PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH YSF SYMPOSIUM

JANUARY 27, 2023

Young Scientists Forum

National Science and Technology Commission
 11TH YSF SYMPOSIUM

27th January 2023

Organized by

Young Scientists Forum

National Science and Technology Commission

Chief Editor

Dr. C. C. Kadigamuwa

Editorial Board

Prof. S. R. Samarakoon
Dr. K. W. Samarakoon
Dr. A. Kanagasundaram
Dr. R. Ranasinghe
Dr. A. U. Rajapaksha
Dr. U. Liyanaarachchi
Ms. K. I. S. Thamali
© National Science and Technology Commission

Responsibility of the content of papers included in this publication remains with

the respective authors but not the National Science and Technology Commission.

ISBN 978-955-8630-26-6

Published by:
National Science and Technology Commission,
6th Floor, Wing D, Sethsiripaya Stage II,
Battaramulla
www.nastec.gov.lk
 Steering Committee Members - Young Scientists Forum
National Science and Technology Commission

Chairperson Mr. A. Jayasanka

Joint Secretaries Dr. K. W. Samarakoon

Dr. U. Liyanaarachchi

Committee Members Prof. R. Halwatura

Prof. S. R. Samarakoon
Dr. D.M.S.B. Dissanayaka
Dr. K. Pakeerathan
Dr. C. C. Kadigamuwa
Dr. A. Kanagasundaram
Dr. R. Ranasinghe
Dr. A. U. Rajapaksha
Dr. A. I. Kuruppu
Ms. K. I. S. Thamali

NASTEC Coordinator Ms. M. D. Thilini

 Table of Contents

Massage from the Acting Director, National Science and Technology i

Commission

Massage from the Steering Committee Chairperson, Young Scientists Forum ii

Foreword from the Editors iv

EXTENDED ABSTRACTS

Focus Area: Basic Sciences, Emerging Technologies & Indigenous Knowledge

In silico studies of antiviral property of Paspanguwa 02

P. A. S. N. P. Jayawardena, C. C. Kadigamuwa

Facile biogenic synthesis of silver-zinc oxide nanocomposites using Borassus 08

flabellifer pulp and sprout extracts and evaluation of their antioxidant activities
G. Thiripuranathar, A.M.S. Aththanayaka, and S.Ekanayake

Modeling and forecasting cinnamon export in Sri Lanka 14

R.A.S. Wickramarathne, K.R.T.S. Mahanama, M.P.A.T. Wickramanayaka, A.R.W.
Mohamed and N.V. Chandrasekara

In Silico Studies of Antiviral Property of Sri Lankan Curry Powder Against 20

Norovirus G11-4 Genotype.
H. K. Weerarathne, C. C. Kadigamuwa

Focus Area: Environment

Assessment of the ecological status of the diyawannawa wetland by aquatic 27

macrophyte-based limnological condition index
D.M.S.N.K.Dissanayake and B.K.A. Bellanthudawa, W.M.D.N. Wijeyaratne,

Reduction of water leaching potential in sandy loam soil by using biochar 31

S.M.M.S. Himaya, A.D.N.T. Kumara, P. Premanandaraja and M.G.M. Thariq

Mitigation of hypereutrophic status in beira lake with coconut shell biochar 38

W.A.K.S. Fonseka, N.N.N. Attanayaka, I.A.S.R. Ilangakoon, M. Vithanage, Prof.
B.C.L. Athapattu, S. Himanujahn
Dioscrea alata L.Yam extract as a natural acid-base indicator. 43
K.S.N Karunathilaka, S.R Wickramarachchi

Adsorptive removal of oil spills by waste-derived dendro biochar: a green

oriented approach 48
P.G.S. Pallewatta, A.U. Rajapaksha, R.S.M. Samarasekara, M.S. Vithanage

Focus Area: Food, Nutrition and Agriculture

Eco-friendly management of hadda beetle (Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata 55

F.) (Coleoptera: coccinellidae) using slected botanical extracts
T Thuvaraka and K Pakeerathan

Sensorial qualities of three common food commodities cooked with different 60

techniques
T.A. Gunathilake, G.L.R. Prasanga, P.C. Bandara

A study on correlation between food habits and iron deficiency anaemia among 65
children at base hospital kalmunai north
Afreen S.M.M.S, Muneeb M.Musthafa, Rajavarthani S, and Roshanth S.N.

Development of an edible composite coating using plant extracts to prolong the 74

postharvest life of tomatoes
S.M.A.A Senevirathna, K.G.L.R. Jayathunge, W.L.I. Wijesekara and G.L.R Prasanga

Potential of Nostoc sp. as a biofertilizer on growth and yield of paddy - Oryza 80

sativa
P. S. Ruwanpathirana, N.Gnanavelrajah, R.R Ratnayake

Study on fat content and fatty acid profile of selected commercially available junk 85
foods in the kilinochchi district
T Tharsiga, S Vasantharuba

Dietary intake of fluoride from the consumption of black tea in CKDU prevalent 90
areas, Sri Lanka
E.R. Prabhashvari, H.D.C.L. Oshadi, A.U. Rajapaksha, C.V.L. Jayasinghe, and M.
Vithanage

Effect of Chlorella sp. and combinations of selected nutrient sources on growth 96

and yield of onion (Allium cepa L.)
R Anushalini, K Kajeevan, N Gnanavelrajah, B Ketheesan
Screening of blackgram (Vigna mungo. L) 4 germplasms against powdery mildew 101
and yellow mosaic virus diseases
K.G.M.N. Jayarathna, W.M.K. Fernando, Dr. A.N.M. Mubarak, V.Sujanthika,
J.B.D.Y Thilkarathna, K.M.T.M kumarasinghe

Ascertaining a suitable acidity regulator for yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis 107
f. flavicarpa) drinking yoghurt
E.U.D.B.A.P. Ehelepola, C. Senanayake, Maharsha Edirisinghe

Extraction of microcrystalline cellulose from peanut shell by chemical treatment 113

and its ftir analysis
M.F.F. Husna, S. Vasantharuba

Optimizing biosynthesis of feo nanoparticles using Marsilea quadrifolia (L.) leaf 118
extract
M.G.W.K Weerasinghe, A.G.B Aruggoda, J.A.S Chathurika, S.R Weerakoon

Fatty acid profile and Heavy metal composition of some Hibiscus Flowers of Sri 124
Lanka
R.M.K. Rajapaksha, E.M.R.K.B. Edirisinghe

Focus Area: Health

Acceptance and perception of covid-19 vaccination among adults in the galle 130
district
P.T.A. Thilakarathna, H.L.K. Prabodhi, W.V.R.T.D.G. Bandara

Conventional treatment and oncolytic virotherapy for triple negative breast 135
cancer treatment
S.P.Joseph., A.N.Buddhapriya

Parental mental health during covid‐19 pandemic in sri lanka: an islandwide 139
survey
A.K Hasith Priyashantha, P. Pretheeba, N. Pratheesh

Screening of endophytic fungi from a mangrove plant; Xylocarpus granatum for 143
antimicrobial activity
R.M.K.N.K. Rathnayake, N. Saleem

Dosimetry of electron beam therapy: verification of using cc13 149

cylindrical ionization chamber
S. Panchadsaran, A.Ramalingam, V. Sivakumar
Relationship between BMI and static foot posture among the Physiotherapy 153
undergraduates of Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala
Defense University
K.V.D.A Samarasinghe, M.L.H Rathnayake, K.G.T.M Thilakarathne
G.A.D Perera, H.H.N Kalyani

Evaluation of anti-microbial effect of skin cream formulated using different 159

combinations of selected fixed oils.
B.D.D.U. Perera, W.J.A.B.N. Jayasuriya , H.M.D.R. HERATH , A. Nadeshkumar

Determining quality indicators in the pre-analytical phase: a study at colombo 162

south teaching hospital, Kalubowila.
H. P. I. Asanka, P. D. Wickramarachchi, K. S. R. Kumara, B. M. C. R. Wimalasiri
Yapa

Explorations of patients’ experiences after coronary artery bypass grafting 169

TL Balasooriya, PLDSPD Liyanage, MAT Makawita, ASPL Senadheera, WN
Priyanthi

Focus Area: Information Communication Technology & Knowledge Services

An application of bayesian networks in stock market anomaly detection 176

H.K.R. Rathnaweera, R.M. Silva

E-school SL: a mobile base e-learning system 182

E.G.N.D. Ranasingha, A.K. Hasith Priyashantha and N. Pratheesh

FULL PAPERS
Focus Area: Basic Sciences, Emerging Technologies & Indigenous Knowledge

Development of a small-scale reverberation chamber and validation of the 187

diffuse field
J. W. A. Madushika, J. K. Wijerathne, W. D. G. Lanarolle

Synthesis of graphite oxide and effect of its loading on cure characteristics and 196
ageing properties of natural rubber composites
W. D. M. Sampath, C.A.N. Fernando, D.G. Edirisinghe
Critical appraisal of ayurveda punsavana karma 210
Manori KD, Karunagoda KPKR

Management of manasa dukkhaja unmada (depression) through a traditional 217

treatment modality; a case study
D.S. Yahathugoda , Dr. S.S. Hettige

Focus Area: Environment

Organic farming management strategies 226

S.M.M.S. Himaya, S.M.M.S. Afreen

Desalination of seawater using various sources of activated carbon 243

D.S.Samarahewa, S.N.C.M.Dias

Effect of moringa (moringa oleifera) and jack (artocarpus heterophyllus) leaves as 250
organic amendments for tomato (solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivation
S.M.A. U Senarath, P. Premanandarajah, R. Krishnananthy

Focus Area: Food, Nutrition & Agriculture

Camarosa and festival variety evaluation of strawberry (fragaria species) under 257
controlled environmental conditions with alternative growing media in dry zone
K. Pakeerathan

Influence of different processing and drying approaches in the preparation of 268

palmyrah tuber flour utilized as raw material in food industries
S. Thuraisingam, S. Sangeetha and K. Sithara

Evaluation of the efficacy of botanical insecticide formulations for the 286

management of banana mealy bug Pseudococcus elisae
K.M.L.M. Rathnasena, A.M. Shafna, M.D. Rupasinghe, G.K.M.M.K. Ranaweera
and A.D.N.T. Kumara

Effects of selected plant growth promoting rhizobacterial strains on growth 295

performance of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)
D.M.D. Sandhamali, A. Asmiya, A.N.M. Mubarak and A.D.N.T. Kumara
Formulation of flakes incorporating sprouted grain flours and rice bran 308
S. Darsiga, M. Shafras and K.M. Somawathie

Estimation of quality parametrs of compost available in the market and 319

quantification of crop requirements of compost based on guidelines of
department of agriculture, Sri Lanka
H.P.E. De Zoysa, W.C. Prasadani, M.N.A. Mubarak, H.K.W. Sandamali and J.A.H.
Abeyrathna

Insights into the Aspergillus bio fertilizers – Potential and Prospects 338
A.A.A.U. Aberathna, D.A. Satharasinghe, B.P.A. Jayaweera, W.A.D.V.
Weerathilake, G.A. Prathapasinghe, J.M.K.J.K. Premarathne

Focus Area: Health

Comparative evaluation of quality of different brands of amoxicillin capsules 355

available in community pharmacies in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
M.D. Abeysinghe, M.F.F. Zahra, S. Thuvaragan, R. Surenthirakumaran, H.K.P.A.
Senadeera

Variations in patient doses from lumbar spine x-ray examinations in two public 362
hospitals in sri lanka
W.D.S.D. Welarathna, V. Sivakumar, W.M.N.M.B. Wanninayake and S.
Sarasanandarajah

Panel of reviewers 367

 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Message from the Acting Director,

National Science and Technology Commission

With great pleasure, I convey this message as the Acting Director / CEO of the
National Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC) at the inauguration of the
11th YSF Annual Research Symposium organized by the Young Scientists Forum
(YSF) of NASTEC.

YSF Symposium, initiated in 2012, has been held successfully since its inception,
and the 11th symposium will be held in 2023. This year the symposium is focused
on promoting Research & Development with relevant Interventions identified
under the ten thrust areas of the National Research & Development Framework
(NRDF), which was developed by the NASTEC and in consultation with a large
number of relevant experts in the scientific community. Young Scientists &
promising researchers of the country are encouraged to conduct research under
NRDF’s ten thrust areas, where the first 5 areas cater to improving quality of life.
At the same time, the latter 5 contribute to the country’s economic development.
I am pleased to note the number of research publications related to thrust areas
of Health, Food, Nutrition & Agriculture, Environment, Energy, Basic Sciences,
Emerging Technologies & Indigenous Knowledge, and ICT being presented in this
symposium.

It is my fervent hope that the young scientists gathered at this symposium will
not only gain knowledge of the novel research ideas presented but also will
mobilize their collective intellect to provide S&T solutions in order to overcome
the challenges faced by the country.

I wish you good luck with the proceeding of the sessions and future endeavors of
YSF in relation to S&T development.

Mr. Janaka S. Geekiyanage

Act. Director/CEO
National Science and Technology Commission

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Message from the Steering Committee Chairperson

Young Scientist Forum

Sri Lanka is a country with thousands of beautiful natural sights and millions of
beautiful minds. At the time we are publishing the proceedings of the 11th YSF
Symposium, the country is in a need of young beautiful minds who conduct
research and do innovations to make Sri Lanka a country with a production-based
economy. The country needs the involvement of young scientists to raise again
as a strong nation. At such instance, Young Scientists Forum (YSF) of the National
Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC) has been a place for young
academics, researchers, and scientists to advance their scientific careers and
serve the country to save the country. The YSF Symposium was initiated with the
objectives of inculcating quality research practices, identifying young researchers
while giving due recognition and encouragement, and expanding the exploration
of unseen areas of science and technology.

The undoubtedly challenging era we are passing as a nation has urged the
necessity of emerging young scientists who identify novel strategies to assure a
safe future for coming generations. Accordingly, 11th YSF Symposium is organized
with the theme of “Integration of Science, Technology, and Innovation for a
Better Sustainable Economy”. Under this theme, the researchers would find
ample opportunities for exploring new knowledge within the areas of Basic
Sciences, Emerging Technologies, Indigenous Knowledge, Information
Communication Technology, Food, Nutrition, Agriculture, Environment, Energy,
and Health. We believe that the symposium will open new avenues in developing
an insightful forum and aspiring for excellence in research utilizing diverse aspects
of science and technology in the way forward of crisis.

It is my honor and privilege to be involved in 11th YSF Symposium, contributing

towards its continued success since 2017. At this proud moment, I would like to
convey my sincere gratitude to Prof. Veranja Karunaratne, the Chairman of
NASTEC and to Mr. Janaka S. Geekiyanage, the Acting Director of NASTEC for
their invaluable guidance and continued support for all the YSF activities
including the 11th YSF Symposium. I am indeed honored to have the contribution
of the panel of reviewers and evaluators to make the success story of the Annual
Symposium. The appreciative efforts of the dedicated and hardworking Steering
Committee of the YSF are behind the accomplishment, which you are today
experiencing. I wish to thank the Editorial Board for their untiring efforts in
producing the Proceedings of the Symposium. A special appreciation goes out to
Ms. Thilini Munagamage, Scientist of NASTEC and the Symposium Coordinator,

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

for her efforts in all aspects of YSF activities. I wish all the success to the YSF for
its pathway to strengthen, build and guide the Young Scientists in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Akila Jayasanka

The Chairman, Young Scientists Forum

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Foreword from the Editors

It is with great pleasure, the Young Scientist Forum (YSF) present the proceedings
of the 11th YSF Symposium. The annual research symposium of the YSF provides
an ideal opportunity for the local young scientists to share the research interests
in various disciplines and to initiate cross-disciplinary collaborations. It is a place
of networking, where constructive scientific feedback is mostly nurtured.

Out of the 60 submissions received as extended abstracts and full papers for the
year 2023, 50 submissions were selected through a double-blind review process.
The materials submitted by the authors were reviewed by two expert reviewers
in the relevant field and have been edited by editorial board of the YSF. The views
expressed in extended abstracts and full papers remain the responsibility of the
named authors.

We would like to express our gratitude to all contributing authors for sharing their
outstanding research findings and for the panel of reviewers for invaluable
feedback to enhance the quality of this publication. The editorial board is very
much thankful to Mr. Janaka Geekiyanage, the Acting Director of the NASTEC for
funding and facilitating the events of YSF with great enthusiasm. NASTEC
coordinator Ms. Thilini Munagamage and NASTEC staff, and the members of the
YSF Steering Committee are also acknowledged for the immense support
rendered in organizing the symposium and compilation of the proceedings.
We wish the 11th YSF symposium a great success and extend warm wishes to all
the authors.

The Editorial Board

11th YSF Symposium Proceedings

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

EXTENDED ABSTRACTS

FOCUS AREA
Basic Sciences, Emerging Technologies &
Indigenous Knowledge

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

In silico studies of antiviral property of Paspanguwa

P.A.S.N.P. Jayawardena1 and C.C. Kadigamuwa1*
1
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
SARS-CoV-2 was found as a new type of coronavirus by the WHO in early 2020.
The disease soon spread throughout the globe. They are called "coronavirus"
because they have crown-shaped spike proteins on their outer membrane
surfaces. COVID-19 is a disease produced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus which can
cause a respiratory tract infection. Out of seven coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 can
cause serious illnesses. Several variations of SARS-CoV-2 are now circulating,
some of which are proving to be deadly. They are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and
Omicron.[1] The SARS-CoV-2 virus connects to the ACE2 receptor utilizing a spike-
like protein present on its surface, similar to a key put into a lock, it stops ACE2
from doing its role of regulating angiotensin II signaling, this cause more
angiotensin II to injured tissues.[2] In this research, Phytochemicals contained in
the’ Paspanguwa’ water extract were found based on the literature review carried
out. The above ligands were docked to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binding site
to the ACE2 receptor protein by considering all variants of the virus and their
interactions with the ACE2 receptor, to predict whether there is a probability of
chosen ligands to interfere the interaction between spike protein and ACE2
receptor using computational chemistry by finding the binding energy and
binding residues.

Materials and Methods

Materials
Hardware- Intel Core i5 7200U (2.50-3.10GHz, 4GB DDR4, 1TB) laptop.
Software’s and Web servers - Avogadro, SWISS-MODEL, AutoDock Tools 1.5.6,
AutoDock 4.2, BLAST Server, UniProt align server, SAVES v6.0 server, ProSA-
webserver, Protein-ligand-interaction-profiler, LigPlot, Pymol, Openbabel,
SwissADME-web server, Galaxy Refine-GalaxyWEB server.

Methods
Ligands identification
Based on the literature reviews sixty ligands were found. Then the Canonical
SMILES of each ligand were obtained from the PubChem database. Above
Canonical SMILES were subjected to the SwissADME web server to check their

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drug-likeness. Ligands that followed Lipinski’s rule of five were selected using this
web server.

Ligands preparation
Based on the ligands identified, 3D structures of ligands were downloaded from
the PubChem database in SDF format. Then the above files were subjected to
Avogadro software and geometries were optimized using Force Field MMFF94,
algorithm steepest descent, 500 steps. Then the above files were saved in PDB
format. Then the PDB format files were subjected to AutoDock Tools 1.5.6 and
converted to PDBQT file format.

Protein preparation
First based on the literature reviews, UniProt ID Q9BYF1 was found for the human
ACE2 receptor. Then the protein sequence of the ACE2 receptor was obtained
from the UniProt website for the UniProt ID Q9BYF1. That protein sequence was
run via the BLAST server to find the homology sequences and thereby highest
percentage sequence similarity PDB ID was found. The above protein sequence
was also subjected to SWISS-Model online modeling server to find the template
with higher GMQE, sequence similarity, and higher sequence coverage. The
above template should also parallel with the BLAST parameter. UniProt align
server was used to align the protein sequence with modeled sequence and
determine whether active sites and spike protein binding sites were conserved.
Then the template follows the above facts used to build the protein model.

Model validation and Refinement of model structure

After modeled protein was built, the Refinement was done by Galaxy Refine in
the GalaxyWeb server. Then the protein is subjected to ERRAT, Verify 3D and
PROCHECK contain in the SAVES v6.0 server and also the ProSA server to validate
the modeled structure.

Molecular Docking
Water molecules were deleted, Polar hydrogen atoms added and finally, Kollman
chargers were added to the modeled protein structure using AutoDock Tools
1.5.6. Then the above file is saved as a PDBQT format file. By detecting torsion
root using AutoDock Tools 1.5.6, ligand files were transformed to PDBQT format
files. Ligands were docked into the 3D structure of a protein by drawing the grid
on the binding site. Due to the grid box contained in the binding region, Autogrid
4.2 (.gpf) files were generated. Grid parameter files and map files generated by
Autogrid 4.2. Lamarckian genetic algorithm (LGA) was utilized for docking studies
and the parameters were adjusted as follows; number of genetic algorithms (GA)
runs:20, the maximum number of energy evaluations; 5000000, population

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size;150, a maximum number of 27,000 generations and other settings were not
changed. AutoDock 4.2 (.dpf) utilized for docking. The ligands were set to flexible
and the protein adjusts to rigid. Finally, the resultant files were generated as
(.dlg).

