EVALUATION OF LIVER AND LIPID PARAMETERS IN CHOLELITHIASIS

Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to compare the biochemical parameters in gallstones patients and controls and to study the differences in their levels in male and female patients. Methods: The patient data were collected from the Navpreet Hospital, Amritsar. All the demographic data and ultrasonographic features were noted in a pre-structured pro forma of cholelithiasis patients. The blood sample was collected in aseptic conditions and serum biochemical parameters of liver (serum glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase [SGOT] and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase [SGPT]) and lipids (cholesterol and triglyceride) were investigated in the patients. Results: In this study, it was found that cholelithiasis is more prevalent in females (76%) as compared to females (26%). The SGOT and SGPT levels were higher in 20–40 years age group females with a mean of 78±7.12 and 70±5.34 mg/dl, respectively. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level also increases in female patients with a mean of 106±5.36 mg/dl. Same pattern was observed for bilirubin and lipid levels. Conclusion: The prevalence of gallstones was found more in females than males. Serum cholesterol, triglyceride, SGOT, SGPT and ALP, and bilirubin play a major contributing role in the formation of gallstone in females. Incidence of gallstones is most often correlated with dietary factors, obesity or overweight, sedentary lifestyle, eating high fat and cholesterol diet, eating low-fiber diet, having a family history of gallstones, and having liver disease

Production of Inulinases: Recent Advances

Inulinaze su bitni enzimi u proizvodnji fruktoze i fruktooligosaharida, koji imaju raznovrsnu primjenu u farmaceutskoj i prehrambenoj industriji. Proizvode se pomoću raznih sojeva plijesni, kvasaca i bakterija. Dosad okarakterizirane inulinaze imaju raznovrsna biofizička i biokemijska svojstva. Optimalna temperatura i termostabilnost dva su važna kriterija pri određivanju njihove prikladnosti za industrijsku primjenu. Izolirane su inulinaze velike termostabilnosti iz plijesni Aspergillus sp. i termofilnih bakterija. Molekularnim kloniranjem gena za inulinazu iz razlicitih izvora otkriveno je da, osim ponavljajucih jedinica polipeptidnog lanca, endo- i egzoinulinaze imaju strukturne uzorke koji se razlikuju u tim dvjema vrstama enzima. U ovom su revijalnom prikazu iznesena najnovija dostignuca u proizvodnji i karakterizaciji inulinaza iz razlicitih mikroorganizama te mogucnosti njihove primjene.Inulinases constitute an important class of enzymes for production of fructose and fructooligosaccharides, which are extensively used in pharmaceutical and food industry. The production of inulinases has been reported from various fungal, yeast and bacterial strains. The inulinases characterized until now show considerable variability with respect to biophysical and biochemical characteristics. High temperature optimum and thermostability are two important criteria which determine the suitability of these enzymes for industrial applications. Inulinases with high thermostability from strains of Aspergillus spp. and thermophilic bacteria have been reported. Molecular cloning of inulinase genes from different sources has revealed that beside conserved domains, the endo- and exo-acting inulinases show motifs which are distinct for the two classes of enzymes. The present article reviews some of the recent advances in the production and characterization of inulinases from different microbes and their possible applications

Ethanol mediated enhancement in bacterial transformation

In molecular biology, transformation using E. coli as a host plays a key role in synthesizing gene libraries. The present study demonstrated a new ethanol-based method for transformation of plasmid DNA to E. coli. Ethanol at 10% concentration (v/v) showed best results. Further, as compared with traditional CaCl2 method, the transformation rate, using protocol outlined in this study, was very high, suggesting amenable for further applications

Ethanol mediated enhancement in bacterial transformation

In molecular biology, transformation using E. coli as a host plays a key role in synthesizing gene libraries. The present study demonstrated a new ethanol-based method for transformation of plasmid DNA to E. coli. Ethanol at 10% concentration (v/v) showed best results. Further, as compared with traditional CaCl2 method, the transformation rate, using protocol outlined in this study, was very high, suggesting amenable for further applications

Enhancement in Inulinase Production by Mutagenesis in Penicillium purpurogenum

270-274Extracellular inulinase producing strain of Penicillium purpurogenum was isolated from rhizosphere soil of chicory. Conidia of this selected strain were subjected to mutagenesis with UV and NTG (3-nitro, 5-methyl guanidine). After mutagenesis, of various colonies screened, few were selected to carry out the inulinase study. The study revealed 2.5-fold higher inulinase activity with 8 to 21-fold I/S ratio in all the selected colonies, indicating the enhancement in inulinase production after both mutagenic treatments in all the selected mutants