Comparative Phyto and Physicochemical Parameters of the Therapeutic Plant Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels in Jaffna District

Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae) is an evergreen tree, grown widely in Sri Lanka. It is regularly recognized as jambolan, black plum, and jamun. It is an extensively used therapeutic herbal in the treatment of innumerable illnesses, particularly in Diabetes mellitus in traditional medicine. The goal of the research was to compare the phytochemical and physicochemical properties between the different parts of jambolana tree which is naturally found in Sri Lanka. Proximate estimation of physicochemical properties of dried matured different parts as bark, leaves, fruits, and seeds of the Syzygium cumini havebeen done in the current study rendering to the standard protocols recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Association of Analytical Chemist (AOAC). This study includes electrical conductivity value, moisture content, fat content, and different ash contents analysis. It was found that the leaves had the highest electrical conductivity (16.67±1.53) and the bark had the lowest electrical conductivity (2.44±0.03). The moisture content of the bark was lower (11.30±0.44) in comparison tothat of the seeds (16.34±0.43). Furthermore, the bark had the highest fat content (1.02±0.03) and acid insoluble ash (2.65±0.89), when compared to the seeds (0.65±0.01) and leaves (1.00±0.88) respectively. The seeds had the highest pH (5.39±0.08); total ash (2.18±0.06) and water-soluble ash (5.25±0.55), while the fruits had the highest sulphated ash (1.99±0.55). Qualitative inspection revealed that hot ethanolic seed extracts contained high levels of flavonoids, tannins, phenols, glycosides, alkaloids, terpenoids and quinones, in addition to other parts, which also had high levels of alkaloid content (81.06 mg/g). The current study will contribute useful data in the precise documentation and validation of various parts of S. cumini and may aid in removing contaminants in the preparation of nutraceuticals or medicine. Keywords: Medicinal Plant, Parts, Parameters, Physicochemical, Phytochemical, Syzygium cumin

Occurrence of Lactobacilli in the Traditional Preparation of Curd

Curd is a dairy product produced via way of means of coagulating milk in a process known as curdling. The objective of this current study was to prepare curd traditionally in the laboratory and identify Lactobacilli species with potential probiotic activities. Cow and goat milk was collected, and curd was prepared by adding lime and starter culture in different amounts. Among prepared curd samples, best quality curd was selected, and from the selected curd samples, lactic acid bacteria were isolated and subsequent subculturing was carried out, and ten different Lactobacilli isolates were obtained and identified based on morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics.Isolates were subjected to test the antagonistic effect among the Lactobacilli isolates and against selected bacterial strains by standard agar well diffusion method. Antibiotic sensitivity test by disc method was carried out by using antibiotics and the production of lactic acid by titration method.Ten different Lactobacilli isolates were classified into three different genera Lactobacillus sp., Pediococcus sp. and Leuconostoc sp. Growth of all Lactobacilli was observed under acidic and neutral pH. Lactic acid bacteria exhibited different tolerant levels to bile salt. No antagonistic effect was observed among the Lactobacilli isolates. But 80% of lactobacilli isolates had antibacterial activity on selected bacterial species. The growth of Bacillus sp. was predominantly inhibited by Lactic acid bacterial isolates (90%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30%), Proteus sp. and Staphylococcus aureus (50%) and E.coli (30%). Lactobacillus sp. (CL2) predominantly inhibited all tested bacteria (100%). Growth of the Lactobacilli isolates was inhibited by tested antibiotics except for Lactobacillus sp. (CC3) was resistant to bacitracin only. All of the Lactic acid bacterial isolates produced a considerable amount of lactic acid. Under the controlled conditions, the Lactobacillus sp. (GL1) produced a significantly high level of lactic acid (0. 315%), whereas Lactobacillus sp. (CL3) produced less amount of lactic acid (0.099%). Keywords: Curd, Lactic acid bacteria, Antagonistic effect, Antibacterial sensitivity, Lactic aci

Microbiological Parameters of Different Waste Waters to Evaluate Their Potential to be Use as a Media for Chlorella sp. and Spirogyra sp. Cultivation

Globally there is severe water scarcity, and methods to reuse wastewater need to be adapted. The objective of this research was to determine the microbiological parameters of different wastewaters in order to study the potential of wastewater as a media to cultivate algae.Food, agriculture, drainage and municipal wastewater sample were collected in sterile bottles separately. Aerobic, anaerobic plate counts, yeast and mold counts were evaluated. Enumeration of coliform, fecal coliform, coliphages and microalgae was performed with all wastewater samples. Chlorella sp. and Spirogyra sp. were isolated from three different paddy field water samples, and growth studies were carried out in different wastewater media with standard sterile Chu’s medium and in sterile tap water medium as control.Heterotrophic, anaerobic bacteria, microalgae, yeast and molds were found in all types of wastewater. Agriculture wastewater had the highest value for aerobic, anaerobic, yeast and mold count in the highest dilution. Coliforms and fecal coliforms were absent in food and agriculture wastewaters on Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) medium. Coliform and Fecal coliforms were only observed in drainage and municipal wastewater on Endo agar (EA) medium. Coliphages were absent only in agricultural wastewater and found in the highest numbers in municipal wastewater. Except for agricultural wastewater, other three types of wastewaters contain microbial contaminations. Agriculture wastewater medium significantly enhanced the growth of Chlorella sp. than the standard Chu’s medium. The growth of Spirogyra sp. was stimulated by the food wastewater medium than the other media. Keywords: Wastewaters, Microbiological parameter, Chlorella sp., Spirogyra sp., Coliform

A Review of Anti-hyperglycemic Effects of Curry Leaf Tree (Murraya koenigii)

Diabetes mellitus is becoming a metabolic disease that is defined by the level of hyperglycemia. Nowadays, it has a serious threat to public healthiness in throughout the world. Constituents and extracts isolated from diverse natural resources, mainly plants, have constantly been a rich store for controlling and treating diabetes problems. Numerous researches are ongoing to identify the suitable traditional medical drugs, medicinal herbs, and resources for managing this condition. Murraya koenigii Spreng (family Rutaceae) is commonly known as a ‘curry leaf tree’ locally. It is widely scattered in India and Sri Lanka, and leaves are commonly used for cooking. And also mainly used for various health conditions such as diabetes, anemia, diarrhea, and others. The present review aimed to critically review the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the M. koenigii based on the review, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Based on this review, the M. koenigii possess flavonoids, phenols, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. It has shown a potential anti-hyperglycemic effect on induced diabetic rats. This review reported the potential of M. koenigii and its extract to be a high-value dietary product in terms of its anti-hyperglycemic effects and industrial profits. Therefore, the present review supports the researchers and readers/users to realize the importance of using M. koenigii in managing diabetes mellitus. Further, this review provides a valuable document for future scientific-related clinical trials in diabetic patients

A Detail Review on Heart-Leaved Moonseed (Tinospora cordifolia) Medicinal Plant

Worldwide, a usage of herbal medicine is gradually increasing for the safety and maintains the health due to its lower side effects. Numerous medicinal plants are using by the healers and traditional physicians to control the disease conditions. Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers (Menispermaceae Family) is distinguished as Heart-Leaved Moonseed herb of the Siddha Medicine which is practicing by Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka. This present study emphases the detailed review of the pharmacological activities of the Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) based on the previous scientific studies and textbooks. Data were collected from all existing sources such as ancient and current indigenous text books, websites, proceedings, research and review articles and other related documents based on prepared data entry form. According to this study, T. cordifolia is an important traditional plant which has a variety of pharmacological activities and medicinal usage due to the numerous chemical constituents are present in the various part of this plant. As such, this review paper can serve as evidence for researchers to conduct future scientific research as well as clinical studies in Siddha Medicine

Comparative Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Phytochemical Evaluation of Selected Leaves of Medicinal Plants in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

The traditional system of medicine in Sri Lanka has shown much better improvement, has fewer side effects, and is less expensive than modern synthetic drugs in the treatment of many diseases. The objective of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytochemical constituents of leaves of Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng., Tinospora cordifolia (Wild) Hook.f., Enicostemma axillare (Lam) A. Raynal, and Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. were collected from Jaffna District. The shade-dried leaves were powdered and extracted with ethanol using the cold extraction technique. These ethanolic extracts were subjected to phytochemical analysis using recommended laboratory techniques. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's multiple comparisons at probability value (p <0.05) were used in the statistical analysis of the data. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, phenols, and glycosides. Murraya koenigii shows the highest phenol and alkaloid contents (1960.71±66.88 and 19.42±0.26). Enicostemma axillare shows the highest flavonoid and tannin contents (22.27±0.86 and 1.26±0.017). Therefore, E. axillare and M. koenigii can be used as nutraceuticals in traditional medicine