Analysis of docking results

AutoDock Tool 1.5.6. was used to analyze binding energies. Interactions between
protein-ligand complexes and amino acids located in the binding pocket were
analyzed using a protein-ligand interaction profiler. LigPlot is used to get 2D
images related to interactions and 3D images with interactions obtained using
pymol.

Results and Discussion

Ligands identification -The main phytochemicals from each five ingredients of
herbs contained in ‘Paspanguwa’, that were extracted to water using various
extraction techniques were found based on literature reviews. Those
phytochemicals were again filtered into 36 ligands based on their percentage
amount extracted to water from each five ingredients and also with their drug-
likeness properties.

Protein preparation - The protein sequence of the ACE2 receptor was submitted
to SWISS-Model, an online modeling server, to discover the template with the
highest GMQE, sequence similarity, and sequence coverage. The template
obtained from the SWISS-Model with 0.81 GMQE was matched with the highest
percentage sequence similarity PDB ID obtained from protein blast. After
modeled protein was built, the Refinement was done by Galaxy Refine in the
GalaxyWeb server. Then it provides five models, model with the highest RMSD
(0.392) was selected.

Model validation – VERIFY 3-D server - The model's quality was determined by
the score of the passed residues, which was larger than 0.2. According to the
results, modeled protein has 95.64% residues averaged 3D-1D score greater than
0.2. ERRAT server - ERRAT server was used to evaluate the statistics of
interactions, which are non-bonded between various atom types. Normally
scores of more than 60 are considered acceptable. The modeled protein score
was 94.6401. PROCHECK. Server-The Ramachandran plot was used to examine
the placement of amino acid residues in the permitted and forbidden zones, and
also the protein structure's overall stereochemical quality. According to
theresults, modeled protein is 96.3% in the favored region, signifying that the
structure is reliable. ProSA Server- ProSA is a standard tool for detecting errors in
3-D protein structure models. The z-score reveals how successful a model is

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overall. The modeled protein's ProSA score was -13.61, confirming its validity.
Protein-ligand interaction analysis - The binding energies for each protein-ligand
complex were retrieved using AutoDock 4.2 and they are shown in the below
table.

Table 1. Docking results

Compound Ligand Binding energy (kcal/mol)

Urosilic Acid -9.23

6- α -hydroxygeniposide -5.59
Pathpadagam
Asperulosidic acid -5.36

Biflorin -6.35

γ-sitosterol -10.11

Geniposide -6.63

Oleanolic acid -8.42

Linalool -5.69

Limonene -6.08

Coriander Geranyl Acetate -5.37

Geraniol -5.58

γ -terpinene -5.67

Cineole -6.52

Camphor -5.64

α -pinene -6.39

6-Gingerol -5.04

zingiberene -5.98
Ginger
β -bisbolene -5.97

α -curcumenne -6.22

6-shogaol -5.95

6-paradol -5.87

Diosgenin -9.18

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Berberine -7.60

Berberrubine Chloride -6.62

Venivalgata
Jatrorrhizine -6.54

Palmatine -6.61

Sitosterol glucoside -8.35

Thalifendine -6.57

Berberrubine Chloride -6.62

Stigmasterol -10.19

Apigenin -6.75
Katuwalbatu
Carpesterol -10.42

Coumarin -5.97

Diosgenin -9.18

Linoleic Acid -4.65

Oleic Acid -4.10

Solasodine -10.34

The above docking results were obtained for site-specific docking by considering
all types of variants in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interactions with ACE2 receptor
protein and the grid box was drawn to that site. Thirty-six ligands were docked to
the site mentioned in Table 1 and out of that 20 ligands' binding energy was
greater than (BE) (-6.00 kcal/mol). Stigmasterol, Solasodine, Carpesterol, and γ-
sitosterol ligands binding energy to ACE2 receptor protein was greater than (-
10.00 kcal/mol). According to the results, higher negative binding energies reveal
stable protein-ligand complexes. According to the interactions between ligands
giving binding energy greater than -7.00 kcal/mol with spike protein of SARS CoV2
binding site in ACE2 receptor, only ARG393 is involved. The above results indicate
that ligands mainly bind to other site amino acids included in the grid box. An area
where a grid box is drawn covers the allosteric site2 and allosteric site3 in the
ACE2 receptor. Drugs targeting allosteric sites, bind to places other than the
enzyme's active site and frequently allosterically change the protein's
conformation. Certain evidence suggests that ACE-2 active site blockers fail to
stop the SARS-CoV-2 infection from progressing because amino acids responsible
(H345, H505, and R27313) for binding to blockers are located in the core of ACE-
2 protein.ACE-2's allosteric site 1 is immediately beneath its active site. The

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allosteric sites 2 and 3 are situated adjacent to the interacting amino acid
residues, which are normally involved in hydrogen bonding with the SARS-CoV-2
receptor-binding domain. According to the interactions between ligands giving
binding energy greater than -7.00 kcal/mol, almost all the ligands binding to
certain amino acids contain in allosteric site2 and allosteric site3.

Conclusions and Recommendations

According to the interactions between ligands giving binding energy greater than
-7.00 kcal/mol, almost all the ligands binding to certain amino acids contain in
allosteric site2 and allosteric site3. The other 13 ligands' binding energies were
greater than (BE) (-6.00 kcal/mol) and may have tended to bind to allosteric sites.
So, the contribution of each ligand may impact interactions between spike
protein domains and the ACE2 receptor by binding to the allosteric sites 2 and 3.
Therefore, the above results indicate there is a probability to cure COVID-19 by
consuming Paspanguwa.
Results obtained for ligands giving binding energy greater than -7.00 kcal/mol,
should be identified at the compound level by LC-MS/MS, LC-MS, and also further
confirm using phytochemical screening. Molecular dynamics studies of the
complexes will be carried out in future to support the results of the present
study.

References
[1] S. Nanayakkara, P. Nakandala, U. Nakandala, and I. Nanayakkara, “A
Reviewon COVID-19: A Global and Sri Lanka Perspective,” Am. J. Multidiscip.
Res. Dev. (AJMRD, vol. 2, no. 8, pp. 63–70, 2020, [Online]. Available:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7832-9621.
[2] C. S. Mclachlan, “The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 ( ACE2 ) receptor in
the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 are distinctly different
paradigms,” pp. 14–16, 2020.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

FACILE BIOGENIC SYNTHESIS OF SILVER-ZINC OXIDE

NANOCOMPOSITES USING Borassus flabellifer PULP AND
SPROUT EXTRACTS AND EVALUATION OF THEIR
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES
G. Thiripuranathar*1, A.M.S. Aththanayaka1,2 and S. Ekanayake2
1
Institute of Chemistry Ceylon, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka, 2Department of Biochemistry,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.) is an Arecaceae plant that grows in drier regions
of the world. The palmyra tree grows widely in northern Sri Lanka, and the fruits
mature in August and fall off from the tree between September and October
Palmyra is a medicinally important plant, containing biological and
pharmacological value [1]. Palmyra fruit is high in essential amino acids as well as
bioactive compounds which have antioxidant properties. Palmyra sprouts are rich
in calories, a good source of vitamin E [2], and have antioxidant properties.
Oxidative metabolism is essential for life's survival, and such antioxidants protect
the body against reactive oxygen species (ROS) [3].

Plant-mediated nanocomposites (NCs) development is a revolutionary technique

with numerous advantages over physicochemical methods. Plants contain a large
number of biologically active primary and secondary metabolites due to their high
genetic variability. They also aid in the bioreduction of ions to the nanoscale, as
well as the capping of nanoparticles (NPs), which is critical for stability and
biocompatibility [4]. The green approach has the added benefit of increasing the
life span of nanomaterials (NMs) due to the immense properties of plant-
mediated NPs. Hence, in recent years, there has been considerable attention and
advancement in nanomaterials synthesis via the green approach. Ag NPs and ZnO
NPs synthesis is the most commercialized research area due to their versatility
and has been used in several industrial applications.

Hence, in this study, we report a simple and environmentally friendly method of

synthesizing Ag-ZnO NCs using aqueous palmyra pulp and sprout extracts as the
capping and stabilizing agents and compared the antioxidant potential with
reference standards and the plant extracts. Although plant-mediated Ag-ZnO NCs
synthesis has previously been reported, there is a scarcity of literature on palmyra
pulp and sprout-mediated Ag-ZnO NCs and their antioxidant activities [5].

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Materials and Methods

Preparation of plant extracts
The mature palmyra fruits were collected from the trees near Kilinochchi area,
and the palmyra sprouts were collected from the local market at Dehiwala. The
mature fruit pulp was obtained after squeezing the pulp using muslin cloth
without fiber. The obtained pulp was freeze-dried. The dried pulp sample (10 g)
was dissolved in 200 mL of distilled water, and the mixture was continuously
stirred under 70 °C for 30 minutes to obtain the pulp extract. The sprouts were
washed thoroughly and then washed with distilled water. The sprouts were cut
into thin slices and oven dried at 45 °C for three days. The dried sprout sample
was powdered using an electrical grinder. The powdered sample (10 g) was added
to 200 mL of distilled water and continuously stirred under 70 °C for 30 minutes
to obtain the sprout extract. The aqueous extracts were filtered through
Whatman No.1 filter paper. The collected extracts were then refrigerated for
future experiments.

Optimization the conditions for Ag-ZnO NCs synthesis

The green synthesis of Ag NPs and ZnO NPs was carried out by mixing aqueous
pulp and sprout extracts with different concentrations of AgNO3 and
[Zn(CH3COO)2]. 2H2O solutions (0.05M, 0.01 M, 0.1 M) in different ratios (aqueous
extract: ion precursor) for both NPs such as 1:1, 1:3, 2:5 and 1:9 only for ZnO NPs
synthesis. The effect of irradiation methods was assessed by varying the different
irradiation sources such as solar, microwave, and UV. The pH of medium was
changed for the synthesis of ZnO NPs by varying the pH 7, 10, and 12. To
determine the effect of time period on NPs synthesis, reactions were performed
at different time intervals (0.5–24h). Based on the optimized conditions sufficient
yield of NMs was obtained. The resultant mixtures were centrifuged (4500 rpm)
for 15 minutes. The residue was washed with deionized water until the
supernatant appeared colorless. The residue was oven dried at 70⁰ C for eight
hours to obtain Ag NPs.
Based on the optimized conditions preparation of Ag-ZnO NCs carried out through
following synthesis procedure. Initially ZnO NPs were prepared by adding 10 mL
of plant extract drop wise into 90 mL of [Zn(CH3COO)2].2H2O solutions (0.01 M)
with continuous stirring. Meanwhile 2M NaOH was added until the pH of the
solution reached 12. The resultant mixture was stirred continuously (2 hrs) and
incubated (24 hrs) under dark to obtain the dried ZnO NPs. Subsequently the plant
extract (5 mL) was added to drop wise into 15 mL of AgNO3 (0.05 M) solution and
subjected to solar irradiation for 30 minutes. Previously prepared finely
powdered ZnO NPs (50 mg) were added to above solution under continuous
stirring for 30 min. The resultant mixture was kept in dark for 24 h. The incubated
mixture of NCs was centrifuged at 4500 rpm for 15 minutes and the collected
precipitate was washed with distilled H2O three times. The residue was oven-

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

dried at 70 ⁰C for 12 h, and the obtained NCs were preserved in airtight vials for
further studies.

Characterization of phytogenic NMs

Surface plasma resonance (SPR) peaks of NMs were determined by wavelength
range of 300-700 nm. The functional groups of phytochemicals present in the
plant extracts used as reducing and capping agents for the synthesis of NMs were
determined using an FTIR spectrometer in the 500 – 4000 cm-1. Morphological
analysis of NMs was carried out using SEM analysis. The sizes of synthesized NMs
were determined through TEM analysis. For the structural analysis of the
synthesized NMs, an X-ray powder diffractometer was used.

Antioxidant potential of phytogenic NMs

Standard procedures for DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays were used to determine
free radical scavenging activity and potential antioxidant power of biogenic NMs.
The antioxidant activity of green synthesized NPs was compared with that of plant
material.

Results and Discussion

The UV-Vis absorption peak was observed at the range 350-360 nm confirming
the intrinsic bandgap of ZnO NPs and 437-440 nm for the formation of Ag NPs.
There were two peaks between 350 nm and 450 nm that indicted the SPR peaks
for Ag-ZnO NCs.

FTIR spectrometry was performed to identify the functional groups associated

with the palmyra pulp and sprout mediated synthesized Ag, ZnO NPs and Ag-ZnO
NCs. The FTIR spectra of the plant extracts revealed the presence of significant
functional groups that responsible for metal ion reduction and acting as reducing
and capping agents for NMs synthesis. The synthesis of hexagonal phase of ZnO
and formation of tetrahedral coordinated Zn was indicated by the peaks at
frequency range 710-900 cm-1.

The shape, size, and aggregation state of biogenic NMs were depicted using SEM
analysis. Figures 1 and 2 show the formation of spherical shaped Ag NPs,
nanoflower shaped ZnO NPs, and both spherical and nanoflower containing Ag-
ZnO NCs synthesised palmyra pulp (PPulp), and palmyra sprout (PSprt) materials
under optimal conditions and confirmed that the average particle sizes are within
the nano range.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

(i) (ii) (iii) (iii)

Figure 1. SEM images of (i) AgNPs, (ii) ZnO NPs, (iii) Ag-ZnO NCs synthesized from PPulp and
showing their morphologies

(iv) (v) (vi)

Figure 2. SEM images of (iv) AgNPs, (v) ZnO NPs, (vi) Ag-ZnO NCs synthesized from PSprt
and showing their morphologies

TEM image of Ppulp mediated Ag NPs, ZnO NPs and Ag-ZnO NCs with particle sizes
were 17.06 nm ± 2.31 nm, 91.85 ± 13.39 nm, and 17.88 ± 3.62 nm respectively
and PSprt mediated Ag NPs, ZnO NPs and Ag-ZnO NCs with particle sizes was
12.66 ± 3.26 nm, 97.87± 18.92 nm, and 15.32± 4.44 nm respectively.

The XRD patterns of ZnO NPs prepared from Ppulp and Psprt extracts indicated
the typical hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO NPs and showed characteristic
peaks positioned at 2θ values of 31.84°, 34.52°, 36.38°, 47.64°, 56.70°, 63.06°,
67.10°, 68.10°, and 69.18° which are indexed as (100), (002), (101), (102), (110),
(103), (200), (112) and (201) planes, respectively. The XRD spectra with the main
characteristic peaks at 2θ values of 38.19°, 46.18°, 67.44°, and 77.70° matched
with (111), (200), (220), and (311) planes of Ag, respectively. All the peaks in the
XRD pattern can be readily indexed to a face-centered cubic structure of Ag that
confirms the presence of Ag. Other prominent peaks in the XRD spectra indicated
that organic compounds come from bioactive compounds in plant materials,
aside from these characteristic peaks for both ZnO and Ag formation. XRD
patterns for Ag-ZnO NCs indicated that both characteristic peaks were obtained
from ZnO and Ag samples.

The results revealed that pulp and sprout mediated NMsscavenged DPPH and
ABTS•+ free radicals in a concentration dependent manner.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Table 1. IC50 values of pulp and sprout mediated NMs

Sprout mediated NMs Pulp mediated NMs Standards

Ag ZnO Ag- Sprout Ag NPs ZnO Ag- Pulp Ascorbic Trolox

NPs NPs ZnO NPs ZnO acid
NCs NCs

DPPH 62.63 96.98 64.36 127.58 73.68 77.94 74.36 144.79 59.23

IC50

value
(ppm)

ABTS •+
92.25 112.56 56.01 125.48 120.21 170.13 96.51 192.66 50.65

IC50

value
(ppm)

Table 1 shows the IC50 values of the DPPH and ABTS•+ radical scavenging assays
for pulp and sprout mediated NMs. Palmyra sprout mediated NMs had a higher
potential to scavenge ABTS•+ and DPPH free radicals, and the FRAP assay also
revealed that NMs have a higher antioxidant potential than their respective plant
materials. Furthermore, it is clear that the antioxidant activity is size dependent,
as the sprout mediated synthesised NPs and NCs have smaller particle sizes than
the pulp mediated. When the individual NPs are considered, the NCs have a
significantly higher antioxidant potential.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Palmyra pulp and sprout were used to successfully biosynthesize Ag-ZnO NCs.
FTIR analysis revealed that phytochemicals found in palmyra pulp and sprout
exracts, such as phenols, flavonoids, and primary metabolites, acted as reducing
and capping agents. The average particle size of palmyra sprout-mediated
synthesised Ag NPs was smaller, according to SEM and TEM analysis. The XRD
analysis confirmed the formation of pure Ag NPs and ZnO NPs, with distinct peaks
indicating a face-centered cubic structure for Ag and a hexagonal structure for
ZnO NPs. The pulp and sprout-mediated Ag-ZnO NCs displayed high DPPH, ABTS •+

radical scavenging capacities and FRAP inhibition power than the respective plant
extract and individual NPs, indicating that the sprout extracts contain excellent
reducing and capping agents for the biogenic synthesis of smaller size NPs and
NCs. The current findings revealed that the green synthesized Ag-ZnO NCs have
the potential antioxidant capacity, and the ability increased with decreased NP
size.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

References
[1] P.G. Jamkhande, V.A. Suryawanshi, T.M. Kaylankar, and S.L. Patwekar.
“Biological activities of leaves of ethnomedicinal plant, Borassus flabellifer
Linn. (Palmyra palm): An antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant
evaluation”, Bull. Fac. Pharmacy, Cairo Univ., vol.54, pp. 59–66, 2016.
[2] M.M. Romuald, D.M. Viviane, K.N.G. Ysidor, C. Adama, A.Y. Olivier, S. Daouda,
and B.G.H. Marius. “Evaluation of the Vitamin Contents of Palmyra (Borassus
aethiopum M) New Shoots, Moringa (Moringa oleifera L) and Cowpea (Vigna
unguiculata W) Flours Consumed in Côte d’Ivoire,” J. Appl. Life Sci. Int., vol.
11, no. 3, pp.1–11.
[3] M. Naseer, U. Aslam, B. Khalid, and B. Chen,” Green route to synthesize Zinc
Oxide Nanoparticles using leaf extracts of Cassia fistula and Melia azadarach
and their antibacterial potential”, Sci. Rep., vol. 10, pp.1–10. 2020.
[4] S. Najoom, F. Fozia, I. Ahmad, A. Wahab, N. Ahmad, R. Ullah, A. Gul, A. Bari,
M.Y. Khan, A.A. Khan. “Effective Antiplasmodial and Cytotoxic Activities of
Synthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Rhazya stricta Leaf Extract”.
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Aug. 2021.
[5] T.U. Doan Thi, T.T. Nguyen, Y.D. Thi, K.H.Ta Thi, B.T. Phan, and K.N. Pham.
“Green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using orange fruit peel extract for
antibacterial activities”, RSC Adv., vol.10 pp.23899–23907, 2020.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

MODELING AND FORECASTING CINNAMON EXPORT IN SRI

LANKA
R.A.S. Wickramarathne*, K.R.T.S. Mahanama, M.P.A.T. Wickramanayaka,
A.R.W. Mohamed and N.V. Chandrasekara
Department of Statistics & Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya,
Sri Lanka
* Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
Cinnamon is one of the oldest and popular spices in Sri Lanka which played a
major role in ancient Ceylon history. Sri Lanka has maintained a noticeable
income over the Cinnamon industry at the global level. The main difficulties in the
Cinnamon industry of Sri Lanka are lack of skilled labour, high cost of labour &
planting materials, and unstable prices in the market. Planters, cinnamon
factories, investors, exporters, policy makers and government are interested in
knowing the future income of Cinnamon. Considering these factors necessity of a
forecast relating to the Cinnamon exports in Sri Lanka is encouraged. This study’s
main objective is to identify the behavior of the income obtain through the
Cinnamon exports and forecast the future values. Therefore, it is mainly inspired
to investigate the behavior of Cinnamon export income over the past ten years in
Sri Lanka and conduct a forecast for future export incomes. By identifying trends
in Cinnamon export, the government can make farmers aware of the
requirements in the export industry by providing infrastructure facilities. Sri
Lankan Cinnamon exporters and potential investors can determine whether long-
term investments will be beneficial or not in the Cinnamon export industry in Sri
Lanka.

Research has been conducted to forecast Cinnamon export prices in Indonesia

and Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model has been employed for forecasting
purposes [1]. Sarawak Black Pepper Price in Malaysia has been forecasted by
applying the ARIMA model [2]. Even though there are many pieces of research
related to predicting the price of spices, there is a research gap for assessing their
export income. Moreover, attention has not been paid to forecasting the export
income of cinnamon in Sri Lanka. This study would be beneficial to fulfill the
aforementioned research gap.

Materials and Methods

The univariate time series analysis approach was performed for the monthly
income of Cinnamon exports in Sri Lanka. Data from July 2011 to June 2021 were
extracted from the monthly bulletins published by the Central Bank of SriLanka
[3].

