Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review

The monsoon season is a natural phenomenon that occurs over the Asian continent, bringing extra precipitation which causes significant impact on most tropical watersheds. The tropical region’s countries are rich with natural rainforests and the economies of the countries situated within the region are mainly driven by the agricultural industry. In order to fulfill the agricultural demand, land clearing has worsened the situation by degrading the land surface areas. Rampant land use activities have led to land degradation and soil erosion, resulting in implications on water quality and sedimentation of the river networks. This affects the ecosystem services, especially the hydrological cycles. Intensification of the sedimentation process has resulted in shallower river systems, thus increasing their vulnerability to natural hazards (i.e., climate change, floods). Tropical forests which are essential in servicing their benefits have been depleted due to the increase in human exploitation. This paper provides an overview of the impact of land erosion caused by land use activities within tropical rainforest catchments, which lead to massive sedimentation in tropical rivers, as well as the effects of monsoon on fragile watersheds which can result in catastrophic floods. Forest ecosystems are very important in giving services to regional biogeochemical processes. Balanced ecosystems therefore, play a significant role in servicing humanity and ultimately, may create a new way of environmental management in a cost-effective manner. Essentially, such an understanding will help stakeholders to come up with better strategies in restoring the ecosystem services of tropical watersheds

EFFECT OF BETA VULGARIS L. ON CHOLESTEROL RICH DIET-INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN RATS

Abstract The lyophilized aqueous extract of Beta vulgaris L. (beet root) (BVE) was investigated for its possible antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant potential in cholesterol rich diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in Wistar albino rats. Hypercholesterolemia was induced in rats by feeding 1% cholesterol rich diet for 10 weeks. Lipid profile and glucose were estimated in serum. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and non-protein sulfhydryls (NP-SH) levels were measured in liver and heart. Hypercholesterolemic rats showed a significant increase in total cholesterol and triglycerides and a significant decrease in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. BVE at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight for 70 consecutive days showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol and triglycerides and significant increase in HDL-C. Furthermore, hypercholesterolemic rats showed free radical generation (lipid peroxidation), evident by a significant increase in MDA level and a significant reduction in NP-SH content in both liver and heart homogenates. BVE treatment significantly decreased MDA level and significantly replenished the reduced NP-SH content in both liver and heart tissue. The acute toxicity test of BVE showed no mortality or morbidity in rats. The findings indicate that BVE has a significant antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant potential and/or free radical scavenging properties in hypercholesterolemic, rats possibly exerted by the phytoconstituents present in the beet root. Rezumat Studiul experimental evaluează acţiunea antihipercolesterolemiantă şi antioxidantă a extractului apos liofilizat al rădăcinii plantei Beta vulgaris (Chenopodiaceae). Studiul a fost realizat pe şobolani albi de laborator, cărora li s-a indus experimental hipercolesterolemia. A fost evaluat profilul lipidic şi glucidic al animalelor, concentraţia serică a malonildialdehidei. De asemenea, au fost evaluate (ĭn ţesutul hepatic şi cardiac) grupările sulfhidril non-proteice. Rezultatele obţinute indică proprietăţile antihipercolesterolemiante şi antioxidante, datorate fitoconstituenţilor prezenţi în rădăcina plantei studiate

A Review on Cadmium and Lead Contamination: Sources, Fate, Mechanism, Health Effects and Remediation Methods

Cadmium and lead soil contamination is a widespread environmental problem that requires profound and sustainable solutions. These toxic elements can be naturally occurring on the Earth’s crust or from man-made origins. Cadmium and lead could accumulate and translocate in soil over the long term. Thus, their risk of entering the food chain is extremely elevated and their effects on the living organisms in the food web are of great concern. The main purpose of this review study is to emphasize the risk to human health of cadmium and lead as an environmental contaminant in soil and plants. Human exposure to cadmium and lead can cause severe illness; for instance, long-term exposure to cadmium can alter kidney health and cause dysfunction. Additionally, lead threatens the nervous system and causes countless diseases. Hence, the remediation of cadmium and lead from soil before they enter the food chain remains essential, and regular monitoring of their principal sources is crucially needed for a sustainable soil ecosystem

Proanthocyanidin-rich date seed extract protects against chemically induced hepatorenal toxicity

A hydroacetone extract was prepared from seeds of Phoenix dactylifera L. var. Khalas, which is an industrial by-product of date processing. The proanthocyanidin nature of the extract (coded as DTX) was characterized by phytochemical and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. The total phenol/proanthocyanidin content and antioxidant activity of DTX were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu, vanillin-sulfuric acid, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays, respectively. The hepatorenal protective activity of DTX was evaluated using CCl4-induced toxicity model in rats, in comparison with silymarin (SYL). Results of the histopathological examination and measurements of various hepatorenal serum indices and tissue biochemical markers demonstrated that DTX displayed marked protective potential against CCl4-induced liver and kidney injury at 100 mg/kg/rat. Relative to the control CCl4-intoxicated group, pretreatment with DTX significantly (P<.001) suppressed the elevated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT and AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), bilirubin, creatinine, and calcium, whereas it significantly (P<.001) increased the diminished serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and total protein (TP). Moreover, DTX significantly decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) formation and increased TP synthesis in hepatorenal tissues compared with the intoxicated control. The improvement in biochemical parameters by DTX was observed in a dose-dependent manner and confirmed by restoration of normal histological features. The acute toxicity test of DTX in rats revealed safety of the extract. This study reveals that DTX enhances the recovery from xenobiotics-induced toxicity initiated by free radicals

GC-MS Analysis: In Vivo

Liver disease is a worldwide problem. It represents one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in humans. Achillea biebersteinii is used as herbal remedy for various ailments including liver diseases. But the scientific basis for its medicinal use remains unknown. Thus, this research was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of A. biebersteinii essential oil (ABEO) (0.2 mL/kg) in the amelioration of CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rodent model. Moreover, the chemical content of the oil was investigated using GC and GC-MS. The following biochemical parameters were evaluated: serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (γ-GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin. Furthermore, lipid profile, malondialdehyde (MDA), nonprotein sulfhydryl (NP-SH), and total protein (TP) contents in liver tissue were estimated. 44 components (92.0%) of the total oil have been identified by GC-MS analysis where α-terpinene and p-cymene were the most abundant. The high serum enzymatic (GOT, GPT, GGT, and ALP) and bilirubin concentrations as well as the level of MDA, NP-SH, and TP contents in liver tissues were significantly reinstated towards normalization by the ABEO. Histopathological study further confirmed these findings. In addition, ABEO showed mild antioxidant activity in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays