Temporal changes in feeding and bio-indices of Polynemus paradiseus Linnaeus, 1758 occurring in Hooghly-Matlah estuary, West Bengal

118-123Temporal changes in feeding and bio-indices of Polynemus paradiseus were studied at selected stretches of Hooghly-Matlah estuary for a period of eight months (December to July). It indicated that the fish mainly feeds on shrimps, fishes, and insects. The highest amount of shrimps (45.49%) was recorded in December and those of fishes (16.10%) during June and copepods and insects (7.31%) in July. The presence of a considerable amount of small fishes, insects and crustaceans in gut contents indicated carnivore-feeding habits of fish. Adult size of the species mainly feeds on shrimps and fishes whereas juveniles feed on shrimps, copepods, insects, and zoobenthos. Gastro-somatic index (GaSI) was maximum during March and April and minimum during June and December in fish. The monthly mean gonado-somatic index (GSI) values varied from 0.74 (December) to 1.32 (June) in males and 0.82 (December) to 5.44 (June) for female fish, respectively

Antidiabetic effect of various fractions of Habenaria plantaginea root in streptozotocine-induced diabetic rats

The aim of this study is to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of methanolic extract of Habenaria plantaginea and its various fractions in different animal models. The effect of repeated oral administration of methanolic extract along with its n-hexane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions on serum lipid profile and plasma enzyme levels in diabetic rats was also examined. The effect was found to be pronounced in n-butanol fraction. In oral glucose tolerance test, reduction of fasting blood glucose levels took place from 60 min on administration of methanolic extract and its various fractions. The n-butanol fraction has almost similar effect as that of standard drug Glibenclamide (10 mg/kg b. w). After 15 days of treatment, n-butanol fraction showed maximum reduction of blood glucose levels (64.28 %).  Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels were found to be decreased by 38.98, 28.06, 56.26 and 37.77% respectively in diabetic rats whereas, cardioprotective, high density lipoprotein (HDL) was increased by 31.65%. The n-butanol fraction also restored the altered plasma enzyme such as serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels to near normal. These results clearly indicate that n-butanol fraction of methanolic extract of Habenaria plantaginea possess high antidiabetic potential along with significant hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic effects

Antidiabetic effect of various fractions of Habenaria plantaginea root in streptozotocine-induced diabetic rats

The aim of this study is to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of methanolic extract of Habenaria plantaginea and its various fractions in different animal models. The effect of repeated oral administration of methanolic extract along with its n-hexane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions on serum lipid profile and plasma enzyme levels in diabetic rats was also examined. The effect was found to be pronounced in n-butanol fraction. In oral glucose tolerance test, reduction of fasting blood glucose levels took place from 60 min on administration of methanolic extract and its various fractions. The n-butanol fraction has almost similar effect as that of standard drug Glibenclamide (10 mg/kg b. w). After 15 days of treatment, n-butanol fraction showed maximum reduction of blood glucose levels (64.28 %).  Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels were found to be decreased by 38.98, 28.06, 56.26 and 37.77% respectively in diabetic rats whereas, cardioprotective, high density lipoprotein (HDL) was increased by 31.65%. The n-butanol fraction also restored the altered plasma enzyme such as serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels to near normal. These results clearly indicate that n-butanol fraction of methanolic extract of Habenaria plantaginea possess high antidiabetic potential along with significant hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic effects

Temporal changes in feeding and bio-indices of Polynemus paradiseus Linnaeus, 1758 occurring in Hooghly-Matlah estuary, West Bengal

Temporal changes in feeding and bio-indices of Polynemus paradiseus were studied at selected stretches of Hooghly-Matlah estuary for a period of eight months (December to July). It indicated that the fish mainly feeds on shrimps, fishes, and insects. The highest amount of shrimps (45.49%) was recorded in December and those of fishes (16.10%) during June and copepods and insects (7.31%) in July. The presence of a considerable amount of small fishes, insects and crustaceans in gut contents indicated carnivore-feeding habits of fish. Adult size of the species mainly feeds on shrimps and fishes whereas juveniles feed on shrimps, copepods, insects, and zoobenthos. Gastro-somatic index (GaSI) was maximum during March and April and minimum during June and December in fish. The monthly mean gonado-somatic index (GSI) values varied from 0.74 (December) to 1.32 (June) in males and 0.82 (December) to 5.44 (June) for female fish, respectively