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Figure 1. Time Series plot of monthly income of Cinnamon exports

The first 95 observations (Nearly 80%) from 120 data points were allocated for
the model fitting purpose and post-sample (latest 20%) for assessing the
performance of the identified model. Trend and seasonal variation in the line
chart encouraged to model employing the Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated
Moving Average (SARIMA) process [4].

The stationarity of the data was checked using ADF (Augmented Dickey-Fuller),
PP (Phillips-Perron), and KPSS (Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin) tests.
Differencing and log transformation were applied to eliminate the trend and high
variance respectively. The seasonal factor was detected using the correlogram of
the transformed series. After performing seasonal difference transformation, the
Autocorrelation Function (ACF) plot and Partial Autocorrelation Function (PACF)
plots were created for the stationary time series and cut-off lags in ACF and PACF
plots were detected. Candidate models were suggested with the detected cut-off
lags/ significant lags. Once fitting the candidate models, the better model was
detected using the minimum in Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). Assumptions
of heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, and normality were assessed using the
ARCH test, Ljung-Box Q test, and Jarque-Bera test respectively. After verifying the
satisfaction of assumptions, the reserved dataset was used for checking the
performance of the identified model. Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean
Absolute Error (MAE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) were used to
measure the performance of the fitted model. Table 1 was used to conclude the
level of accuracy of the model [5].

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Table 1. MAPE and level of accuracy

MAPE Level of Accuracy

< 10% Highly Accurate

11% to 20% Good Forecast

21% to 50% Reasonable Forecast

> 51% Inaccurate forecast

Results and Discussion

When evaluating the stationarity of the log transformed and first differenced time
series, ADF and KPSS tests indicated non stationarity while PP test denoted
stationarity at 5% level of significance. The Autocorrelation Function (ACF) plot of
the transformed (differenced and log transformed) series indicated a seasonal
pattern of 12. Aforementioned unit root tests were performed again on the
seasonal differenced series and all three tests indicated the stationarity of the
series at a 5% level of significance.

Table 2. Results of tests for stationarity

Test Value

ADF p-value 0.0000

PP p-value 0.0001

KPSS Test statistic 0.2969

Figure 2. ACF and PACF plots

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

According to the significant lags of ACF and Partial Autocorrelation Function

(PACF) plots, six seasonal ARIMA models were identified as candidate models.The
suggested candidate models were reduced to two models due to the significancy
of the coefficients of parameter terms. Table 2 illustrates all considered
significant models along with AIC values.

Table 3. AIC values of the significant models

Models AIC value

ARIMA (0,1,1) (0,1,0) [12] -0.044

ARIMA (1,1,2) (0,1,0) [12] -0.055

ARIMA (1,1,2) (0,1,0) [12] model which had the minimum AIC value, was selected
as the better model. The selected model satisfied all three assumptions based on
the results obtained from statistical tests as illustrates in Table 3. The Table 4
summarizes the performance measures of the adequate model.

Table 4. Results of the adequacy checking of the fitted model

Assumption Test p-value Decision

Heteroscedasticity ARCH test 0.9448 satisfied

Autocorrelation Ljung-Box Q Most of the p-values are satisfied

test greater than 0.05

Normality Jarque-Bera 0.6477 satisfied

Table 5. Performance measures of the fitted model

Performance Measure Value

RMSE 5.007

MAE 3.982

MAPE 21.065

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

According to the Table 1, accuracy of 21.06% (nearly 20%) of MAPE value has an
approximately good forecast. Further, the RMSE and MAE values of the selected
model were considerably low values. Therefore, ARIMA (1,1,2) (0,1,0) [12] can be
used to forecast the monthly income of Cinnamon exports in Sri Lanka. Figure 1
shows the extracted actual value vs forecasted value graph of the ARIMA (1,1,2)
(0,1,0) [12] model for the test set. It can be observed that the fitted model has fairly
captured the pattern of the actual data.

Figure 3. Actual values (Income (US Million $)) vs fitted values (INCOME_US_F) graph of fitted
ARIMA (1,1,2) (0,1,0) [12] model

Conclusions and Recommendations

The main purpose of this analysis was to stabilize a univariate time series model
to forecast the income of Cinnamon exports in Sri Lanka as Cinnamon has
maintained a noticeable income. ARIMA (1,1,2) (0,1,0) model was suggested to
[12]

forecast the monthly income of Cinnamon exports in Sri Lanka with considerably
low RMSE, MAE, and MAPE values. This model would benefit policymakers,
planters, cinnamon factories, and exporters in identifying current trends in the
income of Cinnamon exports. Since there were deviations of forecasted values
from the actual values, it is better to find other factors affecting the income of
Cinnamon exports in Sri Lanka along with multivariate analysis for modeling and
forecasting. Moreover, according to the past literature, this analysis can be
expanded using data mining techniques to suggest a more accurate forecasting
model.

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References
[1] S. Iskandar, H. Jauhari, A. Mulyana, and E. Dewata, “Analysis of Determinant
Factors Influencing Cinnamon Export and Prices in Indonesia,” Proceeding
13th Malaysia Indones. Conf. Econ. Manag. Account., pp. 955–965, 2012.
[2] V. Khim-sen, S. Black, and P. Price, “Munich Personal RePEc Archive Time
series modelling and forecasting of Sarawak black pepper price Time Series
Modelling and Forecasting of,” no. 791, 2006.
[3] E. Permanasari, I. Hidayah, and I. A. Bustoni, “SARIMA (Seasonal ARIMA)
implementation on time series to forecast the number of Malaria incidence,”
Proc. - 2013 Int. Conf. Inf. Technol. Electr. Eng. "Intelligent Green Technol.
Sustain. Dev. ICITEE 2013, no. May 2015, pp. 203–207, 2013, doi:
10.1109/ICITEED.2013.6676239.
[4] Monthly Bulletin | Central Bank of Sri Lanka. (n.d.). Monthly Bulletin | Central
Bank of Sri Lanka; www.cbsl.gov.lk. Retrieved December 31, 2021, from
https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/statistics/economic-indicators/monthly-bulletin
[5] Klimberg, R. K., Sillup, G. P., Boyle, K. J., & Tavva, V. (2010). Forecasting
performance measures - What are their practical meaning? Advances in
Business and Management Forecasting, 7(November), 137–147.
https://doi.org/10.1108/S1477-4070(2010)000000701

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

In Silico Studies of Antiviral Property of Sri Lankan Curry

Powder Against Norovirus G11-4 Genotype.
H. K. Weerarathne1 and C. C. Kadigamuwa1*
1
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
* Corresponding author (email: [email protected]*)

Introduction
Norovirus (NoV) is a contagious, single stranded RNA virus belonging to the
family Caliciviridae. Noroviruses are now classified into ten genogroups (GI-GX)
and 48 genotypes. Among these groups, GII has been found to be the most
pandemic strain that affects human health and GII.4 is the most common
genotype that has been intensively studied in clinics. NoVs are a group of non-
enveloped viruses but encapsulated by an icosahedral protein capsid that
primarily cause acute gastroenteritis, of which most common symptoms are
diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain.

The capsid protein is divided into two major domains, the shell (S) and the
protruding (P) domains, each forming the interior shell and the arch-like
protrusions of NoV capsid, respectively. The P domain can be further divided into
VP1 and VP2 subdomains. Human NoVs are also highly diverse and have multiple
receptor binding patterns. NoVs recognize human histo-blood group antigens
(HBGAs) types A, B and H, secretor and Lewis antigens as receptors or attachment
factors. The P domain plays an important role in host immune response and
receptor recognition because when VP1 binds with receptor molecule it is
important to penetrate into the host cell during infection. Therefore, interaction
between VP1 and receptors can be one of the most effective strategies in
developing therapeutics against virus infection.1

In this research, Phytochemicals contained in the ‘curry powder’ water extract

were found based on the literature carried out. The above ligands were docked
to active site in P domain from norovirus strain saga4 in complex with HBGA. In
order to predict whether there is a probability of chosen ligands to interfere the
interaction between P domain from norovirus strain saga4 in complex with HBGA
using computational chemistry by finding the binding energy and binding
residues.

Materials and Methods

Materials
Hardware-Intel Core i5 7200U (2.50-3.10GHz, 4GB DDR4, 1TB) laptop. Software’s
and Web servers -SWISS-MODEL, Avogadro2, AutoDock Tools 1.5.6 3, AutoDock

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

4.24, BLAST Server5, UniProt align server6, SAVES v6.0 server7, ProSA-webserver8,
Protein-ligand-interaction profiler9, LigPlot[11], Pymol11, Openbabel12,
SwissADME-web server13, Galaxy Refine-GalaxyWEB server14.

Methods
Ligands Identification
Based on the literature reviews sixty ligands were found. Then the Canonical
SMILES of each ligand were obtained from the PubChem database. Above
Canonical SMILES were subjected to the SwissADME web server to check their
drug-likeness. Ligands that followed Lipinski’s rule of five were selected using this
web server.

Ligands Preparation
Based on the ligands identified, 3D structures of ligands were downloaded from
the PubChem database in SDF format. Then the above files subjected to Avogadro
software and geometry optimized using Force Field MMFF94, algorithm steepest
descent, 500 steps. Then the above files are saved as PDB format. Then the PDB
format files are subjected to AutoDock Tools 1.5.6 and converted to PDBQT file
format.

Protein Preparation
Initially obtained 3-dimensional protein structure (PDB ID: 10.2210/pdb4X0/pdb)
was checked to see if there are any missing amino acids. If there were any missing
amino acids, to add them fully automated protein structure homology modelling
server, SWISS-MODEL was used.

Model validation and Refinement of model structure

A thorough literature survey was done to find the exact amino acids in the active
site of the protein and protein structure was investigated to check whether each
active site amino acid is in the correct position. The obtained amino acids in active
sites were further checked using the GASS-WEB server. The refined PDB file was
uploaded to the server and the most probable active site was found.

Molecular Docking
Protein and ligand files were loaded as pdbqt files to AutoDock Tool 1.5.6.
Autodock 4.2 (.dpf) and Autogrid 4.2 (.gpf) file were generated. Autogrid 4.2 was
used to generate grid parameter files and map files. The genetic algorithm
parameters were set as follows, the number of genetic algorithms (GA) runs: 100,
population size: 300, the maximum number of evaluations: 25000000 and the
other settings were set to default values. Autodock 4.2 was used for docking and
generating result file (.dlg) files were generated.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Analysis of docking results

AutoDock Tool 1.5.6. used for analyzing binding energies. Interactions between
protein-ligand complexes and amino acids located in binding pocket analyzed
using protein ligand interaction profiler, LigPlot used to get 2D imaged related to
interactions and 3D imaged with interactions obtained using pymol.

Results and Discussion

Ligands identification -The major phytochemicals from each five ingredients of
herbs contained in ‘Curry Powder’, that were extracted to water using various
extraction techniques were found based on literature reviews. Those
phytochemicals were again filtered into 21 ligands based on their percentage
amount extracted to water from each five ingredients and with their drug-
likeness properties.

Protein preparation - The protein sequence of the P domain from norovirus strain
saga4 was submitted to SWISS-Model, an online modeling server, to discover the
template with the highest GMQE, sequence similarity, and sequence coverage.
The template obtained from the SWISS-Model with 0.81 GMQE was matched with
the highest percentage sequence similarity PDB ID obtained from protein blast.
After modeled protein was built, the Refinement was done by Galaxy Refine in
the GalaxyWeb server. Then it provides five models, model with the highest
RMSD was selected.

Table 1. Docking results

Ingredients of curry Binding Energy

powder Phytochemicals (kcal/mol)

Fennel Anethole -4.83

Fenchone -6.31

Limonene -5.41

Quercetin -4.99

Curry leaves Mahanimbine -7.07

Mahanine -6.57

Murrayanol -5.96

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Coriander Alpha_pinene -5.97

Alpha-terpinene -5 .52

Camphor -6.62

Geraniol -5.39

Limonene -5.33

Alpha-
Cinnamon phelendrene -5.52

alpha-terpinene -5.52

beta-phellendrene -5.57

Limonene -5.41

Cumin 2-allylphenol -5.01

alpha_pinene -5.97

Cuminaldehyde -5.55

p-menthatriene -5.29

Terpinolene -5.47

In this study molecular docking can be defined as a molecular modeling technique

that can be used to predict the interactions between a large molecule such as
protein (enzyme), nucleic acid and a small molecule (ligand). Knowledge of the
preferred orientation may be used to predict the strength of association or
binding affinity between protein and the ligand. Phytochemicals found based on
literature reviews. An indication of the binding affinities of ligands relative to each
other can be derived by analyzing and comparing binding energies. The higher
negative free binding energy, the greater the chance of interaction with the
protein. In this docking study rigid docking was performed. The internal geometry

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

of both the receptor and the ligand was considered as stiff in rigid docking. The
binding energies for each protein-ligand complex retrieved using AutoDock 4.2
and they are shown in above table.

Above docking results obtained for site specific docking of P domain from
norovirus strain saga4 in complex with HBGA type A and grid box was drawn to
that site. Twenty-one ligands were docked to active site in P domain from
norovirus strain saga4 in complex with HBGA type A receptor and out of that 6
ligands binding energy were greater than -5.5 kcal/mol. According to the results,
higher negative binding energies reveal stable protein-ligand complexes.
However, it should be noted that binding energy alone cannot predict the effect
to the target protein function due to ligand-protein interaction. The binding
pocket's location, non-covalent interactions, hydrogen bond interactions, salt
bridges and their types of amino acids are involved for above mentioned
interactions. To better understand the relationships between complexes that
showed the greatest binding energies. Amino acids involving interactions with the
ligands are depicted in above table (Table.1) for ligands giving binding energy
greater than -5.5 kcal/mol.

Conclusions and Recommendations

In this study, the In silico studies were done only for few ligands that were taken
from literature reviews which were the most abundant of each ingredient of curry
powder. However, it should determine inhibitory activity for NoVs of other
ligands that are not used here. Especially it should focus on water extracted
ligands. This could be done by results obtained for ligands giving binding energy
greater than -6.00 kcal/mol that identified in compound level by LC-MS/MS, LC-
MS and further confirm using phytochemical screening. Also, more docking
studies should be carried out with other human target antigens of NoV strain GII-
4 and other dominant strains of NoVs such as (GI-1). Also, Further Molecular
dynamics studies should be done in future to support the results of the present
study.

References
[1] Robilotti, E.; Deresinski, S.; Pinsky, B. A. Norovirus. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 2015,
28 (1), 134–164. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00075-14.
[2] Allouche, A. Software News and Updates Gabedit — A Graphical User Interface
for Computational Chemistry Softwares. J. Comput. Chem. 2012, 32, 174–182.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jcc.
[3] Protein BLAST: search protein databases using a protein query.
https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi?PAGE=Proteins (accessed 2022-03-
28).
[4] SAVESv6.0 - Structure Validation Server.
https://saves.mbi.ucla.edu/ (accessed 2022-03-28).

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

[5] LigPlot+ download - Version 2.2. https://www.ebi.ac.uk/thornton-

srv/software/LigPlus/download.html (accessed 2022-03-28).

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Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

FOCUS AREA
Environment

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

ASSESSMENT OF THE ECOLOGICAL STATUS OF THE

DIYAWANNAWA WETLAND BY AQUATIC MACROPHYTE-
BASED LIMNOLOGICAL CONDITION INDEX
D.M.S.N.K. Dissanayake1, B.K.A. Bellanthudawa1,2 and W.M.D.N. Wijeyaratne *1
1
Department of Zoology and Environmental Management, Faculty of Science, University
of, Kelaniya, 2Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University
of Ruhuna
*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Introduction
Aquatic macrophytes are key components in aquatic ecosystems. They are very
important in maintaining the ecological balance in the wetlands and associated
aquatic ecosystems [1]. Aquatic macrophytes also act as bio-indicators for
monitoring water quality and ecological changes in wetlands and aquatic
ecosystems [2]. Submerged aquatic macrophytes are accepted as the most
common indicators of euthrophication because they have been proven
vulnerable to changes in water quality. The absence of aquatic macrophytes may
indicate water quality problems. The overabundance of aquatic macrophytes can
result due to high nutrient levels and affect ecosystem health. They can serve as
measurable indicators of the ecological conditions of surface water. Aquatic
macrophyte-based monitoring methods can be applied to assess the health of
wetland ecosystems. Further, applications of ecological assessment methods are
important for the classification of the wetlands. This study was conducted to
assess the ecological status of the Diyawannawa wetland by using the aquatic
macrophyte-based Limnological condition Index, Water Quality Index and aquatic
macrophyte-based diversity indices. Diyawannawa wetland ecosystem is an
urban wetland system in Sri Lanka. Which is identified as an important marshland
in the area and a wetland system that is at high level of risk.

Materials and Methods

Study area
Six study sites S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6 were selected from the Diyawannawa
wetland ecosystem. These sites included both rehabilitated area and non-
rehabilitated areas of the Diyawannawa wetland ecosystem. S1, S2, and S3 sites
were located in the non-rehabilitated area and S4, S5 and S6 sites were located
in the rehabilitated area in the Diyawannawa wetland ecosystem.

Water quality parameters

From each site, surface water samples were collected in seven replicates. Water
pH, conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), water temperature and salinity
were measured in situ at each site using a calibrated multi-parameter (YSI

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Environmental Model-556 MPS). Dissolved Oxygen (DO) was measured using a

DO meter (HQ 40b model-Hach) and water visibility was measured using a secchi
disk in situ. In the laboratory, the biological oxygen demand 5 days after
incubation (BOD ), total phosphorus concentrations, Chemical oxygen Demand
5

(COD), chlorophyll-a concentration and nitrate concentration were measured by

following the standard procedure which is described by APHA (1992). The water
quality data were used to calculate the water quality index for each site.

Aquatic macrophyte abundance

Line transect sampling method was followed to sample the aquatic macrophytes
and they were identified by following the photographic guide of aquatic plants
prepared by the National Aquaculture Development Authority [3]. The
abundance of each aquatic species, at each site was recorded. These aquatic
macrophyte abundance data were used to calculate the pollution index, biotic
index (BI), aquatic macrophyte based limnological condition index (LICOI),
Shannon Weiner diversity index, and Pielou’s evenness index for each site.

Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis was conducted using Minitab statistical software (version
17.0). The mean and the standard deviation of replicates were obtained using
descriptive statistics for all the physicochemical water quality parameters and
aquatic macrophytes abundance. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s pairwise
comparison was used to assess the spatial variation of water quality parameters
and the aquatic macrophytes abundance by after confirming the normal
distribution using the Anderson Darling test.

Results and Discussion

There were no significant spatial variations in water pH, visibility, temperature,
total phosphate concentration (TP) dissolved oxygen concentration (DO), salinity
between the six sites (P>0.05). Significantly high conductivity, TDS and
significantly low BOD and COD were recorded from Site S1 compared to other
5

sites (p<0.05). water quality of the studied sites is influenced by shading effects,
agricultural activities, and industrial pollutions. Ten species of aquatic
macrophytes were identified. They were Eichhornia crassipes, Nymphaea ampla,
Hydrilla verticillata, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Annona glabra, Pistia stratiotes,
Ceratophyllum demersum, Nymphaea rubra, and Cypreus iria, Salvinia molesta.
There was no significance difference of the aquatic macrophytes
abundance between the studied sites (P>0.05). Significantly high abundance of
Salvinia molesta, Cypreus iria, Nymphaea rubra, Annona glabra, and Eichhornia
crassipes were recorded from the non- rehabilitated area compaired to the sites
in the rehabilitated area while the significantly high abundance of Ceratophyllum
demersu and Pistia stratiotes were recorded from the sites in the rehabilitated
area. However, low aquatic macrophytes abundance were recorded in the sites

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

with rehabilitated area due to anthropogenic pressure. Further wetland

management programmes involve to manage the rehabilitated area in the
Diyawannawa wetland.

The Shannon Wiener diversity index of the study sites ranged from 0.74 to 1.72.
The highest Shannon Wiener diversity index was recorded from site S3 (1.72). The
lowest Shannon Wiener diversity index was recorded at S1 (0.74). The Pielou’s
evenness index of the study sites ranged from 0.67 to 0.91. The highest pielou’s
evenness index was recorded from S1 While the lowest pielou’s evenness index
was value was recorded from S4. The pollution index, percentage biotic index,
limnological condition index and water quality index for each site is given in Table
1. The pollution index of the study sites ranged from 13.77 to 35.22. The
percentage biotic index of the study sites ranged from 76.92 to 94.1. The
limnological condition index of the study sites ranged from 5.9 to 23.71. The
water quality index of the study sites ranged from 5.79 to 39.19.

