ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIA FROM INDUSTRIAL AND MARKET WASTE AREAS

A study was conducted to isolate and examine the bacterial strains from litter areas. Two soil samples were collected from waste disposal sites, namely, industrial waste sites of Nilon’s pickle industry in Dalgaon and market waste sites of Balugaon vegetable market of Kharupetia in Darrang district (Assam). A total of nine bacterial strains were identified at industrial waste dumps, namely Leclercia adecarboxylata, two strains of Pseudomonas putidia, Ralstonia pickettii, three strains of Serratia marcescens and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and at market waste dumps, four out of five bacterial isolates were identified, namely two strains of Enterococcus cloacae, Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus coagulans using the Vitek-MS MALDI TOF system. For both soil samples, morphological, biochemical, physicochemical tests were carried out against all bacterial strains to identify a beneficial bacterial strain

IN VITRO ANTHELMINTIC EFFICACY OF ALPINIA NIGRA AND ITS BIOACTIVE COMPOUND, ASTRAGALIN AGAINST FASCIOLOPSIS BUSKI

Objective: Alpinia nigra (Zingiberaceae) is a traditionally used medicinal plant of North-east India against helminthiases. In view of its medicinal property the present study was designed to see the anthelmintic property of its major bioactive compound astragalin, compared to crude extract and praziquantel against Fasciolopsis buski.Methods: Parasites were exposed to 2, 5, 10 and 20 mg/ml concentrations of plant extract and 0.025, 0.05 and 0.10 mg/ml concentration of astragalin in phosphate buffer saline. Paralyzed parasites were processed for histochemical, biochemical and morphological studies. Two important tegumental enzymes acid-and alkaline phosphatase were studies for its alterations in kinetic parameters on exposure to extracts and astragalin.Results: Treated parasites revealed complete paralysis followed by death in a dose-dependent manner. Histochemical and biochemical studies on enzymes showed alterations in the activities. Morphologically, destruction and deformation were seen in the surface architecture of F. buski on exposure to different treatment. Acid-and alkaline phosphatase enzyme showed optimum activity at pH 6 and 9.5 respectively. The Vmax changed from 11.02 and 10.24 µM/min/mg protein in control to as low as 6.98 and 6.54 µM/min/mg tissue proteins in treated parasite for acid and alkaline phosphatase, respectively. Alterations in the Km values have also been noticed between the control and treated parasites.Conclusion: The altered enzyme activities, tegumental architecture and kinetic parameters as observed under the influence of the plant extract and astragalin clearly indicate that the botanicals of the tested plant and its bioactive glycoside, astragalin acts as an anthelmintic agent against the tested fluke F. buski

A high efficiency boost converter topology with least component count

This paper presents a design and analysis of novel DC-DC boost converter with a least component count. The proposed converter produces high DC gain voltage in comparison to some recently presented high voltage DC-DC converter. Here one switch, one inductor, two capacitors and one diode are used to achieved a high voltage gain without compromising efficiency of converter. The converter’s performance is evaluated using theatrical, simulation and experimental methods, with results indicating a four times of input voltage and a fast-transient response at various duty cycles is achieved. Due to its low component count the proposed converter is compact and hence it offers an effective solution for various power applications

PREVENTION OF FLASH FLOODS IN THE TOWN OF KOKRAJHAR THROUGH EFFICIENT DRAINAGE NETWORK DESIGN

Flash floods are common in the town of Kokrajhar in north-eastern Indian state of Assam. Many areas in the town of Kokrajhar are submerged in water almost every year due to floods during rainy season. These floods cause heavy damage to roads, agricultural production and halt the progress of major infrastructural development projects. Hence, prevention of floods has become an important concern in the town of Kokrajhar. This study investigated the causes of floods and offered a solution for their elimination. The investigation showed that inadequate and inefficient network of storm drains was the reason for the flash floods. A new drainage network for the town of Kokrajhar has resulted from studying the shortcomings of the existing network of storm drains. The new network is designed in accordance with the recommendations stated in the “Manual on storm water drainage systems” prepared by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization in 2019

An overview of anti-diabetic plants used in Gabon: Pharmacology and Toxicology

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ethnopharmacological relevance: The management of diabetes mellitus management in African communities, especially in Gabon, is not well established as more than 60% of population rely on traditional treatments as primary healthcare. The aim of this review was to collect and present the scientific evidence for the use of medicinal plants that are in currect by Gabonese traditional healers to manage diabetes or hyperglycaemia based here on the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of plants with anti-diabetic activity. There are presented in order to promote their therapeutic value, ensure a safer use by population and provide some bases for further study on high potential plants reviewed. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical studies were sourced using databases such as Online Wiley library, Pubmed, Google Scholar, PROTA, books and unpublished data including Ph.D. and Master thesis, African and Asian journals. Keywords including ‘Diabetes’ ‘Gabon’ ‘Toxicity’ ‘Constituents’ ‘hyperglycaemia’ were used. Results: A total of 69 plants currently used in Gabon with potential anti-diabetic activity have been identified in the literature, all of which have been used in in vivo or in vitro studies. Most of the plants have been studied in human or animal models for their ability to reduce blood glucose, stimulate insulin secretion or inhibit carbohydrates enzymes. Active substances have been identified in 12 out of 69 plants outlined in this review, these include Allium cepa and Tabernanthe iboga. Only eight plants have their active substances tested for anti-diabetic activity and are suitables for further investigation. Toxicological data is scarce and is dose-related to the functional parameters of major organs such as kidney and liver. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding on the pharmacology and toxicology of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is lacking yet there is a great scope for new treatments. With further research, the use of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is important to ensure the safety of the diabetic patients in Gabon.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

An ethnobotanical survey of antidiabetic medicinal plants used by the Bodo tribe of Kokrajhar district, Assam

421-429Diabetes mellitus (DM) belongs to the group of diseases causing major health problems in India and world at large. Natural products including medicinal plants are known to treat various diseases worldwide since ancient times. It is well known that plants are a great source of bioactive compounds having tremendous medicinal properties and can be used to discover plant-based drugs with lesser side effects. A survey was carried out among the Bodo community of Kokrajhar district of Assam to explore the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants against diabetes using semi-structured interviews among the local healers and elderly people. A total of 54 informants were interviewed in a face-to-face manner following readymade questionnaire, of which 15 healers were known to have knowledge regarding antidiabetic medicinal plants. A total of 37 medicinal plants, belonging to 24 families and 33 genera were found to be used by traditional healers of Kokrajhar district to cure diabetes. The mostly cited plant was found to be Hodgsonia heteroclita (Roxb.) followed by Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees. Out of the 24 families, Apocynaceae was found to be the most popular plant family with four numbers of plants

Study of phytochemical content, antioxidant and larvicidal property of different solvent extracts of Clerodendrum infortunatum and Citrus grandis

The present study was carried out to investigate the phytochemical, antioxidant and larvicidal property of different solvent extracts of leaves of Clerodendrum infortunatum and fruit peel of Citrus grandis. The antioxidant property was studied by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), 1,1‑diphenyl‑2‑picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) assays. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts were estimated following standard protocols. Larvicidal activity of the plant extracts were evaluated following standard WHO protocol. In a series of test doses (100 to 2000 μg/mL), 20 numbers of Aedes aegypti larvae were exposed and the mortality was recorded after 24 h and LC50 were calculated. The study showed that the C. grandis extracts have better phytochemical, antioxidant and larvicidal activity compared to C. infortunatum. Among the four solvent fractions, diethyl ether extract showed higher activity in both the plants. The present study thus showed potential larvicidal property of the plants against A. aegypti. However, further characterization and identification of active compound (s) need to be carried out to study the exact mode of action

Biocontrol activity of yeast and AM fungi against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, the causal agent of Fusarium wilt in tomato, posed a significant threat to tomato cultivation. This study investigated the biocontrol potential of yeast isolates and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) against this pathogen. Soil and phyllosphere samples were collected from tomato fields in Tamil Nadu, India, leading to the isolation of 120 yeast strains using serial dilution and leaf imprinting techniques. Morphological characterization grouped the isolates with 35 unique colonies were selected for further analysis. Molecular characterization identified three key yeast isolates: Rhodosporidium toruloides (Y2), Moesziomyces antarcticus (Y14) and Pichia kudriavzevii (Y16). Under pot culture conditions, the combined application of AMF and yeast isolates significantly reduced Fusarium wilt incidence. Treatment T5 (AMF liquid-based inoculum + soil yeast Y14) exhibited the highest root colonization (86.66 %), maximum spore load (10397 spores) and minimal disease incidence (11 %), with an 89 % disease reduction compared to the control. This treatment also enhanced tomato plant growth metrics, including height (121.00 cm), root length (61.10 cm) and antioxidant enzyme activity (peroxidase: 0.392 min/g, polyphenol oxidase: 0.791 min/g). Yield parameters were also improved, with maximum fruit weight (19.45 g) and fruit count (6.24) observed in T5-treated plants