African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12496

Table of Content: 6 August, 2014; 13(32)

August 2014

Congruence of random amplification of polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acid (RAPD) and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers in genetic characterization of willow (Salix spp.)

Willow (Salix spp.) includes closely related dioecious polyploid species, which are obligate outcrossers. Natural populations of willows and their hybrids are represented by a mixture of highly heterozygous genotypes sharing a common gene pool. Random amplified polymorphism DNAs (RAPD) and microsatellites (simple sequence repeats, SSRs) are useful methods for studying genetic diversity of willow (Salix spp.). RAPD...

Author(s): Manoj Kumar Singh, Naresh Bahadur Singh, Hari Paul Sankhyan and Pradeep Kumar Naik

August 2014

Growth, physiology and flowering of chrysanthemum var. Punch as affected by daminozide and maleic hydrazide

Growth retardants have been proven to prevent excessive stem elongation and reduce internode length in plants by inhibiting the effect of cell division and enlargement of cell in plants. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of concentrations of daminozide and maleic hydrazide on growth, physiology and flowering of chrysanthemum cultivar Punch under protected condition. The treatments composed of two growth...

Author(s): Sellappan Ganesh, Manickam Kannan, Murugaiah Jawaharlal an Prabhakaran Jeyakumar

August 2014

Storage of ‘Laetitia’ plums (Prunus salicina) under controlled atmosphere conditions

The optimum condition for storage of 'Laetitia' plums (Prunus salicina) under controlled atmosphere (CA) is not currently known. This study was aimed at assessing the effects of controlled atmospheric (CA) conditions on the postharvest quality preservation of ‘Laetitia’ plums. Besides regular atmosphere  (RA; 21kPa O2 + 0.03 kPa CO2) as condition/treatment control, the following CA conditions...

Author(s): Cristiano André Steffens, Cassandro Vidal Talamini do Amarante, Erlani de Oliveira Alves, Auri Brackmann, Thais Roseli Corrêa and Bruno Pansera Espindola

August 2014

Influence of plant growth regulators on development and polysaccharide production of cell cultures of Pelargonium sidoides

Pelargonium sidoides is a traditional medicinal plant from South Africa. An aqueous-ethanolic formulation of the roots and tubers is approved for the treatment of acute bronchitis. Therefore propagation of the plant material by cell cultures and the extraction of potential pharmaceutical active compounds are of great interest. Calli were established on different media from roots and shoots of seedlings and softness and...

Author(s): Stefanie Duchow, Wolfgang Blaschek and Birgit Classen

August 2014

The effect of ethylene on transgenic melon ripening and fruit quality

Melons are good models used for explaining the physiological and biochemical changes in postharvest ripening. In this study, transgenic melons expressing apple ACC oxidase gene when treated with ethylene (AS3) were evaluated. Cell wall expression (MPG1; MPG2), ethylene synthesis ACC oxidase (ACCO1), flavour synthesis AAT (alcohol acyltransferase) and physiochemical parameters such as pulp firmness, titratable acidity...

Author(s): Luciano Lucchetta, Cesar Valmor Rombaldi, Jorge Adolfo Silva, Camila Pegoraro, Marcio Roggia Zanuzo and Carlos Vinício Vieira

August 2014

Genetic variability and heritability of vegetative, fruit and seed yield traits in fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F)

Telfairia occidentalis (fluted pumpkin) is a leafy vegetable crop popularly cultivated in the South-eastern part of Nigeria for its economic value and important role in nutrition and poverty alleviation. Nine genotypes of fluted pumpkin collected from different localities in Ogun, Lagos and Oyo States Nigeria were grown in the teaching and research farm of the School of Agriculture, Babcock University during the rainy...

Author(s): Nwangburuka Cyril Cyril, Denton Lanre Ayinde and Oyelana Olatunji

August 2014

Antibacterial activity of Calotropis procera and Ficus sycomorus extracts on some pathogenic microorganisms

In vitro antibacterial potential of chloroform, absolute ethanol, methanol, ethanol (70%) and aqueous extracts of Calotropis procera and Ficus sycomorus leaves and latex were evaluated against five Gram-negative bacteria (Neisseria lactamica ATCC 23970, Salmonella typhi ATCC 19430, Shigella flexenri ATCC 12022, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922) and two Gram-positive bacteria...