Table 1. The Pollution index, percentage biotic index, limnological condition index, and water
quality index for each site the Diyawannawa wetland.
Site Pollution Percentage Biotic Limnological Water quality
index index condition index index
S1 13.77 76.92 23.08 5.79

S2 23.71 78.77 21.23 29.20

S3 23.02 91.11 8.89 28.06

S4 29.68 80.04 19.96 34.28

S5 31.05 80.31 19.69 26.64

S6 35.22 94.10 5.90 39.19

Based on the calculated limnological index value, wetlands can be categorized in

to four categories. (LICOI ≥ 35: slightly contaminated; 17≤ LICOI < 35: moderately
polluted; 4≤ LICOI < 17: heavily contaminated; LICOI < 4: Severely contaminated)
[4]. S1 of the non- rehabilitated area showed highest limnoloical condition index
value (23.08). According to the calculated percentage BI and LICOI value, this site
can be catergorized as moderately polluted site. S6 of the rehabilitated area
showed lowest limnoloical condition index value (5.90). This site can be
catergorized as heavily contaminated site. A decline in an aquatic macrophyte
community may indicate water quality problems as well as changes in the
ecological status of the natural water body. Further, the presence of aquatic

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

macrophytes may enhance water quality because they can absorb excessive loads
of nutrients. Aquatic ecosystem properties including water transparency and
nutrient transparency can be changed due to changes in the composition of
aquatic plants. Rehabilitated area is regularly subjected to management actions.
Invasive alien aquatic plants are removed under that management programme.
This may have resulted in presence of highly contaminated sites in the
rehabilitated area. Further, the water quality of the wetlands can be categorized
into five groups based on the calculated WQI value (0<WQI≤25: Very bad.
25<WQI≤50: Bad; 50<WQI≤75: Medium; 75<WQI≤100: Good. WQI>100:
Excellent) [5].

According to the WQI-based classification, in the present study, the water quality
of the site S1 was categorized as medium and the water quality of sites S2, S3, S4,
S5, and S6 can be expressed as bad. Therefore, the overall water quality of this
wetland can be considered as unsuitable for drinking and for sustaining healthy
aquatic life.

Conclusions and Recommendations

According to the calculated percentage BI and LICOI values sites S1, S2, S4, and
S5 of the Diyawannawa wetland can be categorized as moderately polluted sites
with acceptable limnological conditions.

Results of the present study revealed that the LICOI can be used as an important
tool for monitoring the water quality trends in this wetland ecosystem. However,
it is recommended to assess the usability of LICOI in other aquatic environments
based on the biological parameters of the respective ecosystems.

References
[1] L. Sipaúba-Tavares and S. Dias, ‘Water quality and communities associated
with macrophytes in a shallow water-supply reservoir on an aquaculture
farm’ Brazilian Journal of Bioogyl., vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 420–428, May 2014, doi:
10.1590/1519-6984.27212.
[2] B. Daya and K. Pant, ‘Biomonitoring of wetland using macrophytes and
macroinvertebrates' Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. Vol 1, pp
11-14. January 2017, 2021, doi: 10.26480/mjsa.01.2017.11.13.
[3] Y. K. Brihanu, ‘Macrophyte Ecology, Nutrient Dynamics and Water Quality of
the Littoral Zone, and Yitamot Wetland, Lake Tana , Ethiopia’, pp 205. June,
2016
[4] G. Pinilla, ‘´An index of limnological conditions for urban wetlands of Bogota
city, Colombia’ Ecological Indicators., vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 848–856, July 2010,
doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2010.01.006.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

[5] R.M. Chowdhury, S.Y. Muntasir and M.M. Hossain. 'Study on ground water
quality and its suitability or drinking purpose in Alathur block -Perambalur
district' Archives of Applied Science Research. 4(3). 1332-1338. June 2012

REDUCTION OF WATER LEACHING POTENTIAL IN SANDY

LOAM SOIL BY USING BIOCHAR
S.M.M.S. Himaya*1, A.D.N.T. Kumara1, P. Premanandarajah2 and M.G.M.
Thariq1
1
Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, South Eastern University
of Sri Lanka, University Park, Oluvil, Ampara, Sri Lanka, 2Department of Agricultural
Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Eastern University, Sri Lanka, Vantharumoolai,
Chenkalady, Sri Lanka.
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
A healthy soil is the cornerstone of a healthy food system, and two essential
elements of healthy soil are nutrients (N, P, and K) and soil organic carbon. Due
to soil erosion or leaching, tropical ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to
nitrogen loss [1]. In tropical and subtropical areas, heavy rainfall causes N, P, and
K to leach from soil environment. Nutrient and minerals leaching has the potential
to degrade soil fertility, hasten acidification, raise fertilizer expenses for farmers,
and decrease total harvests and products [2]. N and P leaching, as well as
agricultural runoff, are major contributors to non-point source contamination,
which harms drinking and ground water. Agricultural runoff contains more
pollutants and nutrients, which contribute to eutrophication and biological
oxygen demand [3]. Thus, innovative and effective agricultural management
strategies must be found, tested, and monitored in order to lessen agriculture's
impacts on the sustainability of water and soil resources. A solid bioresource
called biochar is created by pyrolyzing organic waste. Remains from agriculture
and forestry can be used as a source material to create high-quality biochar [4].
As a result, adding a porous substance with a high carbon content like biochar to
agricultural soil has become a practical method for enhancing the soil's ability to
retain water, its quality, the stability of its organic matter, and its ability to retain
nutrients [4]. This suggests that biochar could help soils to retain more water,
which should increase agricultural output in dryland areas that aren't watered
and decrease the amount of irrigation water needed to grow crops [5]. Applying
biochar to the soil could increase crop output and soil fertility by reducing
leaching and possibly supplying nutrients. It has been discovered, nonetheless,

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that the effects of biochar on nutrient leaching and organic carbon retention vary
depending on the applied biochar’s pyrolysis temperature, raw material, and soil
type [1].

In this research, sandy loam soil samples were taken from a tropical area and
treated for 90 days with two types of wood dust biochar that had been pyrolyzed
at 450 and 550 degrees Celsius. The purpose of this study was to determine how
the application of biochar affected soil water retention and leaching. The results
are meant to be helpful in figuring out biochar's potential for soil retention.

Materials and Methods

Soil samples and biochar preparation
Soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-20 cm from the Kaliodai river, which
is located in the east of Sri Lanka (7017’51.12” N latitude- 810 50’ 54.12” E
longitude). The soils from the experimental site were sandy loams. The soil
samples were kept at room temperature after being air dried and sieved through
a 0.85 mm screen. Wood sawdust from the Pandiruppu sawmill was used as the
feedstock for the biochar used in the study. To reduce the amount of free
moisture that would have an impact on how well the pyrolysis reaction works,
the biomass was dried in a drying oven (WOF-155, Witeg, Germany) for 24 hours
at 105 °C. The biomass was then sieved using 0.85 mm sieve. A slow pyrolysis
technique was used to make the biochars in a muffle furnace in the engineering
laboratory at the Faculty of Technology. Air dried sawdust was tightly packed in a
metal container 0.15 m in diameter and 0.45 m in height, with a hole (0.01 m in
diameter) at the top. The container was closed with a lid and placed in the muffle
furnace (MF1400-30). B-450 and B-550, two biochar materials made through
pyrolysis at 450 and 550 °C for two and one hour, respectively, were tested.

Column Leaching Experiment

Leach columns were constructed using polyvinyl chloride tubuing (5.4 cm internal
diameter and 42 cm height) and a wooden table. The bottoms of the tubes were
tightly covered with muslin cloth. To maintain a constant soil bulk density, the
biochar materials were well mixed with the collected sandy loam soil at
application rates of 0 (T1), 1.25% (T2), 2.5% (T3), and 5% (T4) (w/w). The
treatments tested in this study consisted of two biochar (B-450, B-550) with four
replicates and four application rates. Soil columns were placed vertically on a
wooden table and incubated for two months with the addition of a small amount
(50 ml) of water. Two months after the incubation, distilled water was added to
the soil in the columns up to their saturation point. Then, 200 ml of distilled water
was added to each leach column once a month and leachates were collected after
two days.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Figure 1: Column leaching Experiment

Statistical Analysis
Using IBM SPSS Statistics 16 for Windows, data were examined. A two-way
analysis of variance was used to perform a mean separation analysis of the Tukey
Post Hoc test on the data sets, with a significance level of 0.05.

Results and Discussion

The characteristics of the soil samples and biochar materials are displayed in
Tables 1 and 2. The studied soil had a sandy loam texture, a lower pH, and a higher
OC content. B-450 and B-550 (wood sawdust pyrolyzed at 450 and 550 C) had pH 0

values of 6.9 (neutral) and 8.2 (alkaline), respectively.

Table 1. Properties of the Soil

Properties of soil Values

Sand % 68.1
Soil texture
Silt % 16.2

Clay % 15.7

Sandy loam

Soil colour Dry condition 2.5Y3/2 Dark grayish brown

Wet 2.5Y3/2 Very dark grayish

condition brown
Bulk density 1.45g/cm 3

True density 2.56 g/ cm 3

Repeat the testcorrect

Soil pH 5.65

EC (μS/cm) 80

Organic matter content 0.54%

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Cu (ppm) 3.5

Porosity & PD 43.4%

Water Holding Capacity 52%

Moisture content 20%

Total Nitrogen 0.17%

Available Phosphorus 28 ppm

Exchangeable K as Ammonium acetate extract 0.54

(meq/100g)

CEC 4.77 cmol kg–1

Cd 0.5 mg/kg

Table 2. Properties of biochar

Properties Biochar Values
pH B-450 6.9
B-550 8.2
EC B-450 3.43 dS/m
B-550 2.12 dS/m
Yield% B-450 40
B-550 35
Ash% B-450 14.4
B-550 16.0
Organic Carbon% B-450 23.4 %
B-550 27.3 %
Color B-450 Grayish Black
B-550 Dark Black

Table 3. Mean volume of the leachate from soil column

Treatments Mean Volume of Leachate Water retaining capacity
August September October August September October
% % %
B-450 T1 95.00 118.00 101.00 55 51 42.5
T2 63.75 82.50 73.75 67.5 51 57
T3 42.00 60.25 50.00 80.5 62.5 69.5
T4 35.50 42.50 42.50 86.5 83 83
B-550 T1 97.50 68.25 70.00 30 65.5 66.5
T2 51.00 62.50 54.00 75 69.5 70.5
T3 40.00 49.75 41.25 81.5 78 77.5
T4 25.75 41.00 25.00 89.5 80.05 85

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

For each flushing event, both biochar-treated samples showed considerably

lower leachate quantities than the control (Table 3). As a result, samples treated
with biochar retained more water than the control.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Figure 2. Comparison of mean Water Holding Capacity (in August, September & October in two
different biochar

Table 4. The average monthly water leachate of each treatment with two different biochar
applications
Month of leachate Temperature of Treatments Mean Std.
collection biochar Deviation
August B-450 T1 95.0000 16.83251
T2 63.7500 8.53913
T3 42.0000 3.16228
T4 35.5000 6.60808
B-550 T1 97.5000 55.60276
T2 51.0000 4.54606
T3 40.0000 5.71548
T4 25.7500 8.77021
September B-450 T1 104.00 43.76738
T2 82.5000 9.53939
T3 60.2500 11.02648
T4 42.5000 7.93725
B-550 T1 68.2500 1.50000
T2 62.5000 2.38048
T3 49.7500 4.57347
T4 41.0000 3.36650
October B-450 T1 1.0400E2 8.20569
T2 73.7500 8.95824
T3 50.0000 8.60233
T4 42.5000 7.00000
B-550 T1 70.0000 2.58199
T2 54.0000 3.91578
T3 41.2500 8.53913
T4 25.0000 8.08290

A highly significant influence on leachate was shown by the treatment every

month. The effect of temperature on treatment was highly significant only in
September and October leachate collection. The significant influence of
temperature on leachate was observed in September and October only (Table 5).
In each flushing cycle, both biochar-treated samples recorded significantly lower
leachate quantities than control (Figure 1, Table 3). This indicates that, biochar
treated samples retained about more water than the control. Among the
treatments leachate content is very low in the treatment T4 which may be due to
higher water retention by the treated soil. The biochar-treated samples
continued to significantly retain more water in the soil columns each month, even
though the variations in leachate volume between the control and biochar-
treated samples in this study gradually declined (Table 4). These findings showed
that biochar materials, especially B-550, had a significant capacity to preserve
water in the soil samples when used at a rate of 5% (Figure 1). This might be
because biochar was applied to the soil, which has a highwater retention capacity.

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One of the results demonstrated that soil water, DOC, N, P, and K leaching could
be successfully reduced using both biochar produced at 300 and 600 degrees
Celsius [1]. After incubation, it was observed that the biochar-treated soil had
lower leachate volume and nutrient content than the control soil [1]. In a sandy
loam soil, using biochar could increase soil and water conservation by enhancing
soil structure, boosting infiltration rates, and reducing runoff water and soil
erosion [1].

Based on two facts (1) a high level of vaporization (roughly 30 C) for the soil
0

column after water addition, and (2) the volume of adding water (200 ml to the
soil column each month) still did not match the pore volume of the soil column—
it was assumed that the biochar treatments could still hold water after adding
water. Increased water retention may help stop leaching of nutrients. Biochar
materials also have a deterrent impact on the mineralization of organic N in terms
of the physical preservation of organic matter [5]. By minimizing the leaching of
more water and nutrients from soils, it may be possible to protect nearby surface
water bodies and groundwater from contamination. This study indicates that
biochar can favor both soil and water conservation. Further studies are needed
to see whether these advantageous impacts could spread to the field and to
water bodies downstream.

Conclusions and Recommendations

According to the results, incorporating wood sawdust biochar into sandy loam
soil samples could improve soil health by increasing the soil's capacity to hold
nutrients and reduce water evaporation. Both types of biochar effectively helped
to conserve water in soil varied depending on pyrolysis temperatures. Future
research should examine the potential impact of biochar application on
eutrophication and pollution in subsurface and surface water bodies.

References
[1] Y. L. Kuo, C. H. Lee, and S. H. Jien, “Reduction of nutrient leaching potential in
coarse-textured soil by using biochar,” Water (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 7, pp.
1–15, 2020, doi: 10.3390/w12072012.
[2] C. Banik et al., “Biochar-Swine Manure Impact on Soil Nutrients and Carbon
Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern Mollisols” Front.
Environ. Sci., vol. 9, no. April, pp. 1–11, 2021, doi:
10.3389/fenvs.2021.609621.
[3] A. T. O’Geen, R. Budd, J. Gan, J. J. Maynard, S. J. Parikh, and R. A. Dahlgren,
Mitigating nonpoint source pollution in agriculture with constructed and
restored wetlands, vol. 108, no. C. Elsevier Inc., 2010.
[4] A. S. Basso, F. E. Miguez, D. A. Laird, R. Horton, and M. Westgate, “Assessing
potential of biochar for increasing water-holding capacity of sandy soils,” GCB
Bioenergy, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 132–143, 2013, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12026.

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[5] S. H. Jien, C. C. Wang, C. H. Lee, and T. Y. Lee, “Stabilization of organic matter

by biochar application in compost-amended soils with contrasting pH values
and textures,” Sustain., vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 13317–13333, 2015, doi:
10.3390/su71013317.

MITIGATION OF HYPEREUTROPHIC STATUS IN BEIRA LAKE

WITH COCONUT SHELL BIOCHAR
W.A.K.S. Fonseka1, N.N.N. Attanayaka1, I.A.S.R. Ilangakoon1, M. Vithanage2,
Prof. B.C.L. Athapattu1 and S. Himanujahn*1
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology, The Open
University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka , 2Faculty of Applied Sciences,
University of Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
The Beira Lake is the largest water body in Colombo city. In today water body in
the lake is extremely contaminated due to reclamation of the sections of the Beira
for commercial development and use of it for discharge urban and industrial
wastewater [1]. Phosphorus and nitrogen are the key nutrients that identify as
leads to eutrophication. The sources of those nutrients can be point or nonpoint
such as rainfall, runoff, industrial and municipal wastewater [2]. Also, the
accumulation of sediment nutrients is a major problem because it acts as a
nutrient source. Sediment takes up the external phosphorus load and releases
adsorbed phosphorus to water when the reduction of external input [3]. These
eutrophication and anaerobic conditions of water significantly reduce the
financial and aesthetic value of water bodies, emitted toxic gasses which can
directly affect the health and make a pungent odor [4]. Restoration of eutrophic
lake ecosystems has often focused on controlling phosphorus inputs. These
research efforts introduce restoration methods that target the controlling of
Phosphorus from lake sediment through the sediment water column experiment
set up by using a key controlling substance of biochar.

Materials and Methods

Preparation of Experimental Setup
The experiment setup was made by using 110 mm diameter PVC pipe and
obtaining a height of 1000mm. Biochar was produced by using coconut shells.
After that coconut shells were slowly pyrolyzed at 500 °C with 300 °C/hr heating
flow rate. Finally, the resultant biochar was crushed and sieved through 10mm
and 5 mm mesh sieves.

Area of Study

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

The practical work pertaining to the aims and objectives was carried out in the
Beira Lake on the 30 of December 2021 from 09:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The two-
th

sampling locations were selected from Gangarama Lake.

Sample Collection

Figure 1. Experimental setup

The lake sediment samples were placed in the bottom of the experimental setup
as of figure 1. The lake water was overlaid on the top of sediments in the
experimental setup. The mix proportions shown in Table 1 were used for the 07
experimental setups

Table 1. Mix proportions of lake water, sediment and Biochar used in the experimental setups.

Experiment Lake water Sediment Biochar Mix (BM)/Biochar

No (L) (L) Layer (BL)

a 8.1 0.9 -
b 7.22 0.9 BM/0.9

c 7.9 0.9 BM/0.18

d 7.94 0.9 BL/0.19

Results and Discussion

Analysis of Lake Water Nutrient Concentration in The Experimental Setup
Figure 2 shows the variation of nutrients concentrations over the time in
experiment setup water columns. The phosphate concentration was rapidly

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increased during the first 07 days in the first setup. However, these changes can
be contributed to the disturbance by sampling. Nitrate and Nitrite concentration
gradually decreased in the first three weeks. Nitrate concentration was rapidly
increased after three weeks (figure 3) and it can be understood that one of the
reasons for drastic increase of nitrate concentration is due to the oxidation of
nitrite to nitrate. The ammonium concentration clearly decreases with time. It
can be understood that negatively charged biochar surfaces balance with
positively charged cations in aqueous environments.

Figure 2. Variation of nutrient concentration with time

Analysis of Lake Sediment Nutrient Concentration in The Experimental Setup

According to the above graphs it can be concluded that all setups which are
treated with biochar show significant reduction of nutrients in the lake sediments.
It can be identified biochar mixed setups were shown more than 50% of nutrient
reduction from sediments because of biochar has a relative structure to carbon
matrix with a high degree of porosity, presence of alkaline cations, with high
specific surface area, open-pore structure, and good adsorbent capacity for the
removal of various contaminants. Nutrient reduction in first setup can be due to
the release of the nutrients from sediment to the overlaid water.

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Figure 3. Variation of initial & final nutrient concentration with setup

Conclusions and Recommendations

In this investigation lake sediment acts as a nutrient source for the eutrophication
and releasing nutrient from polluted sediment in Beira Lake (Gangarama Lake)
was studied in a laboratory scale. Also, removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from
water via adsorption by unmodified biochar has been studied. Biochar exhibits a
high efficiency for treating polluted sediments and the low-cost of biochar
provides an advantage as a remediate material to adsorb and degrade pollutants,
and biochar could perform comprehensive functions in sediment remediation.
According to the laboratory experiments biochar mix with sediment is more
efficient way to remove nutrients than overlaid biochar layer on sediment
surface. Suggested that most of the unmodified biochar only do not show long-
lasting efficiency in absorbing Nitrogen and Phosphorus In water. Therefore,
modification is necessary to significantly enhance the adsorption capability of
biochar for Nitrogen and Phosphorous removal.

References
[1] I. Kamaladasa and Y. N. A. Jayatunga, “Trophic status of the restored South-
West and non-restored East Beira Lakes,” J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka, vol.
35, no. 1, pp. 41–47, 2007, doi: 10.4038/jnsfsr. v35i1.3660.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

[2] M. Oliveira and A. V. Machado, “The role of phosphorus on eutrophication: a

historical review and future perspectives,” Environ. Technol. Rev., vol. 2, no.
1, pp. 117–127, 2013, doi: 10.1080/21622515.2013.861877.
[3] L. Huang et al., “Effect of temperature on phosphorus sorption to sediments
from shallow eutrophic lakes,” Ecol. Eng., vol. 37, no. 10, pp. 1515–1522,
2011, doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2011.05.006.
[4] Y. Zhang et al., “Control and remediation methods for eutrophic lakes in the
past 30 years,” Water Sci. Technol., vol. 81, no. 6, pp. 1099–1113, 2020, doi:
10.2166/wst.2020.218.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Dioscrea alata L.YAM EXTRACT AS A NATURAL ACID-BASE

INDICATOR
K.S.N. Karunathilaka1 and S.R. Wickramarachchi*1
1
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya
*Corresponding author ([email protected])

Introduction
Over the years, synthetic indicators have been the choice of acid-base titrations.
Synthetic indicators have certain disadvantages such as high cost, chemical
pollution, and toxic effect on users such as diarrhea, eye irritation, skin irritation,
respiratory track irritation and skin rashes [1]. Methyl orange is a water soluble
acid-base indicator containing highly toxic, carcinogenic and teratogenic aromatic
and –N=N- groups. Methyl orange containing waste water released to the
environment can lead to deterioration of water quality and it requires costly
treatment methods to remove the indicator from waste water before releasing
into the natural environment. Therefore, searching alternative acid-base
indicators of natural origin is a timely need. Several studies by various
investigators have reported the effectiveness of acid base indicators of natural
origin; flowers such as Rosa setigera, Hibiscus Rosa sinensis [1], Catharanthus
rosea, Nerium oleander [2], leaves such as red cabbage, fruits such as Dioscorea
bulbifera L. [3] for titrimetric analysis. Natural indicators would be cheaper, more
abundant, safer, less toxic, easier to extract and more environmentally friendly
than the synthetic indictors [1]. This study evaluates and validates the acid-base
indicator properties of Dioscorea alata L. yam extract and it encourages to takes
maximum advantage of what nature can offer in a sustainable way.

