Preliminary Screening of Antibacterial Compounds from Palar River Basin Flora

Considering the significance of phytochemicals as antimicrobial agents, attempt was made in the present study, to categorize several rare plant species present in and around Palar river basin and to assess their antimicrobial activity. The densities of the green cover of the Palar river basin flora were assessed by the Google Earth software. Totally 28 plants were identified and classified into 17 families according to binomial classification system. Plant extracts were prepared from leaves of all collected plants by using methanol and chloroform. Thus, the crude methanol and chloroform extracts of 28 plant species were subjected to preliminary screening against 6 strains of human bacterial pathogen using the dick diffusion method at 500 µg/disc concentrations. The results indicated that 21 different plant species exhibited activity against one or more of the bacteria while four species, viz., Ammania baccifera, Plectranthus sp., Vitex trifolia and Vitex negundo showed activity against all test organisms. The plants containing bioactive metabolites demonstrated stronger anti-microbial properties stressing the need for further investigations using fractionated extracts and purified chemical components

Insect antifeedant and growth regulating activities of neem seed oil- the role of major tetranortriterpenoids

An attempt was made to correlate insect antifeedant and growth regulatory activities of neem (Azadirachta indica) seed oil with the major tetranortriterpenoids. Selective elimination of triterpenoids by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, incorporation of the eliminated compounds in defined concentrations and bioassaying the resultant fractions against Spodoptera litura indicated the necessity to quantify major triterpenoids for correlation of bioactivity of neem oil

Insect antifeedant and growth-regulating activities of salannin and other c-seco limonoids from neem oil in relation to azadirachtin

The antifeedant and insect growth-regulating activities of salannin, nimbin, and 6-deacetylnimbin, in comparison with azadirachtin-A, have been studied against Spodoptera litura, Pericallia ricini, and Oxya fuscovittata. Salannin deterred feeding, delayed molt by increasing larval duration, caused larval and pupal mortalities, and decreased pupal weights in the two lepidopterans. Salannin also caused molt delays and nymphal mortalities in Oxya fuscovittata. The role of salannin and other compounds in conferring bioactivity, along with azadirachtin-A, to neem oil/neem seed extracts is emphasized

Biochemical analysis on crop shoots of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze tea from the selected UPASI-16 clone.

Commercial tea comes from plants belonging to a relatively large group of cultivated species of Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze. It is one of the oldest known beverages made from the tender leaves of the plants. The main aim of the present study is to analyze the presence of biochemicals in UPASI -16 clone. In the results, the UPASI -16 clone showed high catechin (22.88%), polyphenol (31.70%), polyphenol oxidase (1178.63 U/mg of protein) and tea enzyme peroxidase (729.72 µM of O2 formed min-1g-1 dry weight), catalase (1.89 µM H2O2 reduced min-1 mg-1 protein) and Super oxide dismutase (58.45 U/mg proteins). UPASI -16 showed high catechin content in segregated tea crop shoots from the first internodes (23.66%) followed by the first leaf (22.46%), second leaf and third leaf.  Tea quality flavonoid gene expression, while ANR (1.66%) and F3H (1.02%) were down regulated, F35H and ANS (2.82%) were up regulated in UPASI -16. Based on the results, it can be concluded that crop shoots of Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze selected clone of UPASI-16 may possess high amount of biochemicals and may further lead to development of commercial tea

Mariculture in India: an overview

The world is projected to require a 50% increase in food production by 2050 to sustain an anticipated global population of 9.7 billion (FAO, 2017). Accomplishing this task poses considerable challenges, given the existing scarcity of land and freshwater resources, coupled with the looming threats of climate change and geopolitical impacts. In the global landscape, aquaculture has established itself as the fastest-growing sector in food production, boasting an annual growth rate exceeding 6% over the last two decades. Within aquaculture, mariculture stands out as the most rapidly expanding subsector, holding immense growth potential. The year 2020 witnessed mariculture contributing a substantial 33.0 million tonnes of food fish, constituting approximately 27% of the global food fish aquaculture production. The overall mariculture production, inclusive of seaweeds, reached an impressive 68.1 million tonnes, representing a significant 55.6% of the total world aquaculture production during the same year. India, with its burgeoning demand for seafood, is positioned to harness the considerable potential of mariculture, recognizing that reliance on the capture fisheries sector alone cannot meet this growing demand. The National Policy on Marine Fisheries (NPMF, 2017) underscores the pivotal role of mariculture in enhancing fish production from coastal waters. The government, in alignment with this policy, is committed to addressing the institutional and commercial requirements of the emerging mariculture sector. This commitment encompasses the formulation of leasing rights policies, spatial planning, provision of technological inputs such as husbandry, seed, feed, and health management, as well as addressing environmental and social impacts. Moreover, there is a concerted effort towards capacity building for local fishers and entrepreneurs to actively participate in mariculture

तकनीकी पुत्स्यिका: खुला समुद्रीय पिंजरा पालन

Technical Guide: Open Seacage Farmin

Decision support spatial suitability map for Seaweed Farming in India

Decision support spatial suitability map for Seaweed Farming in India. Seaweed Mariculture Area-Wise Locational Distribution in India

કેજ મેરીકલ્ચર તકનીકી પુસ્તિકા

Cage Mariculture: Technical Guid

Mariculture advancemnts in India: Towards a new epoch

Until recently, monoculture of either Penaeus monodon or Litopenaeus vannamei was the major mariculture species in India. However, due to disease setbacks, there was an extensive push from national R&D institutions to develop new-age mariculture technologies. This led to the first successful demonstration of open sea cage farming along the south-east coast of India, and subsequently, various marine finfish and shellfish mariculture sites were set up along the country’s coastline. A few bottlenecks remain, particularly regarding commercial seed production, species-specific feed formulations and comprehensive sea space management plans, but R & D on breeding and seed production technologies for candidate species continues apace to support the imminent expansion of sustainable mariculture in the country

Studies on Distribution of Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria in Contaminated and Undisturbed Soils of Kanchipuram

Abstract: Ever increasing environmental concern about chemical surfactants triggers attention to microbial derived surface-active compounds, essentially due to their low toxicity and biodegradable nature. At present, biosurfactants are predominantly used in remediation of pollutants, in the enhanced transport of metabolites in bacteria, in enhanced oil recovery, as cosmetic additives, in biological control. However, little is known about the distribution and prevalence of biosurfactant-producing bacteria in the environment. The primary objective of this study was to determine how common culturable surfactant producing bacteria are present in contaminated and undisturbed soil samples in and around Kanchipuram (12°50'23"N 79°42'0"E), Tamilnadu, India. A series of each 5 contaminated and undisturbed soils were collected and plated on R2A agar. Totally, 155 morphologically different bacterial isolates were obtained and qualitatively screened for biosurfactant production in mineral salts medium containing 2% glucose. Out of 155 isolates, eight isolates were positive for biosurfactant production, representing most of the soils tested. Quantitative estimation of surface activity identified two potent biosurfactant producing strains Bacillus sp.BS3 and Pseudomonas sp. Maximum surface activity was observed to be 26.58 x 10 -3 nm -1 and 20.60 x 10 -3 nm -1 respectively for Bacillus sp.BS3 and Pseudomonas sp. BS5. The present study is a preliminary demonstration that the Indian soils are rich in biosurfactant producing bacteria, which can be exploited for industrial production of biosurfactants