepalese society. Although there are few ethnobotanical studies conducted, extensive research of these valuable medicinal plants has not been a priority due to the limitation of technology and infrastructure. Here, we selected 4 traditionally used medicinal plants to examine their bioactive properties and their enzyme inhibition potential. α-Glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities were investigated using an in vitro model followed up by antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The present study shows that ethyl acetate fraction of Melastoma melabathrium (IC50 9.1 ± 0.3 µg/mL) and water fraction Acacia catechu (IC50 9.0 ± 0.6 µg/mL) exhibit strong α-glucosidase inhibition. Likewise, the highest α-amylase inhibition was shown by crude extracts of Ficus religiosa (IC50 29.2 ± 1.2 µg/mL) and ethyl acetate fractions of Shorea robusta (IC50 69.3 ± 1.1 µg/mL), and the highest radical scavenging activity was shown by F. religiosa with an IC50 67.4 ± 0.6 µg/mL. Furthermore, to identify the metabolites within the fractions, we employed high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and annotated 17 known metabolites which justify our assumption on activity. Of 4 medicinal plants examined, ethyl acetate fraction of S. robusta, ethyl acetate fraction of M. melabathrium, and water or ethyl acetate fraction of A. catechu extracts illustrated the best activities. With our study, we set up a foundation that provides authentic evidence to the community for use of these traditional plants. The annotated metabolites in this study support earlier experimental evidence towards the inhibition of enzymes. Further study is necessary to explore the clinical efficacy of these secondary molecules, which might be alternatives for the treatment of diabetes and pathogens