Materials and Methods

Chemicals and Reagents
All chemicals and reagents used were of analytical grade.

Plant material
Fresh Dioscorea alata L. yam was purchased from a local market in Giriulla,
Srilanka.

Preparation of Dioscorea alata L. yam powder

The preparation of D. alata yam flour was carried out according to the method
done before with slight modifications [4]. The yam tubers were cleared from any
dirt. Then it was peeled and rinsed with water and cut into slices (2 cm thickness).
The sliced sample was steamed blanched in steamer for 10 minutes at the
temperature of 95 ℃. Blanched sample was sun dried for 3 days. Dried yam chips

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were ground with a blender in order to obtain yam flour. The flour was stored in
a brown bottle with desiccant gel and kept at 4℃ in a refrigerator.

Preparation of Dioscorea alata L. extract

Yam powder (10 g) was extracted with 150 mL of acidified methanol solution at
60℃ in a water bath with occasional shaking for 10 minutes. The obtained extract
was filtered and centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 15 minutes. The supernatant was
kept at 4 ℃ in a brown color bottle for further analysis.

Measurement of the maximum absorption wavelength of D. alata yam pigment

The pH of the extract was measured using a pH meter. The extract was scanned
from 400 nm to 700 nm using UV-Vis spectrophotometer to determine the
maximum absorbance of D. alata pigments.

Preliminary phytochemical screening

D. alata extract was tested for presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, anthocyanidins,
tannins and saponins using a previously reported method [5].
Acid- base titrations using D. alata extract as the indicator
Four types of acid-base titrations were carried out at room temperature using D.
alata extract (1 mL) as the indicator. The four types of titrations were again
performed using Phenolphthalein, Methyl red and Methyl orange. All titrations
were repeated 3 times to check the precision.

Development of acid-base test strip.

The Whatman filter papers (12.5 cm, 23 µm pore size) were soaked in the extract
for 10 minutes and air dried. Then dried papers were cut into strips. Paper strips
were stored in a bottle and kept in dark place.

Results and Discussion

The extract of Dioscorea alata L. has a pH of 3.5 and red in color. The visible light
absorption spectrum (Figure.1) of the extract has prominent peak (λmax) in the
500-550 nm wavelength regions. It confirms the presence of anthocyanidin [2].
Preliminary phytochemical screening also confirms the presence of anthocyanidin
(Table 1).

Figure 1. Visible spectrum of Dioscorea alata L. extract

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Table 1. Preliminary Phytochemical screening of acidified methanol extract of Dioscorea alata L.

Group of phytochemical Present (+)/ Not present (-)
Alkaloids -
Flavonoids +
Anthocyanidin +
Tannins +
Saponins +

Anthocyanins are colored water soluble pigments which have excellent pH

responsive properties Figure 2.The UV-Vis absorption spectra of the extract at
different pH values are shown in Figure 3.The color variation of the yam extract
is mainly due to the structural transformation of anthocyanin present in the
extract [1] .The color variation of pH test strips immersed in different pH solutions
is shown in Figure 4.Its initial color, red remains unchanged in acidic media (pH<7)
and color red changed from red to blue in basic media (pH>7). The applicability
of the D. alata extract as an acid-base indicator in strong acid-strong base, strong
acid-weak base, strong base-weak acid, weak acid-weak base was determined by
comparing the end points obtained with those of methyl orange, methyl red and
phenolphthalein Table 2.

Figure 2. Color variation of D.alata extract from pH 1.0-4.0 red, pH 5.0-6.0 pink, pH 7.0 purple, pH
8.0 blue, pH 9.0 bluish-violet, pH 10.0 -11.0 brown, pH 12.0 yellow

Figure 3. Visible spectrum of D.alata extract at different pH (1 to 12)

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Figure 4. Color variation of acid-base test paper strips of D.alata extract at different pH

Table 2. The end point and color change at the end point in titrations using standard acid-base
indicators and D. alata extract
Titrant/Titrand Indicator Volume of titrant in (mL)* Color change
NaOH/HCl (10.0 mL) Phenolphthalein 9.00±0.05 Colorless to pink
Methyl orange 9.10±0.05 Red to orange
Methyl red 9.00±0.05 Red to yellow
D. alata extract 9.10±0.05 Red to blue
HCl/Na CO (10.0 mL)
2 3 Methyl orange 25.40±0.1 Yellow to red
Methyl red 25.10±0.05 Red to yellow
D. alata extract 25.10±0.1 Blue to Red
NaOH/CH COOH (10.0 mL) Phenolphthalein
3 10.40±0.05 Colorless to Pink
Methyl red 9.70±0.05 Red to Yellow
D. alata extract 10.40±0.05 Red to blue
CH COOH /Na CO (5.0 mL) Phenolphthalein
3 2 3 6.60±0.1 Colorless to pink
Methyl red 5.40±0.05 Red to Yellow
D. alata extract 6.00±0.05 Red to blue
*Data represented as mean ±SE (n=3) [NaOH]=0.1 M [HCl]=0.1M, [CH3COOH] =0.1M, [Na2CO3] =0.1M

The equivalence point of the all titrations using the D. alata extract as indicator is
similar to the equivalence point of standard indicators. The results obtain show
that the routinely used chemical indicators can be replaced by D. alata extract
which is performed well in all four titrations with sharp and clear color changes.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The study revealed that the extract of Dioscorea alata L. can be used as a
substitute for synthetic acid-base indicators and it is more advantageous due to
low cost, safety, availability, easy and simple extraction procedure, excellent
performance with accurate and precise results.

References
[1] S.I.R. Okoduwa, L.O. Mbora, M.E. Adu.” Comparative analysisof the
properties of acid base indicators of Rose (Rosa setigera), Allamanda
(Allamda cathartica), and Hibiscus (Hibiscusrosa-sinensis) flower.”
Biochemistry research international, vol 2015, pp.06
[2] B. Alexander, A. Imran, S. Tewelde.” Studies of eco-friendly acid-base pH
indicators properties of two flowering plants from Adi-Nifas and Mai-Nefhi

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Eritrea.” Journal of pharmacognsy and phytochemistry, vol.2018;7(5),

pp.1817-1822
[3] V.R Vijayshri, P.A Megha, N.D Monali, N.M Ujwala,” International journal of
engineering and technical research”. Dioscorea bulbifera L. fruit extract use
as a natural indicator in acid base titration, vol 8, pp.69
[4] S. Tamaroh, S. Raharjo, A. Murdiati, S. Anggrahini.” Total phenolic content
and antioxidant activity of anthocyanin extract from purple yam(Dioscorea
alata L.) flour using different solvents.” Pakistan journal of nutrition.
Vol.17(6), pp. 260-267
[5] M.A. Deshmukth, M.A. Theng. “Pharmaceutical screening, quantitative
analysis of primary and secondary metabolites of Acacia Arabica bark.”
International journal of current pharmaceutical research, vol.10, pp.35-37

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

ADSORPTIVE REMOVAL OF OIL SPILLS BY WASTE-DERIVED

DENDRO BIOCHAR: A GREEN ORIENTED APPROACH
P.G.S. Pallewatta1, A.U. Rajapaksha1,2, R.S.M. Samarasekara3 and M.S.
Vithanage*1
1
Ecosphere Resilience Research Centre, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of
Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. 2Instrument Centre, Faculty of Applied Sciences,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. 3Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
Oil spills are one of the main ways that hydrocarbons are released into aquatic or
terrestrial environments. These large spills had a considerable negative impact on
ecosystems. Sea birds, other marine wildlife and mangrove were severely
impacted by the majority of oil spills that took place in the marine environment
[1]. Oil spills along the shoreline posed a significant threat to the livelihoods of
people and the life of other living creatures. These hydrocarbons have the
potential to contaminate foods, enter the food chain, and have a significant
negative effect on community health.

Sri Lanka is a closely located island to the Indian Ocean shipping route with a
few harbors in easily accessible locations. Sri Lanka has a history of oil spills along
its shorelines and in the ocean. Several events in the maritime environment have
occurred since 2010, including an oil spill in the Lunawa lagoon in Thaldiyawatta
in 2015, a furnace oil leak in Heen Ela, Dematagoda, in 2018, and the new
diamond fire incident in 2020 which is located offshore from Sangamankanda
Point. The most significant spill occurred in 2021 and is known as the X-press Pearl
cargo ship fire incident [2]. Such disasters left significant ecological damage that
Sri Lanka would likely suffer for decades. Heavy fuel oils which have a high
viscosity, are the major of numerous spills. Engine or motor oil is a kind of high
viscous oil which is used in automobile service stations and due to transportation
industry has grown, a large number of auto service stations have appeared.
However, they have lack of proper cleanup procedures for their oily effluent
discharged, which may contain a variety of pollutants like gasoline, detergents,
shampoo, and used auto-mobile motor oils. These openly discharge into the
environment and may contaminate water sources with hydrocarbons.

Numerous studies have already attempted to develop cleanup techniques for oil
spills over time. The majority of remediation techniques fall into one of four
categories: chemical, mechanical, biological, or physiochemical. Various
investigations have focused on adsorption-based techniques, which have gained

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popularity in part because they are readily available, affordable, non-flammable,

and nontoxicity. As a sorbent substance, biochar is beneficial from every angle.
Because of its great adsorption capabilities, such as its enormous surface area,
porous structure, and hydrophobic properties. it is used to enhance soil, and
remove heavy metals, and other pollutants. Many studies have been undertaken
in recent years on the application of biochar for remediation approaches. Dendro
biochar is a residue of dendro power plants and woody biochar derived from
Gliricidia sepium, while there have been fewer or no studies on its use in oil
removal procedures. This study looked into the viability of applying biochar
derived from the Mahiyanganaya dendro plant (MBC) as a sorbent material for
the oil removal process. The objective of this research is to examine the oil
sorption capabilities of the dendro biochar derived from Mahiyanganaya dendro
power industry.

Materials and Methods

Engine oil (Havoline SAE 15W-40) was used to simulate an artificial oil spill in
laboratory studies. Sea water was collected from a Sarakkuwa beach, Sri Lanka
and refrigerated (10 °C) to keep the quality from deteriorating. Biochar was
obtained from a dendro power plant in the Mahiyanganaya area, which was
formed as a waste byproduct of the gasification process that is utilized in Sri Lanka
to generate electricity [3]. MBC that had been dried and crushed was sieved
through a 1 mm mesh and used in subsequent studies. By mixing 1.5 g of oil with
25 mL of seawater (i.e., 60 g L-1) in a 50 mL beaker, an artificial oil spill was created.
Then MBC was added (10, 24, 50 g L-1) on to the oil that was floating on oil. The
oil-adsorbed biochar clump could be readily detached using a spatula and placed
into the Buchner funnel lined with filter paper () for filtering any surplus oil and
water by sucking down. To remove the adherent and adsorbed water, filter paper
with oil-laden MBC was dried in an oven at 60 °C until reaching a consistent
weight (2 h). Using mass balancing, dried filter papers were weighted to calculate
the amount of adsorbed oil in the MBC [4].

Characterization
The moisture content, volatile matter, ash, and fixed matter of the MBC were
calculated using proximate analysis. The moisture content of the biochar was
calculated by heating MBC-containing opened crucibles at 105 °C for 24 hours
until a constant weight. The volatile/mobile matter and ash content were
estimated by heating MBC to 450 °C for 1 hour in a covered crucible and 750 °C
for 1 hour in an opened crucible, respectively. By deducting the total percentage
of moisture, mobile matter, and ash content, the fixed matter was
calculated. Morphological analysis of MBC was carried out using a field emission
scanning electron microscope (SU6600 FESEM, Hitachi Ltd, Tokyo, Japan).
Spectral analysis was done using a Fourier Transmission Infrared Spectrometer

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(FTIR; Thermo Scientific, Nicolet iS10 spectrometer, USA) to observe the

differences in the chemical nature of MBC before and after oil adsorption.

Adsorption kinetics
Optimization of contact time for oil spill adsorption was investigated at 25 °C to
understand the kinetic behavior and equilibrium time. The doses of biochar were
maintained at 10, 24, 50 g L-1- and oil concentration at 60 g L-1. The samples were
taken at appointed time intervals (10, 30, min, and also for 1, 2, 4, 6 h). The best
sorbent-to-oil ratio (SOR) was accessed by testing three different sorbent-to-oil
ratios (SORs, 5:6, 2.4:6, and 1:6) for kinetic adsorption at three different MBC
doses (50, 24, and 10 g L-1). Non-linear kinetic models, including pseudo-first-
order and pseudo-second-order, were used to model the experimental kinetic
data.

Adsorption Isotherm
The isotherm studies were conducted using the best dose (24 g L-1) of MBC among
the three SOR. The oil concentrations utilized to perform the adsorption isotherm
ranged from 10 to 100 gL-1, while other variables remained constant (MBC dose
(24 g L-1), at 25 °C). The experimental data were modelled using nonlinear models
of Freundlich, Langmuir, and Sips isotherm models.

Results and Discussion

Characterization
The moisture content, mobile matter, ash content, and resident matter were
found to be 9.81± 0.15%, 33.86± 0.21%, 15.47± 0.43%, and 40.87% respectively.
It indicates that MBC has a high resident matter content, with carbon making up
the majority of it.

Figure 1a shows SEM imaging of pristine biochar, which shows a porous surface.
Observing images with uniformly distributed voids allows one to spot macro and
micro holes (100 µm). In addition to chemical binding, this distribution of pores
may stimulate the physical adsorption of oil into pores.

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Figure 1. (a) SEM image (x500, 100 um), (b) FT-IR spectral analysis of pristine MBC and oil-adsorbed
MBC

MBC was analyzed spectroscopically before and after oil adsorption using FT-IR.
The clear contrast between Pristine and oil adsorbed MBC graphs, as illustrated
in Figure 1b, was caused by hydrocarbon adsorption into the biochar. The
stretching vibration of an O-H bond has a wide, broad peak in pristine MBC at
3444 cm-1, whereas the stretching vibration of a C=C bond has a sharp, narrow
peak at 1600–1670 cm-1. The newly formed strong peaks at 2924–2853 cm-1 and
1377–1463 cm-1, are associated with oil-adsorbed MBC that was related to C-H
stretching and C-O/ C-H bending respectively [5]. This additional peak emergence
is a sign that the MBC has absorbed hydrocarbons (engine oil).

Figure 2. (a) Isotherm adsorption (b) Removal efficiency of three sorbent to oil ratios vs time

Adsorption Kinetics
To evaluate the adsorption kinetics, three SOR values were utilized. Oil uptake
rates was fast at the initial stage and reached equilibrium within the first 15 min.
Using a large dose of MBC is a waste of material since increased SOR (5:6)
removed over 95% of the oil though relatively less adsorption capacity was found.
The average adsorption capacities of MBC at equilibrium were 1170, 1650, and
1630 g kg for sorbent-to-oil ratios of 5:6, 2.4:6, and 1:6, respectively. As a result,
-1

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when SOR was set to 2.4:6, relatively good adsorption performance was
observed. As shown in Figure 2b, with SOR values falling from 5:6 to 1:6, removal
efficiency decreased multiple times, from 95 to 30%. The pseudo-second order
model among the kinetic models tested, provided excellent experimental data
fitting (R > 0.99).
2

Adsorption Isotherm
As per the Figure 2a the isotherm data did not fit the Langmuir and Freundlich
models well, but the Sips isotherm model provided the best correlation
coefficient (R > 0.98) as shown in Table 1.
2

Table 1. Sips Isotherm model data of MBC (24 g L ) for engine oil adsorption at 25 °C and 1 h
-1

equilibrium
Isotherm Model Isotherm model parameters Values

q (g kg )
m
-1
1952 ± 104
Sips Isotherm
K (L g )-1
7.38 ± 0.49

n 105.9 ± 7.09

R
2
0.98

Conclusions and Recommendations

The cleanup of engine oil from oil-contaminated water was effectively
accomplished using waste biochar generated at the Mahiyanganaya dendro
power plant. The amount of biochar used has had a significant impact on the
adsorption performance. According to sorption studies optimum sorption results
were observed by the 2.4:6 sorbent to oil ratio which used 24 and 60 g L of MBC -1

and oil respectively. Oil uptake was fast and reached to equilibrium in less than
15 min. The distribution of pores and their morphological characteristics, which
were examined by SEM, support the physical sorption of oil rather than chemical
bindings. The change in chemical properties and the formation of strong peaks
caused to hydrocarbons in spectral analysis (FT-IR) provided evidence for oil
adsorption in MBC. Hence, this motivates researchers to investigate the use of
dendro biochar, a waste byproduct of the dendro power industry, in the reduction
of oil pollution. The further experiments will be carried out to compare the
adsorption performance of biochar derived by several other dendro power
industries.

References
[1] J. Michel and M. Fingas, "Oil Spills: Causes, consequences, prevention, and
countermeasures," in Fossil fuels: current status and future directions: World
Scientific, 2016, pp. 159-201.

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[2] M. Sewwandi, O. Hettithanthri, S. M. Egodage, A. A. D. Amarathunga, and M.

Vithanage, "Unprecedented marine microplastic contamination from the X-
Press Pearl container vessel disaster," Science of the Total Environment, vol.
828, p. 154374, 2022.
[3] K. K. K. Sylva, U. G. Kithsiri, S. Bogahawatta, N. S. Senanayake, and R.
Abeyweera, "Dendro Power Generation in Sri Lanka–Successes, Failures and
Policies," The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda, 2014.
[4] C. M. Navarathna et al., "Biochar adsorbents with enhanced hydrophobicity
for oil spill removal," ACS applied materials & interfaces, vol. 12, no. 8, pp.
9248-9260, 2020.
[5] D. C. Lingegowda, J. K. Kumar, A. D. Prasad, M. Zarei, and S. Gopal, "FTIR
spectroscopic studies on cleome gynandra-Comparative analysis of functional
group before and after extraction," Romanian Journal of Biophysics, vol. 22,
no. 3-4, pp. 137-143, 2012.

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FOCUS AREA
Food, Nutrition and Agriculture

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ECO-FRIENDLY MANAGEMENT OF HADDA BEETLE

(Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata F.) (COLEOPTERA:
COCCINELLIDAE) USING SLECTED BOTANICAL EXTRACTS
T. Thuvaraka1 and K. Pakeerathan*2
1,2
Department of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna, Sri
Lanka
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) is a major vegetable crop grown in Sri Lanka.
Insect pests are the major threat to brinjal cultivation. Hadda beetle
(Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata F.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), whis is a
polyphagous pest of economically important solanaceae and cucurbitaceae
family crops, is a serious insect pest of brinjal cultivation in northern Sri Lanka
next to the shoot and fruit borer. The adult and larval stages feed on epidermal
tissues of leaves, flowers and fruits of brinjal and cause considerable economic
losses [1]. Synthetic insecticides are preferred among the management strategies
proposed and frequently being used by the farmers. Recently imposed
government policy on organic agriculture to minimize the cumulative adverse
effects agrochemicals on human and environment, pushed the farmers to use
ecofriendly approaches. Therefore, the primary goal of this research was to study
about the insecticidal activity and antifeedant activity of selected botanical
extracts against Hadda beetle and qualitative analysis of phytochemicals present
in the screened extracts.

Materials and Methods

The investigations were conducted at the Plant Protection & Bio Control
Laboratory at the Department of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Jaffna, ariviyal Nagar, Kilinochchi (Longitude: 80.4, Latitude: 9.32,
Altitude : 46m), belongs to the dry zone. The mean annual rainfall is around
1125mm and the mean annual temperature is around 25-35 C (Department of o

Meteorology, 2021).

Collection and rearing of Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata

Adult beetles of H. vigintioctopunctata were collected from brinjal farms at
Thirunelvely and Kayts of Jaffna district and were reared in the insect rearing
cages on the host plants for multiplication.

