Nutritional and biochemical properties of Malaysian okra variety

The nutritional and biochemical contents of Malaysian okra fruits and leaves were studied by analysing the nutritional contents in the fruits and leaves such as protein, carbohydrate, moisture, oil, ash and fibre, while the biochemical contents in the fruits and leaves such as chlorophyll, phenolics and flavonoids were also analysed. The result of the proximate analysis revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) among the fruits and leaves with highest percentage of crude protein (4.81%) and ash (2.44%) were present in the leaf. Mature fruits contain highest percentage of fiber (2.44%), oil (0.4%) and carbohydrate (11.7%) respectively, while the young fruits showed highest moisture contents of 88.47%. The results of the biochemical analysis showed significant differences (p < 0.05) among the fruits and leaves with the highest total chlorophyll content in mature leaves (32.99 mg/1 g). The total highest phenolics content was found in young leaves (0.99 mgTNE/1 g) and the total flavonoid was highest in mature leaves (0.79 mgQE/1 g). This paper showed that nutritional and the biochemical contents of okra were higher in the leaves than in the fruits

Proximate analyses and anti-nutritional factors in local and improved cowpea varieties

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds from local and improved varieties obtained from Abuja market, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) were analyzed for the proximate determination (protein, moisture and ash) and anti-nutritional composition (Phytate, Alkaloid and Tannin). The seed protein content in the local and improved cowpea varieties ranged from 22.61% to 27.92%. The highest crude protein was found in NG/SA/066-1 (27.92%) and lowest was in Sampea 10 (23.76%). There was no significant difference in the moisture and ash content among the local and improved cowpea varieties. The result of the anti-nutritional composition showed that the highest phytate content (1.94 mg/g) was found in Big white variety while the lowest phytate content was found in Butter beans (0.84 mg/g). White cowpea variety recorded the highest alkaloid content at (2.54 mg/g) while Butter beans recorded the lowest alkaloid content at (0.24 mg/g). The highest tannin content was found in Big white at (5.72±0.15 mg/g) while the lowest was found in NG/AO/035 at (1.92±0.03 mg/g). The results herein can aid in cowpea breeding and conservation

Antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from Catharanthus roseus

Introduction: Recently, several endophytes have been shown to possess the potentials to synthesize novel bioactive compounds that have found use for drug discovery. We isolated endophytic fungi associated with Catharanthus roseus collected from the river banks of Amassoma in Southern Nigeria, and identified some of their bioactive secondary metabolites. Methods: The fungi were subjected to solid-state fermentation on rice medium and the metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The fungal crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity and were also subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis for the identification of the bioactive compounds. Results: The fungal extracts showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.0625 to 1 mg/mL. The HPLC-DAD analysis of the extracts suggested the presence of citreoisocoumarin, citreoisocoumarinol, questinol, hydroxyemodin, acropyrone, methyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetate, nigricinol, and cladosporin. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that endophytic fungi associated with C. roseus could be a promising source of novel bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical and industrial importance

Antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from Catharanthus roseus

Introduction: Recently, several endophytes have been shown to possess the potentials to synthesize novel bioactive compounds that have found use for drug discovery. We isolated endophytic fungi associated with Catharanthus roseus collected from the river banks of Amassoma in Southern Nigeria, and identified some of their bioactive secondary metabolites. Methods: The fungi were subjected to solid-state fermentation on rice medium and the metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The fungal crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity and were also subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis for the identification of the bioactive compounds. Results: The fungal extracts showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.0625 to 1 mg/mL. The HPLC-DAD analysis of the extracts suggested the presence of citreoisocoumarin, citreoisocoumarinol, questinol, hydroxyemodin, acropyrone, methyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetate, nigricinol, and cladosporin. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that endophytic fungi associated with C. roseus could be a promising source of novel bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical and industrial importance

An assessment of the performance of emergency management agency in the natural hazards management among farm households in the southeast zone, Nigeria

An assessment of the performance of emergency management agency in mitigating natural hazards among farm households in Southeast Zone, Nigeria was studied. About 240 farm households who were administered questionnaire were chosen from the states’ flood- and erosion-prone regions using multi-stage sampling technique. The results indicate that the EmergencyManagement Based-Performance Index’s average level of national emergency management activities was 57.33. The total average ratings of the National Emergency Management Agency/State Emergency Management Agency performance indicators based on their usefulness as a measure of natural hazard were estimated as 47.8% which showed that the NEMA/SEMA key performance indicators’ degree of effectiveness in hazard management is deemed to be below average of the index. These key performance indicators (KPI) include; distribution of food, provision of seedlings, provision of agro-chemical, training of farmers on postharvest crop preservation, use of weather, rehabilitation of water resources, expansion of irrigation facilities, distribution of fingerlings, provision of household items. The highest weighted score assigned to the distribution of food was 2.89, indicating that it is 57.8% successin mitigating natural disasters, while the average weight score allocated to the distribution of seedlings was 2.62, indicating a 52.4% degree of efficacy. However, the study recommends that the funds allotted to NEMA/SEMA should be monitored to ensure it is utilized in achieving its stated aims and objectives