Author(s): Salem, W. M., Sayed, W. F., Haridy, M. and Hassan, N. H.

August 2014

Cloning and expression of an amylase gene from Bacillus sp. isolated from an agricultural field in West Bengal, India

The use of fertilizer is pivotal to ensure soil fertility. Green fertilizers have many advantages and bio-molecules generated in a bacterial cell that can be used as green fertilizer. To produce bio-molecules from a bacterial cell, a bacterium was isolated that uses natural starch as sole carbon source. The organism was grown in presence of various natural starchy materials. The organism was partially identified as...

Author(s): Anwesha Banerjee, Khandakar M. Hasib, Sanghamitra Sanyal and Sribir Sen

August 2014

Influence of storage of refrigerated milk on yield and sensory characteristics of queso fresco

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of milk stored at different temperatures and storage times and the influence on yield and sensory characteristics of queso fresco. The milk collected was stored at temperatures of 3 and 7°C for times of 24, 48, 72 and 96 h for analysis and processing of queso fresco. Cheeses were stored at 3°C for times of 24 h, 5, 9, and 13 days and were evaluated for yield,...

Author(s): Barros, J. C., Silva, M. A. P., Nicolau, E. S., Silva, R. C. F., Brasil, T. A. and Neves, R. B. S.

August 2014

In vivo evaluation of the hypoglycemic effect of wolf-apple flour (Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil)

The prevalence of diabetes has increased at alarming rates worldwide, and has become a serious health problem in modern society, highlighting the need for adjuvants to assist in its treatment. The starch from wolf-apple is a product extracted from the pulp of the unripe wolf-apple (Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil), which has been used empirically by the population due to various therapeutic effects, among them, its...

Author(s): Denise Alvarenga Rocha, Celeste Maria Patto de Abreu, Anderson Assaid Simão, Raimundo Vicente de Sousa, Rodrigo Martins Fráguas, Mariana Aparecida Braga, Jovane Santana Silva, Juliana Mesquita Freire and Estela de Rezende Queiroz

August 2014

Effects of aqueous leaves extract of Waltheria indica Linn on reproductive indices of male albino rats

Wide usage of Waltheria indica plant has been reported but its effects on the reproductive indices of male albino rats have not been evaluated. This study investigates the effects of W. indica leaf extract on the sperm counts, motility, live-dead ratio and sperm morphological abnormality of male albino rats. Thirty six (36) healthy white male albino rats were randomly selected and divided into six groups. Each of the...

Author(s): Basiru, A. and Olayemi, F. O.

August 2014

Pectinolytic complex production by Aspergillus niger URM 4645 using yellow passion fruit peels in solid state fermentation

The activities of endo-polygalacturonase (endo-PG), exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG), pectin lyase (PL), and pectin methylesterase (PE), produced by Aspergillus niger URM 4645, were studied in solid state fermentation (SSF) using yellow passion fruit peels as substrate. The effect of substrate amount, initial moisture content, and temperature on pectinase production was studied using a full factorial design (2³)....

Author(s): Marília de Holanda Cavalcanti Maciel, Polyanna Nunes Herculano, Maria José Santos Fernandes, Tatiana Souza Porto, Juliana Silva de Lima, Oliane Maria Correia de Magalhães, Lidiane Roberta Cruz da Silva, Ana Lúcia Figueiredo Porto, Keila Aparecida Moreira and Cristina Maria de Souza Motta

August 2014

Partial purification and characterization of ascorbate peroxidase from ripening ber (Ziziphus mauritiana L) fruits

Ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11; APX) was purified from ripe ber (Ziziphus mauritiana L.) fruits var. Illaichi using conventional techniques of ammonium sulphate fractionation, gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The enzyme was purified about 47.4 fold with 34.6% recovery. The molecular weight as determined by gel filtration was found to be 58.08 kDa. Sodium...

Author(s): Praduman Yadav, Taruna Yadav, Sunil Kumar, Babita Rani, Sandeep Kumar, Veena Jain and Sarla P.Malhotra