Preparation of Aqueous extracts

The plant leaves of Senna alata, Calotropis gigantea, Cascabela thevetia, Vitex
negundo and Justicia adhatoda were collected from the herbal garden at the

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research veneue and neem (Azadirachta indica) seed kernels were bought from
an ayurvedic shop. Collected plant parts were surface sterilized with 1% NaOCl
and were shade dried for five days under room temperature. Dried plant parts
were ground in to fine powder using electric blender under aseptic conditions.
Hot water method of extraction was used for the preparation of plant extracts.
Each plant powder of 100 g was dissolved in 1000 mL hot water (60˚C) and mixed
well. Then solution was kept at water bath at 85˚C for 2 hrs. The solution was
intermittently shaken manually for every 30 minutes. The solution was left to cool
and then filtered using muslin a cloth. The solution was centrifuged at 4000 rpm
for 10 minutes and the supernatant of the extract was obtained separately and
stored in the refrigerator at 4˚C for the experiments.

Testing antifeedant activity

Testing antifeedant activity was performed using leaf disc with no choice method
[1]. The experiment was carried out using plastic containers of the same size (3L).
Fresh brinjal leaves were collected from Biology home garden and they were cut
into 5 cm diameter leaf discs. Leaf discs were dipped into plant extracts and left
to air dried. Leaf discs were placed above wetted filter paper to prevent early
drying. Then they were placed into plastic containers at the rate of 1 leaf
disc/container. Adult beetles of same age and size were collected from the
rearing cages. Adult beetles were placed into bottles at the rate of 1/container
and the lid was closed. Distilled water treated leaf disc was used as control. Totally
seven treatments were provided with ten replicates. Leaf area consumed by the
beetle was recorded after 24 hrs and 48 hrs intervals. Graph sheet method was
used to find the leaf area consumed. Leaf area consumed in plant treatments
were corrected against control. The antifeedant index was calculated using the
following formula [2];

Antifeedant Index (%)=(C-T) (C+T) X 100%

C – Leaf area consumed in control

T – Leaf area consumed in treatment

Testing Mortality
Testing mortality was carried out in the same way as testing antifeedant activity.
Fresh brinjal leaves were dipped in each extract and placed inside bottles at the
rate of one leaf per bottle. Wetted filter paper was placed under the leaf to
prevent early drying of leaves [1]. Distilled water was used as control. Ten adult
beetles were placed in each bottle and the number of dead beetles were counted
at 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours of intervals. The mortality rate was calculated
by the following formula,

Mortality rate=Number of dead beetlesNumber of beetles used for experiment X 100%

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Qualitative analysis of phytochemicals

Secondary metabolites present in the botanical extracts such as alkaloids,
phenols, terpenoids, saponin, flavonoids and quinones were measured
qualitatively using standard methods [3].
Data collection and Statistical analysis
Complete randomized design (CRD) was used to perform analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and Tukey's HSD multiple comparison test was administrated to identify
the best treatment at P <0.05 using SAS 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).

Results and Discussion

The experimental results show that the antifeedant efficacy of different plant
extracts were significantly different at P <0.05 (Table 1). Data pertaining to results
presented in Table 1 shows that antifeedent efficassy of C. gigantea, C. thevetia
and J. adhatoda was 100 % even after 48 hours. Senna alata expressed lowest
antifeedant index after 48 hours among all other six plant extracts. After 48 hours
the antifeedant index of A. indica reduced from 100 % to 78.58 %.

Table 1: Antifeedant index after 24 hours and 48 hours

Plant extract After 24 hours After 48 hours
Azadirachta indica 100 % 78.58 %
Senna alata 85.24 % 56.5 %
Calotropis gigantea 100 % 100 %
Cascabela thevetia 100 % 100 %
Vitex negundo 80.71 % 74.23 %
Justicia adhatoda 100 % 100 %
Water 15.75% 5.8%
Values are means of four replicates based on the formula of calculating antifeedant index

Insecticidal activity of crude extracts was significantly on par compared to the

control treatment at P <0.05. The mortality percentage of H. viginitioctopunctata
after 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours were varied from 2.5±5-12.5±12.58, 2.5±5-
30±14.14 and 2.5±5-62.5±15, respectively (Table 2). The highest mortality rate
was observed for A. indica at each time intervals. High mortality rate of insects
normally indicates the higher insecticidal activity.
Table 2: Mean mortality percentage of adult beetles against different plant extracts
Plant extract After 12 hours After 24 hors After 48 hours
Azadirachta indica 12.5±12.58 a
30±14.14 b
62.5±15 b

Senna alata 7.5±5 a

12.5±5ab
30±8.16 b

Calotropis gigantea 5±5.77 a

27.5±12.58 abc
50±14.14 c

Cascabela thevetia 10±8.16 a

15±12.91 abc
25±10 c

Vitex negundo 2.5±5 a

5±5.77 ac
15±5.77 c

Justicia adhatoda 5±5.774 a

12.5±9.57 c
27.5±9.57 ac

Control (Distilled water) 2.5±5 a

2.5±5 c
2.5±5 ac

Values are means of four replicates. Within the column similar alphabets are statistically not significant
according to the Tukey's HSD multiple comparison test at α = 0.05.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

As per the qualitiative analysis of the phytochemicals present in the different

botanical extracts, Tannins and Saponin are present in all the extracts. All the
phytochemicals tested were present in A. indica and C. gigantea except the
Coumarin which is not present in A. indica (Table 3). Phenols were absent in S.
alata and V. negundo.

Table 3: Screening for phytochemicals present in plant extracts

Phytochemicals Azadirachta Senna Calotropis Cascabela Vitex Justicia
indica alata gigantea thevetia negundo adhatoda
Phenols
Iodine test + - + + - +
Potassium + - + + - +
dichromate test
Alkaloids + - + + + +
Tannins + + + + + +
Saponin + + + + + +
Coumarin - - + + - +
Flavonoids
Conc H SO
2 4 + + + - - -
Ammonia test + + + - - -
+ = present - = absent

Saljoqi et al. [3] reported that botanical extracts of Melia azadarach, Perthenium
hysterophorus, Phlogocanthus thyrsiflorus, Vitex trifolia, Zanthoxylum
acanthopodium, and A. indica were tested on rice weevils and M. azadarach
caused highest mean mortality of 80.54% at 35 days after treatment. Aqueous
leaf extracts of Calotropis gigantea outperformed Croton laccifera in terms of
mortality and reduction of fecundity of 1 and 2 instar nymphs, and newly
st nd

emerged apterous females of cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora) [4]. Among the
various herbs, A. indica based insecticides has been the most accepted bio-
pesticides and It acts as an antifeedant, repellent, and repugnant agent and
induces sterility in insects by preventing oviposition and interrupting sperm
production in males [5].

Conclusions and Recommendations

Botanical extract C. gigantean and A. indica are best botanicals among the tested
showing highest antifeedant and mortality against H. viginitioctopunctata.
various phytochemicals present in them are responsible for the insecticidal
properties. Quantitative anlysis and repetitive field studies are recommended for
recommendation.

References
[1] Jeyasankar, S. Premalatha, and K. Elumalai, "Antifeedant and insecticidal
activities of selected plant extracts against Epilachna beetle, Henosepilachna

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

vigintioctopunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)," Advances in Entomology,

vol. 2014, 2014.
[2] H. B. Jannet, F. Harzallah-Skhiri, Z. Mighri, M. Simmonds, and W. Blaney,
"Responses of Spodoptera littoralis larvae to Tunisian plant extracts and to
neo-clerodane diterpenoids isolated from Ajuga pseudoiva leaves,"
Fitoterapia, vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 105-112, 2000.
[3] A. Saljoqi, M. K. Afridi, and S. A. Khan, "Effects of six plant extracts on rice
weevil Sitophilus oryzae L. in the stored wheat grains," 2006.
[4] W. A. K. G. Thakshila, W. T. S. Dammini Premachandra, and C. Borgemeister,
"Potential toxic effects of aqueous leaf extracts of Calotropis gigantea and
Croton laccifera against Aphis craccivora," International Journal of Tropical
Insect Science, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 1165-1173, 2022/04/01 2022.
[5] S. Chaudhary et al., "Progress on Azadirachta indica based biopesticides in
replacing synthetic toxic pesticides," Frontiers in plant science, vol. 8, p. 610,
2017.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

SENSORIAL QUALITIES OF THREE COMMON FOOD

COMMODITIES COOKED WITH DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES
T.A. Gunathilake1, G.L.R. Prasanga1 and P.C. Bandara1*
Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Sri
Jayewardenepura, 10206, Sri Lanka
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
Cooking involves the application of heat to prepare food for consumption. Over
the years, people have discovered several energy sources suitable for cooking
purposes. Widely used energy sources include biomass (such as firewood),
petroleum-based products (such as kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)),
and electricity. There are some discussions around these cooking techniques
related to their effect on the sensorial properties and nutritional properties of
cooked food and there is a significant void of scientific information on the
credibility of such claims. This study aims to explore the effect of the cooking
energy sources on the key sensorial properties of the final cooked products.

Materials and Methods

Cooking experiments were carried out using a firewood stove, kerosene burner,
LPG burner (Model-IGCSB 001, Innovex, Sri Lanka), hot plate (Model-AO9602,
1500W, Astro, China), Induction cooker (Model-IND-4310, 2000W, Prince, India)
and grill microwave oven (Model-NNGT342M, 800W, Panasonic, Japan). Rice,
fresh carrots and potatoes were purchased from the same local stores in Colombo
district.

Sample preparation
For the experiments involving rice, 150g of rice was measured and rinsed with tap
water, then cooked with 600mL of excess water using each method. As
mentioned by Lakshmi et al. [1], the end point of cooking was identified parallel
glass method. Here, periodically drawn rice samples were pressed in between two
small glass plates. When there was no white core observed, the sample was
considered to be completely cooked. Then excess cooking water was drained off
as much as possible. The rice was simmered until completely cooked.
For the experiments involving potatoes and carrots, raw potatoes and carrots
were peeled and washed and cut into 1cm×1cm cubes. For potatoes, a 100g
sample was measured and cooked in 300 mL of boiling water. Similarly, 100g
aliquots of carrot pieces were measured and cooked in 200 mL of boiling water
using each cooking method. The level of cooking was determined by the
benchmarks set during the preliminary trials which were defined based on the
texture, according to local eating habits. For all the cooking experiments, the pots
were covered with a lid.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

The cooking temperature was maintained between 100 °C and 95 °C by halting

the heat input at boiling and continuing when the temperature dropped beneath
95 °C [2]. The experiments were carried out in five replicates.

Sensory evaluation
All samples were subjected to sensory analysis in terms of colour, odour, taste,
aftertaste, mouthfeel and overall acceptability. The sensory analysis was
performed by 30 semi-trained panelists. The intensity of the properties was
determined using a 9-point hedonic scale where 1 extremely dislikes and 9 is
extremely likes [3].

Statistical analysis
The obtained data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21 software. In each
case, mean values were calculated. A multiple comparison was performed for the
data obtained using Tukey's HSD test. For all statistical analyses, differences were
considered significant at p < 0.05.

Results and Discussion

20

16
Cooking time (min)

Rice
Potato
12
Carrot

0
Firewood Kerosene LPG Hotplate Induction Microwave
Cooking method
Figure 1. Mean cooking times of rice, potato and carrot cooked with each method

Figure 1 illustrates the mean values of the cooking times of each method.
According to the statistical analysis, firewood cooking shows a significantly higher
time duration for each component (19.40±0.55 min for rice, 11.40±0.55 min for
potato, 10.80±0.84 min for carrot), due to the low combustion efficiency. In rice,
induction cooking resulted in significantly low cooking time (12.80±0.84 min)
compared to the other methods.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Table 1 shows the mean score values obtained from the sensory analysis of each
food sample.

Table 1. Mean score values obtained from the sensory analysis for rice, potato and carrot
Mean score values
Food item Cooking method
Colour Odour Taste Aftertaste Mouthfeel Overall
Rice Firewood cooking 5.3 a
4.2 a
5.0 a
4.2 a
4.6 a
4.7 a

Kerosene cooking 7.8 bc

7.4 b
7.3 bc
7.4 b
7.4 b
7.6 b

LPG cooking 6.2 abc

6.3 b
6.3 ab
6.3 ab
6.1 ab
6.3 ab

Hot plate 5.1 a

6.1 b
6.0 ac
6.1 ab
6.1 ab
6.0 ab

Induction cooking 7.5 c

7.1 b
7.2 bc
7.1 b
6.9 ab
7.4 b

Microwave 5.3 a
6.7 b
6.4 ab
6.7 b
6.3 ab
6.0 ab

Potato Firewood cooking 7.4 a

6.3 a
6.5 a
6.2 a
6.6 a
6.2 a

Kerosene cooking 6.7 a

6.0 a
6.8 a
6.2 a
6.4 a
6.4 a

LPG cooking 7.3 a

6.1 a
6.9 a
6.5 a
6.3 a
6.7 a

Hot plate 6.1 a

6.2 a
6.5 a
6.5 a
6.8 a
6.8 a

Induction cooking 7.6 a

7.1 a
7.2 a
7.1 a
7.2 a
7.3 a

Microwave 6.2 a
6.7 a
6.5 a
6.4 a
6.2 a
5.9 a

Carrot Firewood cooking 7.9 a

6.4 a
5.1 a
4.6 a
4.6 a
5.9 aef

Kerosene cooking 8.1 a

6.5 a
7.5 bc
6.8 ab
7.2 b
7.7 b

LPG cooking 6.9 ab

7.4 a
7.6 c
6.9 ab
7.6 b
7.2 bf

Hot plate 5.6 b

6.1 a
5.5 ab
5.9 ab
5.9 ab
5.2 ad

Induction cooking 6.2 b

5.7 a
6.8 abc
6.3 ab
6.5 ab
5.7 acf

Microwave 8.0 a
6.9 a
7.0 abc
7.1 b
6.3 ab
7.5 be

a-fValues represent mean scores with the same superscript letters within the same column that are not
significantly different for each commodity (P>0.05).

The mean score values of the sensory analysis revealed that the kerosene cooked
sample was most preferred concerning colour (7.8), odour (7.4), taste (7.3),
aftertaste (7.4), mouthfeel (7.4) and overall acceptability (7.6) in rice. Firewood
stove-cooked rice obtained the lowest mean score values for odour (4.1), taste
(5.0), aftertaste (4.2), mouthfeel (4.6) and overall acceptability (4.7) indicating

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

that it was the least preferred. In addition to that, a significant difference (p<0.05)
was recorded in the mean score for odour (4.1).

This apparent difference is attributed to the characteristic woody/ smoky smell in

the firewood-cooked food. Especially, rice being more sensitive to odours, it
intensively absorbs the smell of the firewood smoke, masking the actual smell as
well as the taste of rice and making it less desirable. However, the kerosene smell
does not seem to affect rice samples unacceptably, probably due to lower
exposure time resulting in a short cooking duration compared to firewood and a
fairly efficient stove design.

No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in mean score values,

indicating similar sensory qualities in firewood, kerosene, LPG, hotplate,
induction and microwave-cooked potato samples. Nevertheless, induction
cooking was revealed to be most preferred for potatoes as it obtained higher
mean score values (7.1-7.6) for all attributes. Similar results were obtained by
Martínez-Gómez et al. [4] for oranges with oatmeal, grilled chicken and broccoli
cooked in induction and LPG cookers. As a result of the low duration of heat
treatment in induction cooking, less thermal damages happen to the cell
structure of the food and less volatile evaporation occurs, which may benefit the
sensory qualities.

In carrots, higher mean score values were given for LPG cooking in terms of odour
(7.4), taste (7.6) and mouthfeel (7.6), while, kerosene cooking obtained higher
score values for colour (8.1) and overall acceptability (7.7). In terms of aftertaste,
the microwave-cooked sample obtained the highest mean score (7.1).

Conclusions and Recommendations

The study has shown that the cooking time varies depending on the cooking
technique used. Firewood cooking is accountable for longer cooking durations for
all rice, potato and carrot. In terms of sensory qualities, kerosene cooking is
preferred for rice and carrot. Meanwhile, induction cooking was found to be more
acceptable for potatoes in terms of sensory qualities. However, to identify the
acceptability of the energy source on the overall quality of the cooked foods,
further evaluations on nutritional properties of the cooked food as well the heat
transfer characteristics of the stove should be conducted which will unravel more
interesting information. A cost analysis also needs to be done to calculate the
effectiveness of each technique.

References
[1] S. Lakshmi, A. Chakkravarthi, R. Subramanian, V. Singh. “Energy consumption
in microwave cooking of rice and its comparison with other domestic
appliances.” Journal of Food Engeneering, vol. 78, pp. 715–22, 2007.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

[2] R. Akinoso, O.D. Oladeji. “Determination of Energy and Time Requirement for
Cooking Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan).” Journal of Biosystems Engeneering, vol.
42, pp. 56–61, 2017.
[3] J.I. Eze. “Nutritional and organoleptic properties of three common Nigerian
foods cooked with three different energy sources.” Scientific Research and
Essays, vol. 7, pp. 2010–2016, 2012.
[4] J. Martínez-gómez, D. Ibarra, S. Villacis, P. Cuji, P. R. Cruz. “Analysis of LPG,
electric and induction cookers during cooking typical Ecuadorian dishes into
the national efficient cooking program.” Food Policy, vol. 59, pp. 88–102,
2016.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

A STUDY ON CORRELATION BETWEEN FOOD HABITS AND

IRON DEFICIENCY ANAEMIA AMONG CHILDREN AT BASE
HOSPITAL KALMUNAI NORTH
Afreen S.M.M.S1, 2*, Muneeb M.Musthafa1, Rajavarthani S3 and Roshanth S.N.4
1
Department of Biosystem Technology, Faculty of Technology, SEUSL, 2 Al- Manar central
College, Maruthamunai, 3 Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health-Care
Sciences, EUSL, 4Pediatric unit, Base Hospital, Kalmunai North.
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
The utmost communal nutritional problem in the world is iron deficiency anemia.
The incidence varies across the globe, with greater rates in developing nations
[1]. Anemia affects above 30% of the global population, primarily owing to a lack
of iron [2]. With the exception of China, where the frequency of IDA is lower, IDA
is also an issue across Latin America, Middle East, Caribbean, East Asia, and
Pacific, where the prevalence of IDA ranges from 22 to 66 %[3]. Anemia continues
to be a major global health issue, impacting 43% of children under age of five,
38% of pregnant women, and 29% of non-pregnant women globally [4]. Southern
Asian and African children are especially vulnerable, with IDA affecting more than
50% children of preschool age in most nations.
Anaemia develops when the body's physiologic requirements for red blood cells
(and as a result, their carrying capacity for oxygen) are not met. Globally, ID is
thought to be the most significant reason of anemia. [5]. A lack of iron Anemia is
a condition in which there isn't enough iron in the body to maintain normal red
cell production[6].Although the frequency of iron deficiency anemia is about
equal in girls and boys, mother's anemia during pregnancy, and a lack of breast -
feeding all contribute to an increased occurrence of the disease in children [7].

Iron deficiency mainly affect newborns and young children in most parts of the
world, due to their greater iron requirements associated to growth [8]. Young kids
are particularly susceptible to the effects of IDA since their body systems are
working to develop, particularly their brains, which are the quickest developing
organs during infancy and early childhood. [2]. It can cause major public health
problems, such as increased disease and mortality in children, as well as impaired
growth, immune system, and cognitive development, decreased physical activity,
low endurance capacity, and poor learning ability[2], [9], [10].
In Sri Lanka, anaemia has continued to be an important public health problem as
shown in many studies. Even though there are few studies in the field of
nutritional deficiency Anaemia in Sri Lanka, there are no studies done in Ampara
district to portray the incidence of IDA among children. Hence this study was
conducted to evaluate the correlation between food habbit and IDA among
children aged 1-14years at Base hospital, Kalmunai North.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Materials and Methods

This was a cross sectional analytical study carried out at the paediatric clinic and
paediactric ward of Base Hospital, Kalmunai North over a period of 6 months from
January to june2022. The ethical clearance was taken from the Ethics review
committee, FHCS, EUSL. Written informed consent was obtained from children
and parent before enrolling them into the study. This study was conducted on
101 children in the age group of 1-14 years who attended the Paediatric clinic and
admitted to Paediatric ward at Base Hospital Kalmunai North, during research
period. The children previously transfused with blood within 120 days and
currently consuming multivitamin and/or mineral supplements on a regular basis
were excluded from the study. The interviewer administered questionnaire was
validated with food frequency and dietary data were collected. After the
diagnosis, study patients were subjected to the full blood count, serum ferritin
(SF) level and C - reactive protein (CRP). WHO defined cut-off levels were used to
assess the anaemia (Hb < 11g/dl) iron deficiency (SF < 15 µg/l).

Statistical analysis
Appropriate data entry and statistical analysis were performed on Microsoft excel
using social package for social science (SPSS) version 21.0. Data was summarized
using descriptive statistics and food habbit was evaluated by pearson Correlation.
Proportions were considered statistically significant at 95%. The associations was
made by using appropriate statistical test (p-value). Statistical significance were
set at p < 0.05.

