Evaluation of Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin Benth.) cultivars for growth, yield and quality parameters

The present study was conducted to evaluate six different Patchouli cultivars for growth, yield and quality parameters with respect to patchouli alcohol. During the plant growth, significant differences were observed in plant height with respect to cultivars. Among all the cultivars, KSM 4 was found to be superior with maximum plant height (95.7 cm), more number of branches per plant (37.3), more number of leaves per plant (689) and broader leaf area (6509 cm2). The average fresh herbage yield (686 g/plant), oil content (2.8 %), oil yield (19.3 g) and patchouli alcohol content (34.09 %) of KSM 4 were also found to be remarkable when compared to other cultivars. The next best cultivar was found to be KSM 5 in terms of growth and yield parameters. From the present study, it is apparent that a significant chemical variation of essential oil existed among the Patchouli cultivars. This clearly indicates that the oil quantity and quality is not only influenced by environmental factors such as, soil, climate and distillation practices, but also depends on genotype of cultivar. Hence, we can recommend KSM 4 as the best cultivar for commercial cultivation under south Indian climatic condition

Pulmonary phaehyphomycosis in retroviral disease patient

Pulmonary phaeohyphomycosis is a rare infection in the lung caused by black fungi containing a cytoplasmic melanin-like pigment. A 42-year-old man with underlying retroviral disease on HAART was investigated for having constitutional symptoms. Despite undetectable viral load and a high CD4 count, he was found to have unexplained significant loss of weight and appetite over a period of 6 months. Clinical examination revealed a cachexic man with multiple inguinal lymphadenopathies. Excisional biopsy of the inguinal lymph node revealed reactive follicular hyperplasia. CT Thorax, Abdomen and Pelvis was arranged to look for occult malignancy or infection and he was found to have multiple non-enhancing subcentimeter lung nodules mainly at the lateral segment of the right middle lobe of his lung. The largest nodule measured about 0.8 x 1.5 x 0.5 (AP x W x CC), with some nodules having an irregular margin with no extension into the adjacent bronchi. Bronchoscopy was done and demonstrated a black patch at the right intermedius, lateral segment of the middle lobe which did not disappear upon bronchial flush or wash. Histopathological examination found focal areas of blackish pigment and the bronchial alveolar lavage sent for fungal culture grew Cladosporium species. The patient was treated with oral Itraconazole with marked clinical improvement. This case highlights an unusual black fungi infection in the lung that stands out not only for its rarity and it's responsiveness to treatment, but also the susceptibility of an RVD positive patient to this infection despite having suppressed viral load and normal CD4 count

Malaysian Virgin Soil Extracts as Natural Growth Enhancer for Targeted Green Microalgae Species

The microalgae-based industries are trending upwards, particularly as the feed ingredient for aquaculture. Therefore, a sustainable and reasonably priced source of nutrients to support the mass cultivation of microalgae is in great demand. The present study explored the feasibility of using extracts from virgin soil as natural growth-promoting nutrients for the cultivation of Nannochloropsis oculata, Nannochloropsis oceanica, and Chlorella sorokiniana. The extracts were obtained from Bera Lake Forest using five different treatment methods. The greatest retrieval of dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and total dissolved phosphorus were observed with the autoclave treatment method at 121 °C twice, yielding a respective concentration of 336.56 mg/L, 13.40 mg/L, and 0.14 mg/L, respectively. The highest growth was recorded with Nannochloropsis oculata resulting in an optical density of 0.488 ± 0.009 (×103 cell mL−1), exhibiting 43% and 44% enhanced growth in comparison to Nannochloropsis oceanica and Chlorella sorokiniana, respectively. The specific growth rate (0.114 a ± 0.007 d−1) was the highest for Nannochloropsis oculata when the 24 h-extraction method was used, whereas the utilization of the autoclave 121 °C twice treatment method contributed to the highest specific growth of Nannochloropsis ocenica (0.069 a ± 0.003 d−1) and Chlorella sorokiniana (0.080 a ± 0.001 d−1). Collectively, these findings suggested that the addition of soil extracts which is sustainable and inexpensive promoted the growth of microalgae compared to the control system. A further study investigating the optimum culture conditions for enhanced microalgae growth will be carried out for the mass production of microalgae biomass

Optimization of culture conditions for improved green biodecolorization of methylene blue by Rhodococcus pyridinivorans strain UCC 0003