Differentiation and Loss of Malignant Character of Spontaneous Pulmonary Metastases in Patient-Derived Breast Cancer Models

Patient-derived human-in-mouse xenograft models of breast cancer (PDX models) that exhibit spontaneous lung metastases offer a potentially powerful model of cancer metastasis. In this study, we evaluated the malignant character of lung micro-metastases that emerge in such models after orthotopic implantation of human breast tumor cells into the mouse mammary fat pad. Interestingly, relative to the parental primary breast tumors, the lung metastasis (met)-derived mammary tumors exhibited a slower growth rate and a reduced metastatic potential with a more differentiated epithelial status. Epigenetic correlates were determined by gene array analyses. Lung met-derived tumors displayed differential expression of negative regulators of cell proliferation and metabolism and positive regulators of mammary epithelial differentiation. Clinically, this signature correlated with breast tumor subtypes. We identified microRNA-138 as a novel regulator of invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells, acting by directly targeting the polycomb epigenetic regulator EZH2. Mechanistic investigations showed that GATA3 transcriptionally controlled miR-138 levels in lung metastases. Notably, the miR-138 activity signature served as a novel independent prognostic marker for patient survival beyond traditional pathologic variables, intrinsic subtypes or a proliferation gene signature. Our results highlight the loss of malignant character in some lung micro-metastatic lesions and the epigenetic regulation of this phenotype

MicroRNA-30c targets cytoskeleton genes involved in breast cancer cell invasion

Metastasis remains a significant challenge in treating cancer. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying metastasis is needed to develop more effective treatments. Here we show that human breast tumor biomarker miR-30c regulates invasion by targeting the cytoskeleton network genes encoding Twinfilin 1 (TWF1) and Vimentin (VIM). Both VIM and TWF1 have been shown to regulate epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Similar to TWF1, VIM also regulates F-actin formation, a key component of cellular transition to a more invasive mesenchymal phenotype. To further characterize the role of the TWF1 pathway in breast cancer, we found that IL-11 is an important target of TWF1 that regulates breast cancer cell invasion and STAT3 phosphorylation. The miR-30c-VIM/TWF1 signaling cascade is also associated with clinical outcome in breast cancer patients

Basal-like Breast cancer DNA copy number losses identify genes involved in genomic instability, response to therapy, and patient survival

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with known expression-defined tumor subtypes. DNA copy number studies have suggested that tumors within gene expression subtypes share similar DNA Copy number aberrations (CNA) and that CNA can be used to further sub-divide expression classes. To gain further insights into the etiologies of the intrinsic subtypes, we classified tumors according to gene expression subtype and next identified subtype-associated CNA using a novel method called SWITCHdna, using a training set of 180 tumors and a validation set of 359 tumors. Fisher’s exact tests, Chi-square approximations, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were performed to evaluate differences in CNA by subtype. To assess the functional significance of loss of a specific chromosomal region, individual genes were knocked down by shRNA and drug sensitivity, and DNA repair foci assays performed. Most tumor subtypes exhibited specific CNA. The Basal-like subtype was the most distinct with common losses of the regions containing RB1, BRCA1, INPP4B, and the greatest overall genomic instability. One Basal-like subtype-associated CNA was loss of 5q11–35, which contains at least three genes important for BRCA1-dependent DNA repair (RAD17, RAD50, and RAP80); these genes were predominantly lost as a pair, or all three simultaneously. Loss of two or three of these genes was associated with significantly increased genomic instability and poor patient survival. RNAi knockdown of RAD17, or RAD17/RAD50, in immortalized human mammary epithelial cell lines caused increased sensitivity to a PARP inhibitor and carboplatin, and inhibited BRCA1 foci formation in response to DNA damage. These data suggest a possible genetic cause for genomic instability in Basal-like breast cancers and a biological rationale for the use of DNA repair inhibitor related therapeutics in this breast cancer subtype.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10549-011-1846-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

MicroRNA-30c inhibits human breast tumour chemotherapy resistance by regulating TWF1 and IL-11

Chemotherapy resistance frequently drives tumour progression. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly characterized. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been shown to correlate with therapy resistance, but the functional link and signalling pathways remain to be elucidated. We report here that miR-30c, a human breast tumour prognostic marker, plays a pivotal role in chemo-resistance by a direct targeting of TWF1, which encodes an actin-binding protein and promotes EMT. An IL-6 family member, IL-11 was identified as a secondary target of TWF1 in the miR-30c signalling pathway. Expression of miR-30c inversely correlated with TWF1 and IL-11 levels in primary breast tumours and low IL-11 correlated with relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients. Our study demonstrates that miR-30c is transcriptionally regulated by GATA3 in breast tumours. Identification of a novel miRNA-mediated pathway that regulates chemo-resistance in breast cancer will facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies