Immunization of Basa fish (Pangasius bocourti) against Ichthyophthirius multifiliis with live and sonicated trophonts

The high density of Basa fish (Pangasius bocourti) culture leads to outbreaks of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ich), also knows as white spot disease. In this research, immunization of Basa fish against Ich with live and sonicated trophonts by intraperitoneal (IP) injection was investigated. Anti-Ich antibody titer was determined using ELISA and Western immunoblotting 21 days post immunization. The results revealed that pre-immunized fish, non-immunized fish and fish immunized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) at a concentration 65 µg g -1 fish did not show specific antibody against Ich. 21 days post immunization, fish immunized with live trophonts exhibited higher anti-Ich antibody titer than fish immunized with sonicated trophonts at the same antigen concentration. Fish immunized with 65 µg trophonts protein/g fish live trophonts showed the highest titer 1:1,000 (p<0.05). The results from Western immunoblotting showed two parasite protein bands of 66 kDa and <14 kDa, which reacted with antibodies from serum of immune fish. No fish in the non-immunized group survived. At the same concentration of antigen (65 µg g^-1), fish immunized with live trophonts exhibited the highest survival rate, 63.33±5.77% (p<0.05). Therefore, these results are the Basa fish immunizing procedure will be the way to conduct immunization against Ich to prevent disease outbreaks in aquaculture

Ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and practice of the Oromo ethnic group in southwestern Ethiopia

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and use by traditional healers in southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Data were collected from 45 randomly selected traditional healers using semi-structured interviews and observations. Sixty-seven ethnomedicinal plant species used by traditional healers to manage 51 different human ailments were identified and documented. Healers' indigenous knowledge was positively correlated with their reported age but not with their educational level. High degree of consensus was observed among traditional healers in treating tumor (locally known as Tanacha), rabies (Dhukuba Seree) and insect bite (Hadhaa). The use of more than one species was significantly cited for remedy preparations. The reported abundance of the ethnomedicinal plant species varied significantly with respect to the presence of multiple uses of the reported species. Our results showed that ethnomedicinal plant species used by healers are under serious threat due to several factors, which indicates the need for urgent attention towards their conservation and sustainable utilization

Characterization of the allergen Sol gem 2 from the fire ant venom, Solenopsis geminata

Sol i 2 is a potent allergen in Solenopsis invicta venom, and most humans exhibit reactivity to it. The Sol gem 2 allergen found in the venom of the Thai tropical fire ant Solenopsis geminata was analysed in the present study. The protein was present in higher amounts than other proteins, as determined by SDS-PAGE, and presumably has allergenic properties similar to those of Sol i 2. Sol gem 2 molecular weight is 28 and 15 kDa, respectively, under non-reducing and reducing conditions, indicating that its native form is a dimer. LC-MS/MS analysis confirmed its similarity to Sol i 2. The mono/dimeric form of Sol gem 2 was determined to be relevant by proteomic approach and immunoblotting. An anti-Sol gem 2 antibody was produced in mice, with a titer greater than 1:800 according to the Western blotting analysis. The Sol gem 2-neutralising activity of this antibody was determined in crickets. The paralytic dose 50 (PD50) of crude S. geminata venom was elevated from 0.18 mg/g of body weight to more than 0.90 mg/g of body weight after preincubation with antibody at a ratio of 1:1. These results suggest that Sol gem 2 plays an important role in mediating the effects of the piperidine derivatives in the venom