Results and Discussion

Fruits
Table 01. Results of Pearson correlation analysis - fruits
Fruits Significant (2 tailed) Pearson correlation
Orange/Sour orange .032 -.214*
Banana .329 .098
Papaya .090 -.170
Guava .006 -.272**
Dates .023 -.226*
Star gooseberry .328 -.098
Pomegranate .050 -.195

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

120 100
Consuming Percentage % Orange, Banana, Papaya
100
80 63.4 62.5
55.9
60 37.5 37.5
34.4
40 25.8 30.1 26.9 25 25 22.6
9.7 12.9 12.5 12.9
20 4.3 1
0

weekly
Weekly

Weekly

weekly
rare

daily

rare

Never

daily

rare

rare

Never

rare
Rare
3 times per week

3 times per week

3 times per week

never
3time/week
Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA
Orange Banana Papaya

Figure 1. Quantity of consumption of orange, banana and papaya

The consumption of oranges by the IDA and normal groups varied considerably
(p < 0.05), as shown in figure1. Children who had regular consumption oranges
were less likely to have IDA. It might be due to the high content of vitamin C of
oranges, which increases iron absorption [11]. Papaya and banana consumption
between the IDA and normal groups, did not show any significant difference in
both groups.

100 Guava, Dates, Star gooseberry, Pomegranate 88.2 87.5

Consuming Percentage %

90
77.4 75
80
70
60 48.4 50 50 50
50 40.9
34.4 37.5
40
25 23.7
30 19.4 21.5
20 9.7 12.5 12.5
8.6 6.5
4.3 4.3 4.3 5.4
10 2.2 1.1
0
weekly

weekly

weekly

weekly

weekly
3 times/week

rare

rare

daily

rare

rare

daily

rare

rare

rare

rare
Never
never

never

never

never

never

never

never
3 times /week

3time/week

Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA

Guava Dates Star Gooseberry Pomegranate

Figure 2. Consumption of guava, Dates, star gooseberry and pomegranate

Guava was significantly varied (p < 0.01) in the normal and IDA group, as shown
by figure 2. Children who are having guava seldom were more susceptible to IDA.
Dates between the normal and IDA groups were significant (p< 0.05). Because
dates are high in iron, the kids who regularly ate them were not impacted by IDA.

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Star gooseberry and pomegranate did not differ significantly between the two
groups.

Vegetables
Table 02. Results of Pearson correlation analysis - Vegetables
Vegetables Significant (2 tailed) Pearson correlation
Green leafy vegetable .004 -.282**
Beans .647 -.046
Tomato .323 -.099
Potato .505 .067
Beets .511 .066
Leeks .137 -.149

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Dark green Vegetables, Beans, Tomato

70 62.5
60 54.8
50
Consuming Percentage %

46.2
50 37.5 37.5 37.5 37.6 37.5
40 27.9 31.2
23.7 25
30
16.1 15.1 12.5
20 10.8 11.8 11.8
10 4.3 2.2 2.2 4.3
0

weekly
weekly

never

weekly

weekly

never

weekly

never

weekly

never
daily

daily

daily

daily
rare

rare

3time/week

rare

rare

3time/week

Rare

rare
3 time/week

Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA

Dark Green leafy vegetables Beans Tomato

Figure 3. Consumption of dark green leafy vegetables, beans and tomato.

Dark green leafy foods considerably varied between the normal and IDA groups,
as shown in figure 3. Because they are rich in iron, children who consumed dark
green leafy vegetables more frequently were less likely to get IDA. Tomato and
beans did not significantly differ between the two groups.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

80 Potato, Beets, Leeks 66.7 75

70 62.5
Consuming Percentage % 60 52.7 50.5 50
50 35.5
40 25 20.4 25
30 19.4 22.6
20 12.5 12.5 12.5 13.9 12.5 12.5 12.9
5.4
10
0
daily

weekly

weekly

weekly

weekly

weekly
Never

never

never

never
daily
rare

3time/week

rare

rare

3time/week

rare

rare

rare
3 time/week

Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA

potato Beets Leeks

Figure 4. Consumption of potato, beets and leeks

According to the figure 4, potato, beets and leeks were not significantly differed
among normal and IDA groups.

Animal products
Table 03. Results of Pearson correlation analysis - Animal products
Animal products Significant (2 tailed) Pearson Correlation
Fish . 000 -.379 **

Chicken .000 -.463**

Liver .000 -.371**

Meat .000 -.395**
Shrimp .005 -.280**
Egg .043 -.202*

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

120 100
100
Percentage

80 60.2 62.5 59.1 62.5 59.1

60 37.5
26.9 25 23.7
40
10.8 12.5 21.5 19.4
7.5 9.7
20 1.1 1.1
0
daily
3time/week
weekly

weekly

weekly

3 time/week
weekly
rare
never

rare
never

rare
never
rare
never

rare
never
never

Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA

Chicken Liver Meat
Figure 5. Quantity of Consumption of chicken, liver and meat

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Chicken, liver, and meat were significantly different between the normal and IDA
groups, as shown in graph 5. The children who consumed chicken, liver and meat
very rarely were affected by IDA than others. Considering that these foods are
abundant in heme iron [12].

100 87.5
75
80
percentage %

62.5
60 48.4
33.4 37.6
40 30.1 31.2 25.8
25
12.5 13.9 12.5 12.512.5
20 7.5 5.4
0 1.1 1.1 2.2 2.2
0
daily
3 time/week
weekly

weekly

daily
3 time/week
weekly

3time/week
weekly

3 time/week
weekly
rare
never

rare

rare
never

rare
never

rare
never
rare
never
Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA
Figure 6. Quantity of consumption of fish, egg and shrimp

Fish, eggs, and shrimp were significantly different between the normal and IDA
groups, as shown in figure 6. More eggs were taken than fish or shrimp. Children
who consumed more fish, eggs, and shrimp were not impacted by IDA since these
foods contain heme iron [12].

Dairy products
Table 04. Results of Pearson correlation analysis – Dairy products
Dairy products Significant (2 tailed) Pearson correlation
Yoghurt .117 .157
Chocolate .006 .274**
Cheese .021 .229*

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

80 75
Consuming Percentage % 70 62.5 61.3
60
50 37.6 37.5 37.537.5
40 26.827.9 29 31.2 25.8
25 22.6
30 13.9 12.5 12.5
20 2.2 4.3 4.3 5.3 7.5
10
0
3 time/week
weekly

3time/week

3 time/week
weekly

3time/week
weekly
3 time/week
weekly

3time/week
weekly
daily

daily

daily

rare
rare
never

never

rare
never

rare
never
Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA
Chocholate Yoghurt Cheese
Figure 7. Consumption of chocolate, yoghurt and cheese

Chocolate and cheese greatly varied between the normal and IDA groups, as
shown in figure 7. IDA was more prevalent in children who had cheese and
chocolate more regularly. The polyphenol in chocolate and the calcium in cheese
could be to reason. Both reduce the absorption of iron [13], [14].

Drink
Table 05. Results of Pearson correlation analysis - Drink
Drink Significant (2 tailed) Pearson correlation
Black tea .004 .283**
Fresh milk .001 .326**
Coffee .193 .131

70 62.5 62.5 63.4

Consuming Percentage

60 48.3 50
50 43
33.3 37.5
40 27.9 24.7 25 25
30 18.2
20 12.5 12.5 12.5
10 2.5 7.5 3.2 2.2 3.2 2.2 1.1
0
3 time /week
3time/week
weekly

weekly
daily
3 time/week
weekly

3time/week
weekly

weekly

weekly
daily

daily
3tim/week

never
rare
never

rare
never

rare

rare

rare
never

Normal IDA Normal IDA Normal IDA

Black tea Fresh milk Coffee
Figure 8. Consumption of black tea, fresh milk and coffee

According to figure 8, black tea and fresh milk were significantly different among
normal and IDA group. The children who consumed more black tea and fresh milk

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

had IDA than normal people. It may because of high level of calcium in those food
which reduce the absorption of iron [14].

Conclusions
The food consumption including orange, Guava, Dates, Dark green leafy
vegetables, chicken, liver, fish, meat, egg, shrimp, chocolate, cheese, black tea
and fresh milk were significantly affected the Hb level. IDA could be prevented or
reduced by changing the food habits among the children.

References
[1] Achouri, Y. Aboussaleh, R. Sbaibi, A. Ahami, and M. El Hioui, “Prevalence of
iron deficiency anaemia among school children in Kenitra, Northwest of
Morocco,” Pakistan J. Biol. Sci., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 191–195, 2015, doi:
10.3923/pjbs.2015.191.195.
[2] S. Singh and S. Parihar, “Prevalence of anemia in under five-year-old children :
a hospital-based study,” Int. J. Contemp. Pediatr., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 842–847,
2019.
[3] B. Lozoff et al., “Preschool-aged children with iron deficiency anemia show
altered affect and behavior,” J. Nutr., vol. 137, no. 3, pp. 683–689, 2007, doi:
10.1093/jn/137.3.683.
[4] S. R. Pasricha and H. Drakesmith, “Iron Deficiency Anemia: Problems in
Diagnosis and Prevention at the Population Level,” Hematol. Oncol. Clin.
North Am., vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 309–325, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.hoc.2015.11.003.
[5] Who and M. Chan, “Haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of
anaemia and assessment of severity,” Geneva, Switz. World Heal. Organ., pp.
1–6, 2011, doi: 2011.
[6] L. Gedefaw, M. Tesfaye, T. Yemane, W. Adisu, and Y. Asres, “Anemia and iron
deficiency among school adolescents: burden, severity, and determinant
factors in southwest Ethiopia,” Adolesc. Health. Med. Ther., p. 189, 2015, doi:
10.2147/ahmt.s94865.
[7] G. M. Pita Rodríguez et al., “Anemia in children under five years old in eastern
cuba, 2005-2011,” MEDICC Rev., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 16–23, 2014, doi:
10.37757/mr2014.v16.n1.5.
[8] R. L. D. K. Malkanthi, K. D. R. R. Silva, and U. K. Jayasinghe-Mudalige, “Risk
Factors Associated with High Prevalence of Anemia among Children under 5
Years of Age in Paddy-Farming Households in Sri Lanka,” Food Nutr. Bull., vol.
31, no. 4, pp. 475–482, 2010, doi: 10.1177/156482651003100401.
[9] World Health Organization, Global Accelerated Action for the Health of
Adolescents (AA-HA!) Guidance to Support Country Implementation. 2017.
[10] El-mansoury, “Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among children under
the age of 5 years in paediatric hospitals-Benghazi , Libya,” J. Heal. Sci. Nurs.,
vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 1–13, 2020.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

[11] S. O. Serna-Saldivar and E. P. Carrillo, Food uses of whole corn and dry-milled
fractions, 3rd ed. Elsevier Inc., 2019.
[12] R. Kongkachuichai, P. Napatthalung, and R. Charoensiri, “Heme and nonheme
iron content of animal products commonly consumed in Thailand,” J. Food
Compos. Anal., vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 389–398, 2002, doi:
10.1006/jfca.2002.1080.
[13] V. Dueik, B. K. Chen, and L. L. Diosady, “Iron-polyphenol interaction reduces
iron bioavailability in fortified tea: Competing complexation to ensure iron
bioavailability,” J. Food Qual., pp. 1–7, 2017, doi: 10.1155/2017/1805047.
[14] S. R. Lynch, “The effect of calcium consumption on iron absorption,” Nutr.
Res. Rev., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 141–158, 2000, doi: 10.1046/j.1523-
5408.2002.05505.x.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

DEVELOPMENT OF AN EDIBLE COMPOSITE COATING USING

PLANT EXTRACTS TO PROLONG THE POSTHARVEST LIFE OF
TOMATOES

S.M.A.A Senevirathna1,3, K.G.L.R. Jayathunge*,1, W.L.I. Wijesekara2 and G.L.R

Prasanga1
1
Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of
Sri Jayewardenepura, Homagama, 10200, Sri Lanka, 2Department of Food Science and
Technology, Faculty of Applied sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura,
Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka, 3Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri
Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, 10250, Sri Lanka.
*Corresponding author (email:[email protected])

Introduction
Food industries have driven various approaches to reduce postharvest losses of
fruits and vegetables by applying diverse technologies. Since many postharvest
changes within the crops cannot be avoided, remedies such as natural coatings
are practiced to maintain the quality of fruits and vegetables by reducing the rate
of biological processes such as respiration, transpiration, and ethylene production
linked to ripening and senescence. Tomato (solanum lycopersicum L.) of
Solanaceae family is a climacteric fruit with a comparatively shorter postharvest
life; however, consumed with many meals around the world due to great deal of
composition rich with vitamins and beta-carotene. Although the tomatoes are
often harvested at the mature green stage, fruits ripen spontaneously throughout
the supply chain causing excessive postharvest loss along with the gradual
deterioration of final fruit quality. In tropical countries, temperature and humidity
are the main factors correlated with the postharvest deterioration of tomatoes.
Since cold storage is a bit expensive to practice in countries like Sri Lanka, the
edible coating is an affordable substitute to prolong the postharvest life of fresh
commodities, controlling the biochemical changes at different maturity stages.
The edible coating applied on the tomato epidermis creates a modified
atmosphere around the fruits and thereby controls moisture loss, gas
transmission, fluctuations of biochemical properties and other detrimental
effects on quality loss during storage.
Literature reported the incorporation of variety of plant extracts with many
health benefits in formulating the coating blends for application of different fruits
and vegetables. Dawulkurundu (Neolitsea cassia) is one of the underutilized plant
species available in Sri Lanka, which gives gum-like viscous leaf extract containing
polysaccharides that can be easily utilized in coating preparation. According to
the National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) of Sri Lanka, there are different
varieties of seaweeds found along the coastline areas, however, only very few are
utilized for economic purposes. Alginate is the principle biomacromolecule in the

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cell wall of brown seaweed and it has a linear molecular structure that can form
a strong polymer matrix and structures important in film forming [1]. In case of
Aloe vera, among all health benefits, antibacterial and antioxidant properties are
promisingly a value addition to a food coating
Hence, this study was conducted to develop natural edible coatings for fresh
tomatoes using selected underutilized plant leaves available in Sri Lanka to
substitute the expensive preservation techniques. Further, effectiveness of the
formulated natural coatings on postharvest life of tomato during storage under
ambient conditions was evaluated.

Materials and Methods

Preparation of the plants extracts
The main plant ingredients, Neolitsea cassia (Dawulkurundu) and Aloe vera leaves
were collected from available areas of Kurunegala district, while brown seaweed,
Sargassum crassifolium, was collected from the coastal area of Hikkaduwa.
Neolitsea cassia leaves were cut into small pieces, blended and squeezed through
a cotton cloth. Aloe vera gel was extracted after removing the spikes from leaves
and separating the inner leaf gel. The separated gel was crushed in a blender and
filtered to remove the fibrous fraction [2]. Alginate extraction from Sargassum
crassifolium was followed using the hot extraction method of Chee et al [3] with
slight modifications.

Preparation of the edible coating blends

Plants extracts (Dawulkurundu extract, Aloe vera gel and Alginate) were mixed
with the plasticizer glycerol in eight different combinations following the Taguchi
Orthogonal Array Design ratios (Table 1). These blends were heated to 50 C and 0

mixed well using an orbital shaker (Model VRN-480, Taiwan) for 1 hour until all
ingredients were well dissolved to prepare homogeneous coating blends. Then
the formulated coatings were stored under refrigerated conditions (4 C) until 0

further use.

Table 1. Ratio of coating formulations based on Taguchi Orthogonal Array Design

Alginate Dawulkurundu Aloe vera Glycerol
Coating 01 (C1) 1 1 1 1
Coating 02 (C2) 1 2 2 2
Coating 03 (C3) 1 2 1 2
Coating 04 (C4) 1 2 2 1
Coating 05 (C5) 2 1 1 2
Coating 06 (C6) 2 1 2 1
Coating 07 (C7) 2 2 1 1
Coating 08 (C8) 2 2 2 2

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

Determination of the moisture content and water solubility of coatings

The moisture content of the coatings was determined using the standard oven
drying method. The coatings were dried at 105 C for 24 hours until the dried films
0

reach equilibrium weight. Water solubility of the coatings was measured

according to the gravimetrical method [4], where dried coating samples were cut
into equal pieces and dried at 75 C until constant weight. Then the samples were
0

immersed in distilled water for 24 hours. The undissolved film was filtered and
recovered at 105 C for 24 hours to find the most water-resistant coatings.
0

Application of coatings on tomatoes

Disease free tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) of same variety in similar green
maturity stage and equal size (diameter around 3.5 cm), were selected for the
coating process. First, tomatoes were gently washed with tap water and air dried
to detach any impurities. Coating application was done using the dipping method,
where the tomatoes were directly immersed in the coating solution for 2 minutes
followed by air drying and then stored under room temperature (27 C) for 0

eighteen days period. Control of uncoated tomato samples too were stored under
same conditions. All treatments were conducted in five replicates.

Determination of the postharvest weight loss of tomatoes

Postharvest weight loss of tomatoes under each coating was determined by
monitoring the weight loss of coated tomatoes in 3 days intervals for eighteen
days of storage period, until the tomatoes were unfit for the human consumption.
The percentage weight loss was calculated as the difference between the initial
weight and final weight of the fruit and expressed based on the initial weight.

Assessment of the chemical properties

Based on the above results of pretesting, tomatoes coated with the best three
coatings (C6, C7 and C8) were tested for titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids
(TSS) and pH in three days intervals for eighteen days along with the control
treatment. Tomatoes were crushed in a blender and filtered to obtain a
homogeneous sample for analysis. The TSS were measured using a digital brix
meter (Model 38-A1, UK) and pH was measured using digital pH meter. The
titratable acidity was measured by titrating 10 ml of tomato extract with 0.1N
NaOH using phenolphthalein as the indicator.

Statistical analysis
All data were statistically assessed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21 software and the
significant difference among the treatments were analyzed by One-Way ANOVA
mean comparison, done for each coating with the control at a confidence level of
P < 0.05.

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Results and Discussion

Moisture content and water solubility of coatings
According to Table 2, the moisture contents of the coatings ranged from
71.01±2.1% to 86.69±1.83%, and there was a significant difference (P<0.05)
between the C3 and C4, the lowest and the highest moisture contents,
respectively. Moisture content of the coatings was directly proportional to the
Aloe vera content in the coating blends since the gel includes more water
compared to the other plant extracts used. The lowest water solubility reported
was 81.80±1.14%, from coating 7 with a high proportion of alginate and
dawulkurundu in the blend (33.33% each). Although there was no significant
difference (P>0.05) among the water solubility of the eight coatings, the
incorporation of more alginate (≥ 25%) and dawulkurundu (≥ 25%) reduced the
water solubility and improved overall coating properties. Alginate is a film-based
material with a good film-forming capacity. The physical properties of alginate are
decided by the presence of mannuronic acid and guluronic acid units, which
effects the gel strength and elasticity [5].

Table 2. Moisture content, water solubility of the coatings and postharvest weight loss of coated
tomatoes.
Coating Moisture Content Water solubility Postharvest weight loss
Number % % %
Coating 01 85.64±1.84 ab
86.39±1.8 c
28.75±1.67 d

Coating 02 75.07±1.19 ab
92.61±1.27 c
27.76±1.88 d

Coating 03 71.01±2.1 a
93.78±1.51 c
24.95±1.04 e

Coating 04 86.69±1.83 b
87.53±1.34 c
25.46±1.19 e

Coating 05 73.71±1.92 ab
87.29±1.04 c
24.81±0.53 e

Coating 06 85.11±1.31 ab
86.43±2.72 c
23.06±0.59 e

Coating 07 86.61±1.74 ab
81.80±1.14 c
23.68±1.77 e

Coating 08 83.53±1.33 ab
86.63±1.21 c
21.58±0.31 e

Control - - 35.95±0.52 d

a-e
Values represent mean scores with the same superscript letters within the same column are not significantly
different (P>0.05).

Postharvest weight loss of tomatoes

The weight loss increased in all coated and non-coated tomato samples during
storage as expected (Table 2). There was a significant difference between the
postharvest weight loss of coated tomatoes compared to the control. The lowest
postharvest weight loss (21.58±1.02%) was recorded for the coating 8, owing to
good barrier properties of coating made from the combination of Aloe vera.
Dawulkurundu, Alginate and Glycerol (2:2:2:2). Transpiration and respiration are
two main reasons for high moisture loss in fruits and vegetables resulting in high
postharvest mass loss. When tomatoes are treated with a thin layer of the edible
coating, it acts as a semi-permeable barrier between the treated samples and the

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surrounding environment, reducing the exposure to stress conditions and

delaying the migration of moisture, solutes and gaseous exchange to the external
atmosphere.