Dynamics of bioindices in mud crab Scylla serrata (Forsskål, 1775) occurring in Hooghly-Matlah Estuary of West Bengal, India

Dynamics of some bio indices (carapace width [CW] and body weight [W] relationship, relative condition factor [Kn]) of mud crab Scylla serrata (Forsskål, 1775), collected from the Hooghly-Matlah Estuary of West Bengal, were studied for a period of one year. A total of 325 specimens were collected (CW 44 – 120 mm, W 20 – 210 g) and studied. The CW and W relationship was found as W = 0.0006 CW2.665 for male and W = 0.001 CW2.561 for female. The b value was found relatively higher in male indicating better growth rate compared to females. Moreover, the growth pattern was allometric. The monthly mean Kn was 0.968 to 1.058 for males and 0.962 to 1.054 for females that significant varied (P < 0.05) among sampling months

Instabilities near ultrastrong coupling in microwave optomechanical cavity

With artificially engineered systems, it is now possible to realize the coherent interaction rate, which can become comparable to the mode frequencies, a regime known as ultrastrong coupling (USC). We experimentally realize a cavity-electromechanical device using a superconducting waveguide cavity and a mechanical resonator. In the presence of a strong pump, the mechanical-polaritons splitting can nearly reach 81% of the mechanical frequency, overwhelming all the dissipation rates. Approaching the USC limit, the steady-state response becomes unstable. We systematically measure the boundary of the unstable response while varying the pump parameters. The unstable dynamics display rich phases, such as self-induced oscillations, period-doubling bifurcation, period-tripling oscillations, and ultimately leading to the chaotic behavior. The experimental results and their theoretical modeling suggest the importance of residual nonlinear interaction terms in the weak-dissipative regime.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, and supplemental materia

Length-weight relationship and condition factor of Tade gray mullet, Chelon planiceps (Valenciennes, 1836) from Hooghly-Matlah Estuary, West Bengal, India

Tade gray mullet (Chelon planiceps) forms a lucrative fishery in the Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system. During eight months of investigation 232 specimens were examined to study length-weight relationship and relative condition factor (Kn). The length and weight of fish was varied from 41 to 283 mm and 0.81 to 208 g respectively. Two length-weight relationship equations were obtained from the analysis, W=0.0000397L2.952 for <187 mm size group and W=0.0000406L2.834 for >187 mm size group. The size at first maturity was recorded as 187 mm. The b value was not significantly different from 3 indicating isometric growth. The monthly mean Kn for the male and female were 1.041–1.125 and 1.009–1.236 respectively. The highest Kn value was recorded in July for both the sexes, which may be due to advance maturity stages. The present study will be useful in the context of biological management of mullet fishery as well as to find out aqua-farming potential of Tade gray mullet

Length-weight relationship, condition factor and gonado-somatic index of Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822)

An attempt was made to study dynamics of length-weight relationship (LWR), relative condition factor (Kn) and gonado-somatic index (GSI) of Labeo calbasu from the wetlands of South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. A total of 275 fish specimens (130 to 430 mm) were examined over nine months from December 2006 to August 2007. Specimens were categorized into two groups based on the size at first maturity of 260 mm.  The LWR was recorded W = 0.007269 L3.181 for Group A (<260 mm) and W = 0.007367 L3.031 for Group B (≥260 mm). The individuals exhibited isometric growth. The monthly mean Kn values varied from 0.924 to 1.141 with an average value of 1.059. The mean monthly values of GSI varied from 0.544 to 3.301 for male and 0.560 to 9.649 for female. There was significant variation (P < 0.05) in the mean values of GSI in different months between sexes

NYMPHAEA STELLATA: A POTENTIAL HERB AND ITS MEDICINAL IMPORTANCE

Nymphaea stellata is a perennial aquatic herb belongs to family Nymphaeaceae, with a short ovoid and acute root stock. It is found in ponds, lakes and ditches throughout Bangladesh, Africa and warmer part of India. Commonly referred to as “Water Liliesâ€, these plants have adapted to living in total water environment. Flower of N. stellata contain a lead compound Nymphayol (25, 26- dinorcholest-5-en-3β–ol) The structure was determined on the basis of X-ray crystallography and spectral data.The flowers of plant contain flavonoids, gallic acid, astrgalin, quercetin, and kaempferol. The activity has been reported the antihyperlipidaemic and antihepatotoxic. Recently, Nymphaea stellata flowers have been reported to have hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced hepatic damag