Methylene blue is a toxic dye present in the textile industry, and if left untreated, it causes harm to the environment. Therefore, to decolorize methylene blue from industrial effluents, a green approach using Rhodococcus pyridinivorans strain UCC 0003 was attempted. Methylene blue decolorization was measured spectrophotometrically, and the static condition yielded 86% decolorization after 24 h as compared to the shaking mode (20%). Optimization of static conditions using the one-factor-at-a-time approach resulted in 100% decolorization at 30EC, pH 6, inoculum size of 16% (v/v), and 5% (v/v) banana peel addition as a carbon source. The R. pyridinivorans strain UCC 0003 could successfully and completely decolorize 0.75 g/l methylene blue for 4 consecutive cycles, which is advantageous from an economic point of view. The rate of methylene blue disappearance was investigated using 10% (v/v) R. pyridinivorans strain UCC 0003 at 30EC over a certain incubation time with 0.4 g/l to 10.0 g/l methylene blue as the substrate. This study revealed Vmax and Km values of 37.04 g/l/h and 55.69 g/l, respectively, as the kinetic behavior of methylene blue-decolorizing enzymes from the bacterial strain. The properties of the treated solution of methylene blue resembled the control system (distilled water) for the phytotoxicity study, thereby indicating the complete removal of dye toxicity as evidenced by the growth of Vigna radiata and Triticum aestivum, respectively, in the treated methylene blue solution. This local bacterial strain has therefore a huge potential to be used as a green biocatalyst for the bioremediation of methylene blue-containing industrial effluents

Nutritional status of Zombi pea (Vigna vexillata) as influenced by plant density and deblossoming

Abstract Feeding billions, a healthy and nutritious diet in the era of climate change is a major challenge before plant breeders, geneticists and agronomist. In this context, the continuous search for adaptive and nutritious crops could be a better alternative to combat the problems of hunger and malnutrition. The zombi pea, a nutritious and underutilized leguminous vegetable, is one of such better alternatives to feed billions a nutritious food besides being a potential gene source for breeding abiotic stress resistant varieties. To evaluate its potential as a wonder crop in the tropical and subtropical regions of India, the nutritional status of tubers, pods and pericarp were investigated under different treatments of plant spacings and deblossoming. The experiment was conducted in split plot design with three replications and eight treatments during 2021–2022 in the coastal regions of India. The nutrient profiling in tubers and pericarp of pods in zombi pea revealed higher accumulation of nutrients viz. potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) with blossom retention. The zombi pea tubers reflected significantly high protein accumulation with the increase in plant spacing. The results pertaining to nutrient profiling in the pods of zombi pea indicated that the plant spacing has no significant effect on the accumulation of majority of nutrients under study. The above-mentioned findings are conspicuously novel and valuable. The present study would pave the way for understanding nutritional importance and breeding potential of this orphan crop. The blossom retention renders higher nutrient accumulation in tubers, pods and pericarp of zombi pea. Deblossoming has no significant influence on nutritional profile of this wonder crop but, wider spacing is effective in producing tubers with high protein content

Conversion of waste cooking oil by rhodococcal lipase immobilized in gellan gum

Recently, the application of lipase enzyme as biocatalyst in the conversion of waste cooking oil (WCO) to free fatty acids and glycerol has been trending well. Therefore, the present study attempts to use WCO which is found in abundance in Malaysia as the substrate for halal microbial lipase conversion to glycerol which can be exploited in the food industry. The workability of free lipase for WCO conversion, however suffers severely due to potential denaturation of the enzyme and extended reaction time. Thus, this study embraced the immobilization method to encapsulate crude lipase extracted from Rhodococcus pyridinivorans strain UCC 0009 in gellan gum and calcium alginate, respectively and compared their ability for WCO conversion to free crude lipase. The gellan gum and calcium alginate-immobilized crude lipase evidently exhibited greater WCO conversion, demonstrating 2.18-fold and 1.61-fold enhanced lipase activity, respectively in comparison to free crude lipase. The repeated reuse of the gellan gum-immobilized crude lipase maintained reasonable lipase activity for 9 cycles, retaining an average 85 % WCO conversion for the first seven cycles and 67 % conversion in the subsequent batches. Thus, the immobilized halal lipase can be foreseen as a green substitute to chemical catalyst for WCO conversion which meets the worldwide demand for clean technologies