Optimisation of conditions of synthesis of oxidised starch from corn and amaranth for use in film-forming applications

Gum arabic is used as an encapsulating agent because of its film-forming ability. However, India has to import gum arabic for its domestic requirement. Oxidised starch has been reported as a substitute for gum arabic but no data are reported on the exact conditions of oxidation of starch or the analytical indicators for determining the suitability of the product for such a purpose. This work reports on the effect of process conditions for oxidation of corn and waxy amaranth starch with film-forming ability as the major criterion. The process was followed using the analytical indicators of oxidation such as carboxyl content, chlorine consumption and ferricyanide number.     

Co-administration of APD668, a G protein-coupled receptor 119 agonist and linagliptin,a DPPIV inhibitor,prevents progression of steatohepatitis in mice fed on a high trans-fat diet

Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) is the more severe form of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and is characterized by the presence of hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, hepatocyte injury with or without fibrosis. Recently, GPR119 receptor has emerged as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In the present study, we investigated the effect of APD668, a GPR119 agonist alone or in combination with linagliptin, a DPPIV inhibitor on the progression of steatohepatitis in mice fed on a high trans-fat diet. In this study, monotherapy with either APD668 or linagliptin caused a reduction in the levels of ALT, AST, glucose, cholesterol and epididymal fat mass but the effect was more pronounced upon treatment with combination of both drugs.On the other hand, combined treatment of APD668 with linagliptin demonstrated a non-significant additive effect in reduction of hepatic triglyceride (?78%) and cholesterol (?56%) compared to monotherapy groups. Moreover, co-administration of APD668 and linagliptin resulted in enhanced levels of active GLP-1 with additional benefit of significant synergistic decrease in body weight gain (?19%) in mice. We speculated that the enhanced effect observed with the combination treatment could be due to either 1) direct activation of GPR119 receptors present in liver and intestine or 2) enhanced active GLP-1 levels or 3) decreased degradation of GLP-1 in-vivo through DPPIV inhibition. Therefore, these findings clearly suggest that GPR119 receptor agonists in combination with DPPIV inhibitors may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.     

First report of leaf spot disease caused by Phoma eupyrena Sacc. on Aloe vera from Madhya Pradesh,India

A leaf spot disease caused by Phoma eupyrena Sacc. on Aloe vera was reported from Madhya Pradesh, India. Disease symptoms were observed as irregular to elongated, sunken lesion on both leaf surfaces which later turns creamish brown with maroon margin. The fungal colonies were whitish or light pale to dark grey colour. The pycnidia were glabrous and solitary, papillate, and indistinctly uniostiolate averages 100–260 μm in diameter. Conidia were ellipsoidal, 4.5–7.5 × 2.5–3.75 μm in size, with two large guttules. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. eupyrena causing leaf spot disease on A. vera in India.     

Isolation,purification and characterization of a pH tolerant and temperature stable proteinaceous protease inhibitor from marine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas mendocina</Emphasis>

Objectives

An extracellular protease inhibitor (BTPI-301) of trypsin was purified and characterized from an isolate of Pseudomonas mendocina.

Results

BTPI-301was purified to homogeneity by (NH₄)₂SO₄, precipitation, DEAE Sepharose and CNBr-activated Sepharose chromatography. Homogeneity was proved by native PAGE and SDS-PAGE. The intact molecular mass was 11567 Da by MALDI-TOF analysis. BTPI-301was a competitive inhibitor with a Ki of 3.5 × 10^?10 M. It was stable and active at pH 4–12 and also at 4–90 °C for 1 h. Peptide mass fingerprinting by MALDI revealed that the BTPI-301 is a new inhibitor not reported so far with protease inhibitory activity. The pI of the inhibitor was 3.8. The stoichiometry of trypsin-BTPI-301 interaction is 1:1. The inhibitor was specific towards trypsin.

Conclusion

A pH tolerant and thermostable protease inhibitor BTPI-301 active against trypsin was purified and characterized from P. mendocina that could be developed and used as biopreservative as well as biocontrol agent.

     

Nutritional control via Tor signaling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae senses and responds to nutrients by adapting its growth rate and undergoing morphogenic transitions to ensure survival. The Tor pathway is a major integrator of nutrient-derived signals that in coordination with other signaling pathways orchestrates cell growth. Recent advances have identified novel Tor kinase substrates and established the protein trafficking membranous network and the nucleus as platforms for Tor signaling. These and other recent findings delineate distinct signaling branches emanating from membrane-associated Tor complexes to control cell growth.     

