Biosciences

Channa marulius (Hamilton, 1822) is a commercially important freshwater fish and a potential candidate species for aquaculture. The present study evaluated partial Cytochrome b gene sequence of mtDNA for determining the genetic variation in wild populations of C. marulius. Genomic DNA extracted from C. marulius samples (n = 23) belonging to 3 distant rivers; Mahanadi, Teesta and Yamuna was analyzed. Sequencing of 307 bp Cytochrome b mtDNA fragment revealed the presence of 5 haplotypes with haplotype diversity value of 0.763 and nucleotide diversity value of 0.0128. Single population specific haplotype was observed in Mahanadi and Yamuna samples and 3 haplotypes in Teesta samples. The analysis of data demonstrated the suitability of partial Cytochrome b sequence in determining the genetic diversity in C. marulius population.

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Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are gaining importance in the field of medicines due to their high surface area and unique properties than their other forms of selenium. In this study, biogenic selenium nanoparticles (B-SeNPs) were synthesized using cyanobacteria and their bioactivities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and biocompatibility) were determined for comparison with commercially available chemically synthesized selenium nanoparticles (C-SeNPs). Color change of reaction mixture from sky blue to orange-red indicated the synthesis of biogenic SeNPs (B-SeNPs). UV–Vis spectra of the reaction mixture exhibited peak at 266 nm. During optimization, 30 °C of temperature, 24 h of time and 1:2 concentration ratio of sodium selenite and cell extract represented the best condition for SeNPs synthesis. Various functional groups and biochemical compounds present in the aqueous extract of Anabaena variabilis NCCU-441, which may have possibly influenced the reduction process of SeNPs...

Weeds are the worst category of agricultural pests as they compete with crops for water, nutrients, and light, grow faster than crops and eventually reduces the crop productivity thereby increasing the production cost. Herbicide has been used as a management tool to control weeds, by modifying their physiological activities like reducing photosynthesis, increasing protease activity and free radicals etc. The application of non-selected herbicides kills not only the weeds but also non-target organisms including the main crop. Herbicides like paraquat have been used in rice fields but its toxic effects on other organisms is at par. Salicylic acid, a plant growth regulator, is known to regulate oxidative stress in plants subjected to unfavourable environmental conditions. Given this, the present study was designed to study the effect of salicylic acid in Microchaete sp. NCCU-342 exposed to paraquat. The results obtained demonstrated that the paraquat toxicity elevated MDA and H2O2 leve...

Across the world, paddy fields naturally harbour cyanobacteria that function as biofertilizers and secrete various compounds like Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) that help organisms in regulating their growth. Also, paddy field farming utilizes large amounts of pesticides (e.g. atrazine); but their continued application in the agricultural field causes toxicity in non-target cyanobacterial species that hinder their performance as a biofertilizer. Hence, the current study is an attempt to ameliorate the atrazine stress in cyanobacterium Cylindrospermum stagnale by addition of IAA (1 mM each) under different atrazine levels (0, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 µg/l). Atrazine toxicity affected C. stagnale in a dose-dependent manner further experiments revealed that both the exogenous and endogenous IAA mitigated the detrimental effects of atrazine. It reduced MDA content and simultaneously increased chlorophyll content, total protein content, and multiple antioxidant enzyme activities [superoxide dis...

Lactoferrin is an 80 kDa bilobal, iron binding glycoprotein which is primarily antimicrobial in nature. The hydrolysis of lactoferrin by various proteases in the gut produces several functional fragments of lactoferrin which have varying molecular sizes and properties. Here, bovine lactoferrin has been hydrolyzed by trypsin, the major enzyme present in the gut, to produce three functional molecules of sizes approximately 21 kDa, 38 kDa and 45 kDa. The molecules have been purified using ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography and identified using N-terminal sequencing, which reveals that while the 21 kDa molecule corresponds to the N2 domain (21LF), the 38 kDa represents the whole C-lobe (38LF) and the 45 kDa is a portion of N1 domain of N-lobe attached to the C-lobe (45LF). The iron binding and release properties of 21LF, 38LF and 45LF have been studied and compared. The sequence and structure analysis of the portions of the excision sites of LF from various species have been done. The antibacterial properties of these three molecules against bacterial strains, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes were investigated. The antifungal action of the molecules was also evaluated against Candida albicans. This is the first report on the antimicrobial actions of the trypsin cleaved functional molecules of lactoferrin from any species.

