Methods for nanoemulsion and nanoencapsulation of food bioactives

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Nanoencapsulation is a promising technology allowing miniaturized dosage and administration of valuable volatiles, degradable bioactives and biologicals. The...     

Comparative Response of Indigenously Developed Bacterial Consortia on Progressive Degradation of Polyhydroxybutyrate Film Composites

The global demand of bioplastics has lead to an exponential increase in their production commercially. Hence, biodegradable nature needs to be evaluated in various ecosystems viz. air, water, soil and other environmental conditions to avoid the polymeric waste accumulation in the nature. In this paper, we investigated the progressive response of two indigenously developed bacterial consortia, i.e., consortium-I (C-I: Pseudomonas sp. strain Rb10, Pseudomonas sp. strain Rb11 and Bacillus sp. strain Rb18), and consortium-II (C-II: Lysinibacillus sp. strain Rb1, Pseudomonas sp. strain Rb13 and Pseudomonas sp. strain Rb19), against biodegradation behavior of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) film composites, under natural soil ecosystem (in net house). The biodegraded films recovered after 6 and 9 months of incubation were analyzed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to determine the variations in chemical and morphological parameters (before and after incubation). Noticeable changes in the bond intensity, surface morphology and conductivity were found when PHB composites were treated with C-II. These changes were drastic in case of blends in comparison to copolymer. The potential isolates not only survived, but, also, there was a significant increase in bacterial diversity during whole period of incubation. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report which described the biodegradation potential of Lysinibacillus sp. as a part of C-II with Pseudomonas sp. against PHB film composites.     

QSAR modeling for predicting mutagenic toxicity of diverse chemicals for regulatory purposes

The safety assessment process of chemicals requires information on their mutagenic potential. The experimental determination of mutagenicity of a large number of chemicals is tedious and time and cost intensive, thus compelling for alternative methods. We have established local and global QSAR models for discriminating low and high mutagenic compounds and predicting their mutagenic activity in a quantitative manner in Salmonella typhimurium (TA) bacterial strains (TA98 and TA100). The decision treeboost (DTB)-based classification QSAR models discriminated among two categories with accuracies of >96% and the regression QSAR models precisely predicted the mutagenic activity of diverse chemicals yielding high correlations (R ²) between the experimental and model-predicted values in the respective training (>0.96) and test (>0.94) sets. The test set root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) values emphasized the usefulness of the developed models for predicting new compounds. Relevant structural features of diverse chemicals that were responsible and influence the mutagenic activity were identified. The applicability domains of the developed models were defined. The developed models can be used as tools for screening new chemicals for their mutagenicity assessment for regulatory purpose.

     

Effect of dust load on the leaf attributes of the tree species growing along the roadside

Dust is considered as one of the most widespread air pollutants. The objective of the study was to analyse the effect of dust load (DL) on the leaf attributes of the four tree species planted along the roadside at a low pollution Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus and a highly polluted industrial area (Chunar, Mirzapur) of India. The studied leaf attributes were: leaf area, specific leaf area (SLA), relative water content (RWC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), chlorophyll content (Chl), maximum stomatal conductance (Gs_max), maximum photosynthetic rate (A _max) and intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi). Results showed significant effect of sites and species for DL and the leaf attributes. Average DL across the four tree species was greater at Chunar, whereas, the average values of leaf attributes were greater at the BHU campus. Maximum DL was observed for Tectona grandis at Chunar site and minimum for Syzygium cumini at BHU campus. Across the two sites, maximum value of SLA, Chl and Gs_max were exhibited by S. cumini, whereas, the greatest value of RWC, LNC, LPC, A _max and WUEi were observed in Anthocephalus cadamba. A. cadamba and S. cumini exhibited 28 and 27 times more dust accumulation, respectively, at the most polluted Chunar site as compared to the BHU campus. They also exhibited less reduction in A _max due to dust deposition as compared to the other two species. Therefore, both these species may be promoted for plantation along the roadside of the sites having greater dust deposition.     

