July 2013
Production optimisation of a DNA vaccine candidate against leishmaniasis in flask culture
Plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccines are promising means to prevent and treat infectious diseases, such as leishmaniasis, but immunisation protocols require large amounts of supercoiled plasmid DNA (sc-pDNA). Although pDNA can be produced at a reasonable cost in bioreactors; this scale of production may not be the best method at the initial step of a vaccine development when many antigens need to be tested. Then,...
July 2013
Inadvertent presence of genetically modified elements in maize food products in Kenyan markets
Kenya has a biosafety law and has tested genetically modified (GM) maize under confinement and containment, but has neither released nor commercialized any GM crop. This study assessed various maize food products from the Kenyan farms and markets for the inadvertent presence of GMOs. It assessed the possibility of ‘gene-flow’ to the maize farms near the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute...
July 2013
Comparison of antibacterial activity of parent plant of Tylophora indica Merr. with its in vitro raised plant and leaf callus
The antibacterial potential of an endangered medicinal plant Tylophora indica was analyzed by agar well diffusion method and its activity was compared with that of its in vitro raised plant and callus. The extracts of parent plant of T. indica showed good antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria only; whereas, the extracts from in vitro raised plant and...
July 2013
Incidence of aflatoxins level in some agricultural commodities of Pakistan
In this study, incidence of total aflatoxins (AFs: B1, B2, G1 and G2) was determined in some agricultural commodities such as cereals and beans. Samples of cereals/beans (n=160) were analyzed for the detection of total AFs by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The contamination level (%) of total AFs was observed as in; rice (25%), rice broken (15%), wheat (20%), maize (40%) barley (20%) and...
July 2013
Partial purification and characterization of metalloprotease of halotolerant alkaliphilic bacterium Bacillus cereus from coastal sediment of Goa, India
We partially purified extracellular metalloprotease of a halotolerant alkaliphilic bacterium isolated from coastal sediment of Goa, India, which was identified asBacillus cereus strain CS1 based on biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence. Zymogram of partially purified enzyme clearly revealed two prominent protease isozymes of 210 and 215 kDa. Although, protease showed activity over a wide...
July 2013
Potential use of endophytic bacteria to promote the plant growth of micropropagated banana cultivar Prata Anã
Endophytic bacteria isolated from shoot tip cultures of banana ‘Tropical’ and ‘Galil 18’ were identified at the genera and species levels by means of the profile of fatty acids test through gas chromatography and the potential of plant growth promotion of micropropagated ‘Prata Anã’ banana plantlets was evaluated. A completely randomized experimental design in a...
July 2013
Quality evaluation of ‘gari’ produced from cassava and sweet potato tuber mixes
The quality evaluation of gari produced from mixes of cassava (Manihot esculenta,Crantz) and Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) tubers were investigated and reported. This is done to allow for the establishment of the best mixes of cassava and potato tubers to be adopted in the composite gari produced. Gari was produced from mixes of cassava and sweet potato tubers at different ratios (100:0,...
July 2013
Neuroprotective effect of creatine against propionic acid toxicity in neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells in culture
This work aimed to verify propionic acid toxic effects, and to investigate the possible neuroprotective effects of creatine against it. Propionic acid (PA) toxicity together with the effect of creatine (CR) was studied on neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y brain cells in culture. In the first group, cells were divided and treated with different concentrations of PA, while the second group was pre-treated with creatine to...
July 2013
Comparison of antioxidant potential in pulp and peel extracts of Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen
Free radical scavenging ability of both pulp and peel of Manilkara zapota (sapota) were tested against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS+), peroxynitrites and lipid peroxidation generated in vitro. Both ethanolic and methanolic extracts of pulp and peel of sapota were subjected to in vitro free radical scavenging assays like...
July 2013
In vitro antioxidant activity and inhibitory hepatic steatosis effect on oleic acid-induced fatty liver model of consecutive extracts from Rosa davurica Pall
The nutrient and phytochemical composition of Rosa davurica Pall. fruit (RDF) from China were determined, including sugar, reducing sugar, ascorbic acid, caroteniods and phenolics. RDF was successively extracted with chloroform, ethyl acetate (EA), water-saturated n-butanol, ethanol and distilled water, respectively. Among the five fractions, EA fraction revealed the highest...
July 2013
Effect on some haematological indices of human whole blood when aqueous leaf extract of Euphorbia heterophylla was used as storage anticoagulant
Properties of red blood cells, especially cell size and red cell indices related to size, change with time in stored blood samples. Laboratory anticoagulants have certain drawbacks. For example, heparin has no preservative property on whole blood while K3EDTA (EDTA) is toxic and damages platelets. The search for novel anticoagulants with better hematological profile is therefore necessary. The anticoagulant...
July 2013
Alkaline pretreatment of Mexican pine residues for bioethanol production
The locally sourced residue samples of Pinus arizonica, Pinus cooperi, and Pinus durangensis from the state of Durango in Mexico were analyzed for optimal yield of ethanol production. The samples were mixed at an equal proportion using a particle size of 0.59 mm. Each individual mixture was pretreated with either NaOH or Ca (OH)2 (at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% w/v) for periods of 30, 60, and...
July 2013
Enzymatic biodiesel production from sludge palm oil (SPO) using locally produced Candida cylindracea lipase
Biodiesel is a non-toxic, renewable and environmental friendly fuel. This study involved the production of biodiesel from sludge palm oil (SPO), a low-cost waste oil via enzymatic catalysis. The enzyme catalyst was a Candida cylindracea lipase, locally-produced using palm oil mill effluent as the low cost based medium. The results in solvent system for biodiesel production showed that ethanol gave...
July 2013
Cassava as feedstock for ethanol production in South Africa
South Africa’s economy is primarily coal-based, but the high ash content is a contributing factor to the high per capita production of green house gases. Rising crude oil prices, lower crop prices on world markets and the realisation that coal and oil are limiting energy resources has led to the decision to substitute a minimum of 2% of the country’s transportation fuel with biomass based...
July 2013
DST Associate Chair: Biofuels and other clean alternative fuels, Energy Systems Focus Area, School of Chemical and Minerals Engineering, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
Fluoride was extracted from Alcornea cordifolia plant using sohxlet extractor. The fluoride content was determined by using a fluoride ion selective electrode. The fluoride content was found to be about 10% of that present in commercial toothpastes. The hard stem of the plant contained a higher amount of fluoride than the tender stem. Hence, the hard stem is a cheap source of fluoride when compared...
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