Alcoholic extract of tulsi leaves was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The use of plant extract for the synthesis of nanoparticles is cost-effective, single step, and an ecofriendly process. The biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized using UV-Vis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The AgNPs formed show surface plasmon resonance at 430 nm. They have a smooth surface with an average diameter of 2-7 nm. Their crystalline nature was confirmed by the XRD. The antifungal activity of the AgNPs was evaluated for opportunistic human fungal pathogens Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, and Candida tropicalis. The antifungal effect was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), and disk diffusion assay. Further, to assess the pathogenicity, proteinase and phospholipase assays were performed. TEM analysis of treated Candida cells reveals that the AgNPs may be exerting antifungal activity by disrupting the cell membrane structure and integrity. Cytotoxicity of AgNPs was checked by performing hemolytic assay against human erythrocytes. At MIC values, AgNPs caused only 5.6 % lysis in RBCs which was very low in comparison to conventional antifungal agents. Hence, biosynthesized AgNPs using plant extracts have immense antifungal potential and can be used in the management of fungal infections. Further studies have to be done to understand their mode of action.

Alcoholic extract of tulsi leaves was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The use of plant extract for the synthesis of nanoparticles is cost-effective, single step, and an ecofriendly process. The biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized using UV-Vis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The AgNPs formed show surface plasmon resonance at 430 nm. They have a smooth surface with an average diameter of 2-7 nm. Their crystalline nature was confirmed by the XRD. The antifungal activity of the AgNPs was evaluated for opportunistic human fungal pathogens Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, and Candida tropicalis. The antifungal effect was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), and disk diffusion assay. Further, to assess the pathogenicity, proteinase and phospholipase assays were performed. TEM analysis of treated Candida cells reveals that the AgNPs may be exerting antifungal activity by disrupting the cell membrane structure and integrity. Cytotoxicity of AgNPs was checked by performing hemolytic assay against human erythrocytes. At MIC values, AgNPs caused only 5.6 % lysis in RBCs which was very low in comparison to conventional antifungal agents. Hence, biosynthesized AgNPs using plant extracts have immense antifungal potential and can be used in the management of fungal infections. Further studies have to be done to understand their mode of action.

This work presents the synthesis and electrocatalytic behavior of unique heterometallic macrocyclic complexes derived from deprotonated cobalt dimethylglyoxime with axially bridged diethanolamine. The electrocatalytic behavior of macrocyclic complexes was tested by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Multi-electron, reversible, diffusion controlled and metal-based reduction properties of the complexes show possible application of the complexes as an electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution in aqueous as well as non aqueous solution. The complexes are easily electro-deposited on the glassy carbon electrode during the repetitive cycles, a very useful feature, for application in fabrication of thin films. Electrocatalytic activities change irregularly with the pH of the solution. Moreover, the catalytic activity of the complexes enhanced significantly, when the complexes were incorporated into the Nafion polymeric matrix as it decreases the overpotential of hydrogen evolution reaction on the glassy carbon electrode up to 0.32 V with augmenting hydrogen discharge current. The complex was screened on Candida albicans ATCC 90028 by determining MICs (Minimum inhibitory concentrations) and inhibition in solid media (Disc diffusion assay).

the present study reported a single step synthesis of silver nanoparticles using ampicillin (Amp-AgNps), a second-generation β lactam antibiotic to get nanoformulation having dual properties that of antibiotic and silver. the Amp-AgNps was characterized by UV-VIs spectroscopy, teM, XRD, FtIR and tGA. FtIR and tGA results suggested that amine group of Ampicllin reduce the metalic silver into nano form. these results were further validated by computational molecular dynamics simulation. the antibacterial potential of Amp-AgNps was investigated against sensitive and drug resistant bacteria. MIC of Amp-AgNps against 6 different bacterial strains were in the range of 3-28 µg/ml which is much lower than the MIC of ampicillin (12-720 µg/ml) and chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles (280-640 µg/ml). the repeated exposure to drugs may lead to development of resistance mechanism in bacteria against that drug, so the efficacy of Amp-AgNps after repeated exposure to bacterial strains were also studied. the results indicate that bacterial strains do not show any resistance to these Amp-AgNps even after exposure up to 15 successive cycles. The biocompatibility of these Amp-AgNps was checked against cell lines by using Keratinocytes cell lines (HaCat).