The influence of substituents (R) at N atom of thiophene-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazones {(C4H3S)HCN-N(H)-C(S)NHR} on bonding, nuclearity and H-bonded networks of copper(I) complexes

The nuclearity, bonding and H-bonded networks of copper(I) halide complexes with thiophene-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazones {(C₄H₃S)HC²N³-N(H)-C¹(S)N¹HR} are influenced by R substituents at N¹ atom. Thiophene-2-carbaldehyde-N¹-methyl thiosemicarbazone (HttscMe) or thiophene-2-carbaldehyde-N¹-ethyl thiosemicarbazone (HttscEt) have yielded halogen-bridged dinuclear complexes, [Cu₂(μ-X)₂(η¹-S-Htsc)₂(Ph₃P)₂] (Htsc, X: HttscMe, I, 1; Br, 2; Cl, 3; HttscEt, I, 4; Br, 5; Cl, 6), while thiophene-2-carbaldehyde-N¹-phenyl thiosemicarbazone (HttscPh) has yielded mononuclear complexes, [CuX(η¹-S-HttscPh)₂] (X, I, 7a; Br 8; Cl, 9) and a sulfur bridged dinuclear complex, [Cu₂(μ-S-HttscPh)₂(η¹-S-HttscPh)₂I₂] 7b co-existing with 7a in the same unit cell. These results are in contrast to S-bridged dimers [Cu₂(μ-S-Httsc)₂(η¹-Br)₂(Ph₃P)₂] · 2H₂O and [Cu₂(μ-S-Httsc)₂(η¹-Cl)₂(Ph₃P)₂] · 2CH₃CN obtained for R = H and X = Cl, Br (Httsc = thiophene-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone) as reported earlier. The intermolecular CH_Ph?π interaction in 1-3 (2.797 Å, 1; 3.264 Å, 2; 3.257 Å, 3) have formed linear polymers, whereas the CH_Ph?X and N³?HCH interactions in 4-6 (2.791, 2.69 Å, 5; 2.776, 2.745 Å, 6, respectively) have led to the formation of H-bonded 2D polymer. The PhN¹H?π, interactions (2.547 Å, 8, 2.599 Å, 9) have formed H-bonded dimers only. The Cu?Cu separations are 3.221-3.404 Å (1-6).     

Antibiotic resistance and plasmid profiling of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from shrimp farms along the southwest coast of India

Shrimp, water, and sediment samples were collected from various shrimp farms located in and around Cochin. V. parahaemolyticus was identified by standard biochemical tests and plasmid profiling was carried out for the isolates. Susceptibility was tested against 15 antibiotics before and after the plasmid curing. Incidence of V. parahaemolyticus was found in 46% of the samples screened. Antibiogram studies showed, above 50% of the strains sensitive to chlorotetracycline, chloramphenicol and nitrofurantoin. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index was found to be 0.2. Total presumptive Vibrio parahaemolyticus count (TPVPC) and resistance to antibiotics was found to be more in sediment samples particularly in pre-monsoon season. Plasmid profiles of V. parahaemolyticus isolates revealed seven plasmids in the size range of 0.75, 1.2, 6.0, and 8.0 kb sizes and 3 plasmids above 10.0 kb. The MAR index suggests the low risk potential involved in consuming seafoods. Resistance to antibiotics did not vary even after curing of plasmids with sodium dodecyl sulphate suggesting that resistance to antibiotics in V. parahaemolyticus is chromosomal borne.     

Evaluation of RAPD-PCR and protein profile analysis to differentiate <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vibrio harveyi</Emphasis> strains prevalent along the southwest coast of India

Sixty five isolates of Vibrio harveyi were subjected to random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR analysis and protein profiling to investigate the genetic variability among V. harveyi prevalent along the coast and also assess the discriminating ability of these two molecular methods. A total of 10 RAPD primers were assayed for their specificity in detecting V. harveyi, of which only two primers: PM3 and CRA25 were highly reproducible and found suitable for use in RAPD-PCR. The genetic diversity among V. harveyi isolates assessed by RAPD-PCR using PM3 primer yielded 35 different RAPD patterns which clustered the isolates into 15 groups at 72% similarity level. Similarly, RAPD-PCR with CRA25 clustered the 38 patterns into 10 groups at 74% similarity. The discriminatory index (D) value calculated for RAPD fingerprints generated with PM3 and CRA25 were 0.90 and 0.85, respectively. On the other hand, molecular typing of V. harveyi using whole cell proteins generated profiles that showed no major difference indicating the technique to be not useful in typing strains of this bacterium. However, a few of the isolates showed the presence of unique band of 28 kDa that needs to be further investigated to understand the role of the protein in disease process if any.