Impact of Tetracycline on Basil and its Remediation Potential

404-413Over the past decade presence of antibiotics in soil and water is a major environmental concern which needs to be address on a priority basis. The present study was done to evaluate the potential of basil (Ocimum basilicum) for phytoremediation. A greenhouse study was conducted for removal of tetracycline from soil. The plants were grown with 200 mgkg−1, 400 mgkg−1, and 600 mgkg−1 of tetracycline for four weeks. Accumulation of tetracycline in shoot and root was observed with HPTLC in plants. They showed a maximum of 97% remediation capability with 200 mgkg−1of tetracycline treated plants. Secondary metabolites were lepoxygenase pathway products in stress condition. The same were analyzed by GCMS. Alpha-terpineol and methyl acetate completely degraded in all samples, while they were present in plants grown without tetracycline. This could be because antibiotic treatments impact the production of lipoxygenase pathway products, while in some cases secondary metabolites increase marginally as the tetracycline concentrations increased. The aim of the current work was the use of plant-based system for phytoremediation and toxicological impact of tetracycline on basil

Impact of tetracycline on basil and its remediation potential

Over the past decade presence of antibiotics in soil and water is a major environmental concern which needs to be address on a priority basis. The present study was done to evaluate the potential of basil (Ocimum basilicum) for phytoremediation. A greenhouse study was conducted for removal of tetracycline from soil. The plants were grown with 200 mg kg-1, 400 mg kg-1 and 600 mg kg-1 of tetracycline for four weeks (4W). The accumulation of tetracycline in shoot and root was observed with HPTLC in which the plant showed 97 % remediation capability with 200 mg kg-1 of tetracycline treated plants. Secondary metabolites are lepoxygenase pathway products in stress condition which was analyzed by GC-MS. Alpha-terpineol and methyl acetate completely degraded in all samples, while they were present in plants grown without tetracycline. This could be because antibiotic treatments are the most sensitive indicators of production of lipoxygenase pathway products, while in some cases secondary metabolites increased as the tetracycline concentrations increases, although the content was very low. The aim of the current work was the use of plant-based system for phytoremediation and toxicological impact of tetracycline on basil.

Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals

ABSTRACT Owing to the immutable nature, metals are a group of pollutants of much higher concern. Human activities such as mining and smelting of metalliferous ores, electroplating, gas exhaust, energy and fuel production, fertilizer and pesticide application, etc., lead towards metal pollution, which has become one of the most serious environmental problems today. At high concentrations, metals can act in a deleterious manner by blocking essential functional groups, displacing other metal ions, or modifying the active conformation of biological molecules. The current remediation techniques of heavy metal from contaminated soil are expensive, time consuming and environmentally destructive. Phytoremediation, an emerging technology for cleaning up contaminated sites, which is cost effective, and has aesthetic advantages and long term applicability. The efficiency of removal of heavy metals like Copper (Cu), Antimony (Sn) and Lead (Pb) from soil by Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Cicer arientinum was studied. The phytoremediation rate with EDTA was compared to without .It was found that Phytoremediation is an effective method for remediation of soil with metal pollutants.the results with chelating agent like EDTA were very encouraging

Image_1_Natural sources and encapsulating materials for probiotics delivery systems: Recent applications and challenges in functional food development.TIFF

Probiotics are known as the live microorganisms which upon adequate administration elicit a health beneficial response inside the host by decreasing the luminal pH, eliminating the pathogenic bacteria in the gut as well as producing short chain fatty acids (SCFA). With advancements in research; probiotics have been explored as potential ingredients in foods. However, their use and applications in food industry have been limited due to restrictions of maintaining the viability of probiotic cells and targeting the successful delivery to gut. Encapsulation techniques have significant influence on increasing the viability rates of probiotic cells with the successful delivery of cells to the target site. Moreover, encapsulating techniques also prevent the live cells from harsh physiological conditions of gut. This review discusses several encapsulating techniques as well as materials derived from natural sources and nutraceutical compounds. In addition to this, this paper also comprehensively discusses the factors affecting the probiotics viability and evaluation of successful release and survival of probiotics under simulated gastric, intestinal conditions as well as bile, acid tolerant conditions. Lastly applications and challenges of using encapsulated bacteria in food industry for the development of novel functional foods have also been discussed in detail too. Future studies must include investigating the use of encapsulated bacterial formulations in in-vivo models for effective health beneficial properties as well as exploring the mechanisms behind the successful release of these formulations in gut, hence helping us to understand the encapsulation of probiotic cells in a meticulous manner.</p