Alcoholic extract of tulsi leaves was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The use of plant extract for the synthesis of nanoparticles is cost-effective, single step, and an ecofriendly process. The biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized using UV-Vis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The AgNPs formed show surface plasmon resonance at 430 nm. They have a smooth surface with an average diameter of 2-7 nm. Their crystalline nature was confirmed by the XRD. The antifungal activity of the AgNPs was evaluated for opportunistic human fungal pathogens Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, and Candida tropicalis. The antifungal effect was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), and disk diffusion assay. Further, to assess the pathogenicity, proteinase and phospholipase assays were performed. TEM analysis of treated Candida cells reveals that the AgNPs may be exerting antifungal activity by disrupting the cell membrane structure and integrity. Cytotoxicity of AgNPs was checked by performing hemolytic assay against human erythrocytes. At MIC values, AgNPs caused only 5.6 % lysis in RBCs which was very low in comparison to conventional antifungal agents. Hence, biosynthesized AgNPs using plant extracts have immense antifungal potential and can be used in the management of fungal infections. Further studies have to be done to understand their mode of action.

Lactoferrin is an 80 kDa bilobal, iron binding glycoprotein which is primarily antimicrobial in nature. The hydrolysis of lactoferrin by various proteases in the gut produces several functional fragments of lactoferrin which have varying molecular sizes and properties. Here, bovine lactoferrin has been hydrolyzed by trypsin, the major enzyme present in the gut, to produce three functional molecules of sizes approximately 21 kDa, 38 kDa and 45 kDa. The molecules have been purified using ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography and identified using N-terminal sequencing, which reveals that while the 21 kDa molecule corresponds to the N2 domain (21LF), the 38 kDa represents the whole C-lobe (38LF) and the 45 kDa is a portion of N1 domain of N-lobe attached to the C-lobe (45LF). The iron binding and release properties of 21LF, 38LF and 45LF have been studied and compared. The sequence and structure analysis of the portions of the excision sites of LF from various species have been done. The antibacterial properties of these three molecules against bacterial strains, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes were investigated. The antifungal action of the molecules was also evaluated against Candida albicans. This is the first report on the antimicrobial actions of the trypsin cleaved functional molecules of lactoferrin from any species.

Background Candida species are opportunistic fungus that can cause serious infections, particularly in immunocompromised population. The number of fungal infections has increased steadily with Candida species being responsible for ˃ 70% of these instances, particularly in hospitalized patients with significant underlying conditions. Pharmacological resistance in Candida species and the advent of Candida auris have elevated candidiasis to a major public health concern. Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant fungus that can cause catastrophic bloodstream infections and high fatality rates, particularly in hospitalized patients with major medical issues. Antifungal study of trimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) of various types have been studied as a therapy option for efficient and safe control of candidiasis. These NPs were highlighted for being environmentally friendly and sustainable synthetic preparative possibilities. Objective This work aimed to synthesize and characterize n...

Hyper contraction of Smooth Muscle is related to various diseases like hypertension, asthma, coronary resistance. Most of the contractile pathways are related to endothelial dysfunction and rise in extracellular calcium. To counter the hyper contractile response of smooth muscles flavonoids act as relaxant molecules or inhibitors of contraction. In this paper we have reviewed the mechanism of action of some known flavonoids such as quercetin, Galetin 3-6-dimethyle ether, kaempferol, fisetin, catechin, apaginin wogonin, naringeinin, formonontin, genistein, daidzen, ayanin, pulicarin. These compounds show endothelium dependent relaxation and play role in enhancing nitric oxide (NO) and endothelium independent relaxation by blocking calcium channels and potassium channels.