Physiological and Biochemical Effects of Simulated Acid Rain on Phaseolus Vulgaris Var. HUR-15

Pot experiments were performed to determine the effects of simulated acid rain on Phaseolus vulgaris var. HUR-15. Seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris var. HUR-15 were exposed to simulated acid rain at pH values of 5.1, 4.1, 3.1, 2.1 and 1.1 and a control level of pH 6.8. Plants were harvested at three stages, i.e. pre, peak and post-flowering stages. Seedlings succumbed at pH 1.1. Necrosis developed on the leaves of plants treated with water of pH 2.1, resulting in adverse effect on chlorophyll content. They died after peak-flowering. Root and shoot length and dry weight were reduced with the lowering in pH. Carbohydrate, nitrogen and protein contents decreased with the decrease in pH level, adversely affecting their nutrient value.     

Exploring the diversity of neem bioactives as eco-benign pesticides: a reappraisal

Biological activity of neem seeds, leaves and bark is well-established as feeding deterrent and growth disrupter against insects and other arthropods. Neem is a valuable natural pesticide with low toxicity for vertebrates. However, it has not yet achieved a prominent place among pesticides due to its unstability. Recent studies have focused on newer formulations like microencapsulation, inclusion complexes, microemulsion, and granular formulations to enhance efficacy shelf life. Several studies have been undertaken on the effects of neem on predator, parasitoids, and other beneficial organisms as well as impact on the environment. Biotechnological interventions have been carried out for mass production of the active molecule. Once stable formulations of the active molecules are developed, the farming community will benefit the most due to the low toxicity and marked efficacy of neem insecticides.     

Fungicidal activity and molecular modeling of fusarubin analogues from Fusarium oxysporum

Abstract

Fusarubin analogues of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris were investigated for antifungal activity in vitro against five soil borne phytopathogenic fungi. 3-O-Methyl-8-O-methyl-fusarubin was inhibitory towards S. sclerotiorum (EC₅₀ 0.33?mmol L^?1) and Sclerotium rolfsii (EC₅₀ 0.38?mmol L^?1). A structure–antifungal activity relationship of fusarubin analogues was established from their activity performance. Possible mechanism of action of these compounds was studied using molecular docking and simulations against three target enzymes which revealed receptor ligand binding affinity. Docking of 3-O-methyl-8-O-methyl-fusarubin into the succinate dehydrogenase site revealed formation of salt bridge, hydrogen bond, π–anion, π–alkyl, and Van der Waals interactions.     

Investigating hydrochemistry of groundwater in Indo-Gangetic alluvial plain using multivariate chemometric approaches

Groundwater hydrochemistry of an urban industrial region in Indo-Gangetic plains of north India was investigated. Groundwater samples were collected both from the industrial and non-industrial areas of Kanpur. The hydrochemical data were analyzed using various water quality indices and nonparametric statistical methods. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed to identify the factors responsible for groundwater contamination. Ensemble learning-based decision treeboost (DTB) models were constructed to develop discriminating and regression functions to differentiate the groundwater hydrochemistry of the three different areas, to identify the responsible factors, and to predict the groundwater quality using selected measured variables. The results indicated non-normal distribution and wide variability of water quality variables in all the study areas, suggesting for nonhomogenous distribution of sources in the region. PCA results showed contaminants of industrial origin dominating in the region. DBT classification model identified pH, redox potential, total-Cr, and λ ₂₅₄ as the discriminating variables in water quality of the three areas with the average accuracy of 99.51 % in complete data. The regression model predicted the groundwater chemical oxygen demand values exhibiting high correlation with measured values (0.962 in training; 0.918 in test) and the respective low root mean-squared error of 2.24 and 2.01 in training and test arrays. The statistical and chemometric approaches used here suggest that groundwater hydrochemistry differs in the three areas and is dominated by different variables. The proposed methods can be used as effective tools in groundwater management.     

Food-grade nanoencapsulation of vitamins

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Vitamin deficiency arises when the dietary intake of essential vitamins is too low. Insufficient levels of vitamin weaken the body and induce diseases. Although...