Replacement of fish meal by plant protein sources in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) diet: growth performance and utilization

The nutritional suitability and cost effectiveness of rice polish and mustard oil cake as protein sources in the diet of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were studied. This study introduced rice polish as a plant protein source for Nile tilapia and three diets were formulated using rice polish (0, 10 and 20%) and mustard oil cake (10.0, 17.6 and 22.0%) for a feeding trial of eight weeks to observe the growth performance and feed utilization. The result was indicated that growth performance tended to decrease with increase in inclusion level of rice polish and mustard oil cake. The control diet (FM35) recorded the highest body weight gain (BWG) (363.79±59.32%) and the least (330.24±32.32%) was in diet FM25. Specific growth rate (SGR) was followed the same trend and no significant differences of SGR was observed among the diets (P>0.05). Feed intake (FI) of different diets was ranged between 30.33 g and 35.08 g per fish at the end of this experiment. Feed intake was also declined with the increase in inclusion level of rice polish, though the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were not significantly different (P>0.05) among the diets. The results of this study revealed that partial replacement of fish meal by rice polish and mustard oil cake would be cost effective without any significant change in growth performance

Preclinical HbA1c level studies of makaradhwaja and siddha makaradhwaja after chronic administration to male Sprague-Dawley rats

Background: Makaradhwaja (MD) and Siddha Makaradhwaja (SMD) are Ayurvedic preparations used as traditional medicines for different clinical indications in the rural population. Principle purpose of using MD is controlling hypotension and while SMD is useful in peripheral circulatory failure treatment. In this study we evaluate the influence of these preparations on HbA1c (%) level.Methods: To find out the average plasma glucose concentration over prolonged period of time, MD and SMD were administered chronically to the male Sprague-Dawley rats at a dose of 40 mg/kg. After 28 days of chronic administration of MD and SMD the following changes were noted and Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) level was determined.Results: The results of the study of in vitro quantitative determination of rat HbA1c concentrations in serum studies, MD demonstrated a negligible (0.61%) decrease in the HbA1c level of the blood of the male rat (p=0.902). Whereas SMD demonstrated a negligible (1.83%) increase in the HbA1c level of the blood of the male rat (p=0.782).Conclusions: Between these preparation MD slightly decreases HbA1c level of the blood of the male rat, whereas SMD found in increasing HbA1c level of the blood of the male rat

Screening of Bangladeshi medicinal plants for their effects on pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice

Se analizó la actividad en el sistema nervioso central de los extractos acuosos de cuarenta plantas medicinales de Bangladesh mediante el estudio de la duración del sueño inducido por pentobarbital. Doce de las plantas mostraron un aumento signifi cativo de la duración del sueño, mientras que seis mostraron una disminución signifi cativa. Woodfordia fruticosa y Uraria lagopodioides presentaron un mayor efecto depresor que el diazepam.Aqueous extracts of forty medicinal plants of Bangladesh have been screened for central nervous system activity by pentobarbital-induced sleeping time test. While twelve plants showed signifi cant increase in sleeping time, six plants showed signifi cant decrease. Woodfordia fruticosa and Uraria lagopodioides exhibited a better depressant effect than diazepam