Table 3. Changes in chemical properties of tomatoes

Day 1 Day 18
pH
C 3.91±0.02 a
4.70±0.01 b

C6 3.91±0.02 a
4.57±0.02
c

C7 3.90±0.01 a
4.55±0.01
c

C8 3.89±0.01 a
4.50±0.01
c

Total Soluble Solids

C 4.27±0.06 d
5.80±0.00 e

C6 4.20±0.10 d
5.27±0.06
f

C7 4.23±0.06 d
5.03±0.05
g

C8 4.26±0.06 d
5.00±0.10
g

Titratable Acidity
C 0.612±0.00 h
0.439±0.00 i

C6 0.614±0.00 h
0.483±0.00 j

C7 0.613±0.00 h
0.491±0.00 jk

C8 0.613±0.00 h
0.495±0.00 k

a-k Values represent mean scores with the same superscript letters within the same column are not significantly
different (P>0.05).

pH
pH of both coated tomatoes (C6, C7, C8) and the control were almost equal in day
1 and found to increase during the storage period (Table 3). That is due to the
breakdown of acids with respiration during storage. Coated fruits reported only
small variations in pH than the control. The coatings reduce the respiration rate
and thereby control the breakdown of acids and minimize pH fluctuations.

Total Soluble Solids

Two treatments (C7 and C8) showed a significantly lesser increase of total soluble
solids of tomato while the control sample reported a rapid increase of TSS during
storage (Table 3). By controlling respiration, coatings slow the use and synthesis
of metabolites and also control ethylene production, suppressing the TSS
changes.

Titratable Acidity
This is a measurement of the content of citric acid present in tomatoes. The
titratable acidity of both coated and non-coated tomatoes decreased with
storage period (Table 3). A significant loss of acidity was reported in the control

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sample while the treated samples showed only a gradual decrease. Organic acids
like citric acids are predominant in respiration. Higher respiration rates in control
tomato samples during storage increase the utilization of organic acids,
eventually decreasing the titratable acidity. Coating decrease the respiration rate
which consequently controls the consumption of acids during storage.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Overall, the most effective coatings were formulated with a high proportion of
Alginate and Dawulkurundu, which created semi-permeable membranes
sustaining the quality attributes of tomatoes along with a significant impact on
reducing the postharvest quantity loss. All coated samples showed minimal
fluctuations of pH, TSS, TA and weight loss and the best coating combination is
Dawulkurundu: Alginate: Aloe vera: Glycerol, 2:2:2:2 (C8).

References
[1] M. Rinaudo. “Main properties and current applications of some
polysaccharides as biomaterials”. Polymer International, vol. 57(3), pp. 397-
430, 2008.
[2] D. Navarro, H. M. Díaz-Mula, F. Guillén, P. J. Zapata, S. Castillo, M. Serrano, D
Valero and D. Martínez-Romero. “Reduction of nectarine decay caused by
Rhizopus stolonifer, Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium digitatum with Aloe vera
gel alone or with the addition of thymol”. International Journal of Food
Microbiology, pp. 151, vol. 241–246, 2011.
[3] S. Y. Chee, P. K. Wong and C. L. Wong. “Extraction and characterization of
alginate from brown seaweeds (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) collected from port
Dickson, Peninsular Malaysia”. Journal of Applied Phycology, vol. 23(2), pp.
191-196, 2011.
[4] M.H. Lee, S. Y. Kim and H. J. Park. “Effect of the halloysite nano clay on the
physical, 659 mechanical, and antioxidant properties of chitosan films
incorporated with clove 660 essential oil”. Food Hydrocolloids, 2018.
[5] S. Kim, S. K. Baek and K. B. Song. “Physical and antioxidant properties of
alginate films prepare d from Sargassum fulvellum with black chokeberry
extract”. Food Packaging and Shelf Life, vol.18, pp. 157-163, 2018.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

POTENTIAL OF Nostoc sp. AS A BIOFERTILIZER ON GROWTH

AND YIELD OF PADDY - Oryza sativa
P. S. Ruwanpathirana1*, N. Gnanavelrajah1 and R.R Ratnayake2
1
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna Sri
Lanka, 2National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hantana Road, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
*Corresponding author (email:[email protected] )

Introduction
Fertilizers play a crucial role to enhance the crop growth as well as the crop
production. Until the recent past, most of the farmers have been solely
dependent on inorganic fertilizers. Over application of inorganic fertilizers leads
to several problems such as different environmental and health issues [1]. The
changing global and local socio-political conditions demand shift fertilizer usage
from sole inorganic to other alternative ways.
Biofertilizers are the ecofriendly novel tools in agriculture. Microalgae act as
nutrient-rich bio resources. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are
one of the most popular prokaryotic groups that can photosynthesize and fix
atmospheric nitrogen. Incorporating nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria which are rich
in macro and micro nutrients to the paddy fields would enhance the productivity,
thus it would provide sustainable and ecofriendly solutions to the prevailing
fertilizer related issues in paddy cultivation. However, cultivation of
cyanobacteria also requires medium which demands chemicals. There has been
research on cultivation of different cyanobacteria in a range of waste water [2].
In this background, this current study was conducted with the overall objective of
assessing the potential of cultivating Nostoc sp. in kitchen wastewater and use
the freshbiomass in combination with either Department of Agriculture (DOA)
recommended inorganic or organic fertilizer on the growth and yield of paddy.

Materials and Methods

Nostoc sp. already isolated from local environments was obtained from the
Microbiology and soil ecosystems research laboratory, at the National Institute of
Fundamental Studies, Hantana Road, Kandy.
Semi mass culturing
Nostoc sp. was cultured in 10 L aspirator bottles to obtain sufficient amount of
wet biomass in selective diluted kitchen wastewater up to four weeks. Waste
water (5 L) consisting of rice wash water and dhal wash water and tap water at
the ratio of 4:1:15 was used for cultivation. This ratio was selected from a
preliminary study with different ratios of waste water.
Pot experiment
A pot experiment was conducted to assess the potential of wastewater grown
Nostoc sp. as biofertilizer for paddy cultivation. The treatments are detailed in
Table 1. The experimental design was CRD with three replicates. Each pot was

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filled with two kg of soil, sampled from a paddy field, air dried and passed through
a 2 mm sieve. The soil was low humic gley associated with reddish brown
lattosolic group. For organic treatments, compost was applied to the soil at the
rate of 0.5 kg m while for inorganic treatments N, P, K fertilizers recommended
-2

by the DOA, Sri Lanka were applied as Urea ( 90 kg/ac) , TSP (22 kg/ac) and MOP
(24 kg/ac). Paddy variety Bg 251 was transplanted after 14 days of germination.
The pots were maintained at flooded condition. The available N as ammonium,
nitrate and P and K of the soil was 8.22 µg/g, 14.614 µg/g, 11.26 µg/g and 22.4
µg/g respectively.

Application of Nostoc sp. as a biofertilizer

Wet inoculum of the Nostoc sp. was measured and applied at the rate of
equivalent dry mass of 1 g kg on to the prepared pots according to the
-1

treatments mentioned in Table 1.

Application of Liquid fertilizer

The filtered biomass was sonicated, and from that twenty percent of the cell
extract of Nostoc sp. was used as the liquid fertilizer. The first spray was done at
14 days after transplanting. Twenty milliliters of liquid fertilizer were sprayed per
plant using a hand sprayer twice a week according to the treatments. Liquid
fertilizer was applied for leaves and stems upto four weeks.

Table 1: Treatment Structure

Treatment Combination

T1 Control ( Without any fertilizer)

T2 100 % IF
T3 100 % Compost
T4 50 % IF except N + 2 g Nostoc + 20 % Nostoc foliar application
T5 50 % Compost + 2 g Nostoc + 20 % Nostoc foliar application
IF – Inorganic Fertilizer

Plant height and number of leaves were measured at two weeks intervals. Fresh
and dry weight of shoot and the grain yield were also measured.
Data analyses were performed by using SAS statistical analytical system
(University version) with Duncan mean separation at P=0.05 significance level.

Results and Discussion

The effect of different treatments on plant height shown in figure 1(A). During the
6 week of transplanting, the highest plant height was recorded in T5. Further, it
th

was significantly different from T2, T3 and T4. The lowest plant height was
recorded in T1.

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Figure 1(B) shows the number of leaves per plant with different treatments.
During the 6 week significantly higher number of leaves was recorded in
th

T5. However, it was not significantly different from T2 and T4. At that time the
height of the T5 significantly different from T3. The lowest number of leaves was
recorded in T1 (control).
Figure 1(C) displaying the fresh weight of the paddy plants in different
treatments. The highest fresh weight was recorded in T5 (2 g Nostoc sp. + 50 %
compost + 20 % foliar spray), however, it was not significantly different from T2
(100 % inorganic). Further, according to the figure 1(D) significantly higher dry
weight of shoot was recorded in T5. It was found that the fresh weight of shoots
of T2, T4 and T5 were similar, however, the dry weight was significanty higher in
T5. It is interesting to note that in T4, the sole source of nitrogen is Nostoc sp.,
which was able to supply the nitrogen equally as inorganic fertilizer. Moreover,
the higher growth performace of T5 indicates, that the nutrients supplied by 50%
compost enhanced the growth, compared to T4, which is 50% inorganic except
nitrogen. Figure 1(E) exhibit the grain yeild of the paddy plants for different
treatments. Among all the treatments, grain yield was substantially highest for T5
(2 g Nostoc sp. + 50 % compost + 20 % foliar spray) and it was the lowest for T1
(control). T2 (100 % IF) and T4 (2 g Nostoc sp. + 50 % IF except N + 20 % foliar
spray) also recorded a significantly higher yield except T5. However, the grain
yield was not significantly different between T2 and T4.

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 A T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 B
Number of leaves/plant

100 70
ab aba
Plant height/ cm

a aba
80 bbb 60 bb b
a a c
bbb c 50 b bab c
60 abaa c 40 c
40 c 30
20
20
10
0 0
2nd 4th 6th 2nd 4th 6th
Week Week

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 C T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 D
20 4 a
a
Fresh weight g/plant

Dry weight g/plant

a b
15 ab 3 b
b b
c
10 2 c
5 1

0 0
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
Treatments Treatments

2 E
a
Grain yeild Kg m-2

1.5 b b
c T1
1 d T2
T3
0.5 T4
T5
0
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
Treatments

Figure 1. Average plant height (A), Number of leaves / plant (B), fresh weight of shoot (C), Dry
weight of shoot (D), Average grain yield of paddy plants grown with different fertilizer
treatments:T1-Control, T2-100 % Inorganic Fertilizer (IF), T3-100 % Compost, T4-50 % IF except N +
2 g Nostoc sp. + 20 % Nostoc sp. foliar application, T5-50 % Compost + 2 g Nostoc sp. + 20 % Nostoc
sp. foliar application. Error bars correspond to the standard error of the mean. Different letters
indicate significant differences (α<0.05) according to Duncan’s multiple range test.
A Previous study reported that incorporation of cyanobacteria species lead to
enhance the growth as a result of plant-cyanobacteria association in the
rhizosphere [3]. The cyanobacteria species secrete phytohormones which also
contribute to improve the crop growth and yield [4]. Another study suggested
that half a dose of recommended inorganic fertilizers with Nostoc commune was
a better option for farmers while considering the cost as well as the quality and
quantity of rice [5]. The current study found that combining compost with
cyanobacteria species enhances grain yield rather than the sole use of chemical
or organic fertilizers.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The results of this pot experiment reveal that the Nostoc species is a potential
source of nitrogen for paddy cultivation. Further, this cyanobacterium could yield

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an equivalent performance as that of DOA recommended inorganic fertilizer,

when applied in combination with 50% inorganic fertilizers excluding nitrogen.
The combination of compost and Nostoc sp. performed the best. Field
experiments are required to confirm the effect of Nostoc sp. under field
conditions. As collection of kitchen waste water of constant quality is difficult,
study the use of any other industrial wastewater to grow Nostoc sp. is
recommended in the future line of research.

References
[1] Kumar, R., Kumar, R., & Prakash, O. (2019). Chapter-5 the Impact of Chemical
Fertilizers on Our Environment and Ecosystem. Chief Ed, 35, 69.
[2] Doan, Y., Huan, N. Y., Nguyen, T., & Nguyen, N. (2014). Culturing Chlorella in
anaerobically digested piggery wastewater for biodiesel feedstock and
nutrient removal. Journal of Science & Technology, 99, 005-009.
[3] Prasanna, R., Jaiswal, P., Nayak, S., Sood, A., & Kaushik, B. D. (2009).
Cyanobacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of rice and its ecological
significance. Indian Journal of Microbiology, 49(1), 89-97.
[4] Hussain, A., & Hasnain, S. (2011). Phytostimulation and biofertilization in
wheat by cyanobacteria. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology,
38(1), 85-92.
[5] Chittapun, S., Limbipichai, S., Amnuaysin, N., Boonkerd, R., & Charoensook, M.
(2018). Effects of using cyanobacteria and fertilizer on growth and yield of rice,
Pathum Thani I: a pot experiment. Journal of Applied Phycology, 30(1), 79-85.

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 Proceedings of the 11th YSF Symposium - 2023

STUDY ON FAT CONTENT AND FATTY ACID PROFILE OF

SELECTED COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE JUNK FOODS IN THE
KILINOCHCHI DISTRICT
T. Tharsiga*1 and S. Vasantharuba1
1
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna
*Corresponding author (email: [email protected])

Introduction
Junk foods are foods that are easily accessible, usually inexpensive, and low in
nutritional content. These foods are higher in calories, salt, and saturated fat and
lower in vitamins, iron, calcium, and dietary fiber. Consumption of junk foods in
excess amounts leads to various health disorders [2]. A range of fast-food types
such as fried foods, carbonated beverages, sweets and chocolates are available
for sale in most Sri Lankan food outlets, yet, their nutritional data are scarce. Oil
is the major ingredient and the amount of oil that is absorbed by fried foods
depends on the type of oil used [4]. Both fried foods and frying oil have an impact
on one another and work together to increase the probability of complex
chemical events, primarily hydrolysis, oxidation and polymerization in the oil
during frying [3]. Trans fats are in a higher percentage in certain kinds of fried
foods. The relationship between the dietary consumption of trans fatty acids with
increased risk of coronary heart diseases, cancer, obesity and diabetes mellitus
has been reported [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises keeping
total TFA intake to less than 1% of total calories, or 2.2g per day with a diet of
2000 calories and limiting the consumption of SFAs to less than 15.6 to 22.2 g/day
[5].
The present study was designed to quantify the total and trans fatty acid content
and fatty acid groups, namely saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated
fatty acid content of junk food products that are heavily consumed by the people
in Kilinochchi. The results of this study will be useful to create awareness among
people regarding the nutritional quality of junk foods and useful for policy makers
in the health sectors.

Materials and Methods

A total of 35 samples were taken from 10 different shops in the Kilinochchi district
during March 2022. Roll (n=9), Vadai (n=8), Samosa (n=8), Curry rotti (n=8), and
Bonda (n=2) were collected and analyzed. Extraction of fat from samples were
carried out by solvent extraction method. Before the solvent extraction the
samples were subjected to some pretreatments such as pre-drying of sample and
particle size reduction. The samples were cut into small pieces and placed in a hot
air oven at 50 ± 5°C until they reached a consistent weight. Then, dried samples
were made into powder using a domestic blender. Fat was extracted from

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powdered samples by solvent extraction method (Goldfisch method) (VELP

Scientifica SER 148) using petroleum ether. The total fat percentage was
determined using the following equation.

(𝑊2 − 𝑊1) /𝑊3 𝑥 100

Where, W1 is Weight of the empty round bottom flask (g), W2 is Weight of the
round bottom flask with fat (g) and W3 is Weight of the sample (g).
The fatty acid profile was determined by the following method. Initially, Fatty Acid
Methyl Esters (FAMEs) were made by the AOAC 969.33 standard [1] and prepared
FAMEs were analyzed by using a gas chromatograph (Agilent Technologies 7890B)
which was equipped with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID) and a fused silica
capillary column. Identification of Fatty acids was done by comparing their
retention time with an appropriate FAMEs standard (Supelco 37 component
FAME mix and mixture of trans isomers of linoleic acid).
All experiments were carried out in duplicates. The data were presented as the
mean ± standard deviations of the mean using Microsoft Excel 2016. Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) was calculated using the Two factor Completely Randomized
Design using Statistical Analysis System (SAS), version 6.0.10. Duncan’s multiple
range test was used to compare the treatment means among products at p<0.05.

Results and discussion

Table 01: Mean value for the total fat content of selected junk foods
Sample No Roll Vadai Samosa Curry rotti Bonda
A 20.63 ±1.25 18.72 ± 1.20
b
3.19 ± 0.34
c
16.87 ± 0.88
d a
1.59 ± 0.59 a

B 5.40 ±0.24 20.41 ± 1.05

f
12.19 ± 1.63
cd
2.00 ± 0.11
c e
-
C 6.1 ± 0.22 ef
17.88 ± 0.68 15.77 ± 0.77
c
12.88 ± 0.98
b b -
D 8.17 ± 1.12 18.42 ± 0.46
e
11.20 ± 0.59
c
-c -
E 0.81 ± 0.24 24.24 ± 1.32
g b
- 10.10 ± 0.68 c -
F 16.22 ± 1.58 23.41 ± 1.01
c
19.95 ± 1.27
bd
9.58 ± 0.83
a cf -
G 12.10 ± 1.32 -d
11.97 ± 0.16 5.97 ± 0.62
c d
15.22 ± 0.79 b

H 23.67 ± 1.95 24.07 ± 2.51

a
10.54 ± 0.06
b
5.54 ± 1.05
c d -
I 15.43 ± 1.07 -c
- 8.13 ± 0.45 f -
J - 27.74 ± 1.70 17.18 ± 2.04
a
-b -
Mean + Std 12.06 ± 0.63 17.49 ± 0.77 12.75 ± 0.72 8.88 ± 0.31 8.40 ± 0.15
(Min – Max) (0.81 – 23.67) (17.88 – 23.41) (3.19 – 19.95) (2.00 – 16.87) (1.59 – 15.22)
Means in each column followed by different superscript letters (a - f) are significantly different (p<0.05).

Table 01 shows the mean values for the total fat content of selected junk foods.
It was revealed that vadai contained the highest quantity of fat (p<0.05) which is
equivalent to 17.49%. The lowest amount, 8.40% was noted in bonda. Samosa
contained 12.75% of the second-highest amount of fat, followed by roll (12.06%).
The second lowest value of fat was observed in curry rotti, which is equivalent to
8.88%. The total fat content in five different categories of junk food analyzed is in

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the order vadai>samosa>roll>curry rotti>bonda. The mean fat percentage of

selected junk foods in this study was compared with a previous study conducted
in the Colombo district. In comparison to Kilinochchi, the mean roll fat percentage
is slightly higher in the Colombo district (12.65>12.06). However, vadai had more
fat than the Colombo district (17.49>12.11). We found that the samosa in
Colombo City has low fat than the one in Kilinochchi (12.75>10.75). Curry rotti
made in the Kilinochchi district has more fat than curry rotti made in Colombo
city (8.88>5.65).

Table 02: The mean value of fatty acid composition of selected junk foods
Sample Roll Vadai Samosa Curry rotti Bonda
Caproic acid (C6:0) 0.05 ± 0.08 ± 0.06 ± 0.08 0.14 ± 0.11 ±
0.06 0.08 0.14 0.11
Caprylic acid (C8:0) 8.46 ± 8.63 ± 8.49 ± 3.08 8.21 ± 8.35 ±
0.45 1.34 0.92 1.37
Capric acid (C10:0) 6.20 ± 6.71 ± 5.87 ± 0.76 5.88 ± 5.70 ±
0.45 0.67 0.37 1.16
Undecanoic acid (C11:0) 0.21 ± 0.24 ± 0.28 ± 0.20 0.39 ± 0.21 ±
0.08 0.14 0.39 0.00
Lauric acid (C12:0) 46.71 ± 44.48 ± 45.21 ± 44.82 ± 45.37 ±
2.05 4.5 5.56 3.78 4.47
Myristic acid (C14:0) 19.62 ± 18.90 ± 19.02 ± 18.94 ± 19.05 ±
0.75 1.52 2.01 1.69 2.28
Palmitic acid (C16:0) 9.73 ± 9.93 ± 9.74 ± 0.96 10.72 ± 9.43 ±
2.08 1.73 0.99 0.44
Stearic acid (C18:0) 0.03 ± 0.15 ± 0.05 ± 0.13 0.16 ± 0.14 ±
0.00 0.21 0.44 0.19
Total SFA 91.01 ± 89.12 ± 88.72 ± 89.25 ± 88.36 ±
14.87 14.18 14.43 14.28 14.84
Cis-10 Pentadecanoic 0.01 ± 0.04 ± 0.03 ± 0.06 0.06 ± -
acid (C15:1) 0.36 0.08 0.10
Palmitoleic acid (C16:1) 0.19 ± 0.29 ± 0.29 ± 0.28 0.36 ± 0.22 ±
0.09 0.55 0.44 0.31
Cis-10 Heptadecenoic 0.15 ± 0.06 ± 0.08 ± 0.17 0.19 ± -
acid (C17:1) 0.19 0.08 0.17
Oleic acid (C18:1) - 2.13 ± 1.58 ± 2.42 - -
3.02
Total MUFA 0.35 ± 2.52 ± 1.98 ± 1.32 0.61 ± 0.22 ±
0.14 1.70 0.30 0.31
Linoleic acid (C18:2) 1.41 ± 1.41 ± 3.67 ± 7.46 0.97 ± 2.12 ±
2.06 2.34