The polysaccharides of mango seeds (mangifera indica,var. bullock's heart)

Mangoes (Mangifera indica) are grown in many warm regions of the world; for example, in Australia, Brazil, India, South America, and the United States (California and Florida), and along the shores of the Mediterranean sea (Egypt, Italy, and Spain). In Egypt, many varieties yielding delicious fruits are grown in large quantities (50,000 tons annually). Mango kernels are used for feeding mammals and chickens. Starch has been isolated from mango and its physical properties studied.The aim of the present work was to study the polysaccharides present in mango kernels.     

Acanthocephala from lake fishes in Wisconsin: ecology and host relationships of Pomphorhynchus bulbocolli (Pomphorhynchidae)

Pomphorhynchus bulbocolli Linkins in Van Cleave, 1919, was considerably more common in fishes of the river-connected Tichigan Lake than of the landlocked Silver Lake, southeastern Wisconsin. It is reported from 17 species of principal, accessory, and occasional definitive hosts (new record in Moxostoma carinatum) and from 13 species of paratenic hosts (new records in Amia calva, Ictalurus punctatus, Lepomis cyanellus, and Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Infection patterns were influenced by fish species, feeding behavior, temperature, availability of intermediate host, type of water body, fish movement, and changes in fish host community. Host roles are not fixed but are often interchangeable. A seasonal cycle in prevalence, intensity, and maturation was evident, with greatest abundance and maturation during summer and recruitment during summer and autumn. Recruitment of new infections, development, and release of eggs, however, occurred all year. Sex ratio changed from near equal in new infections to one more highly in favor of females in older adults. Female fish were considerably more frequently and heavily infected than males. No relationship with fish age (size) was evident. Worms were mostly attached in posterior intestinal locations but initial establishment sites correlated with temperature. Translocation of P. bulbocolli due to competitive exclusion in concurrent infections was not observed. The significance of extraintestinal larval forms in the cycle of transmission was noted.     

Anticancer potential of Ferula assa-foetida and its constituents,a powerful plant for cancer therapy

Cancer is one of the main challenges of the health system around the world. This disease is increasing in developing countries and imposes heavy costs on patients and governments. On the other hand, despite various drugs, the death rate among cancer patients is still high and the current treatments have many harmful effects. In the traditional medicine of different countries, there are many medicinal plants that can be effective in the treatment of cancer. Ferula plants are traditionally used as spices and food or for medicinal purposes. Ferula assa-foetida is one of the famous plants of this genus, which has been used for the treatment of various diseases since ancient times. Among the main compounds of this plant, we can mention monoterpenes, sulfide compounds and polyphenols, which can show different therapeutic effects. This article has been compiled with the aim of collecting evidence and articles related to the anti-cancer effects of extracts, derived compounds, essential oils and nanoparticles containing Ferula assa-foetida. This review article was prepared by searching the terms Ferula assa-foetida and cancer, and relevant information was collected through searching electronic databases such as ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Fortunately, the results of this review showed that relatively comprehensive studies have been conducted in this field and shown that Ferula assa-foetida can be very promising in the treatment of cancer.     

Effects of metabolic inhibitors on the alcoholic fermentation by several yeasts in batch or in immobilized cell systems

Summary In previous papers it was shown that the bacterium Zymomonas mobilis might be an interesting alternative for industrial alcohol production from sugar, compared to Saccharomyces bayanus. Factors that might increase the glucose to ethanol conversion efficiency and which are in favour of the bacterium, are the production of less biomass and less by-products such as glycerol, succinic acid, butanediol, acetoin, and acetic acid. In order to reduce the synthesis of biomass three metabolic inhibitors were now studied: dinitrophenol, azide and arsenate. Their effects on the alcoholic fermentation in batch and in immobilized cell system were investigated, using three yeasts: Saccharomyces bayanus, Schizosacharomyces pombe, and Saccharomyces diastaticus. It was found that dinitrophenol in 0.1 mM concentration was effective in increasing the conversion of glucose to ethanol especially with Saccharomyces bayanus while azide in 0.1 mM concentration was better with Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In immobilized systems high steady state ethanol production from 15% glucose media was obtained by inclusion into the media of dinitrophenol or azide. Arsenate had less effect at the concentration used. Arsenate had less effect at the concentrations used. As a result ethanol productivity in g·l^-1·h^-1 was increased from around 70 in the absence of inhibitor to around 74 in the presence of dinitrophenol with Saccharomyces bayanus. With Schizosaccharomyces pombe the productivity was increased from around 65 in the absence of inhibitor to around 74 in the presence of azide. The specific ethanol productivity expressed as g ethanol formed per hour and per g viable cells was increased from 0.87 to 1.37 for Schizosaccharomyces pombe and from 1.02 to 1.66 for Saccharomyces bayanus.     

Survival of Curvularia lunata var. aeria in soil

Spore suspensions from 7 day old cultures of Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Boedijn var. aeria (Batista, Lima and Vasconcelos) M.B. Ellis were added to soil samples originally devoid of Curvularia propagules. The test fungus disappeared after six weeks of inoculation irrespective of soil amendments, like the application of green manure, urea, superphosphate, or soil cropped to Sorghum (dura) or cotton seedlings.     

Intestinal helminths of some Nile fishes near Cairo, Egypt with redescriptions of Camallanus kirandensis Baylis 1928 (Nematoda) and Bothriocephalus aegyptiacus Rysavy and Moravec 1975 (Cestoda)

Of 10 species of Nile fishes collected during the summer of 1975 at Giza near Cairo, Egypt, 7 harbored 7 helminth species. Recovered material includes 3 species of nematodes: Camallanus kirandensis Baylis 1928 (new host and geographical record), Cucullanus barbi Baylis 1923, and Rhabdochona congolensis Campana-Rouget 1961 (new host record); three species of cestodes: Khawia sp. (new in Africa), Polyonchobothrium clarias (Woodland 1925) Meggitt 1930, and Bothriocephalus aegyptiacus Rysavy and Moravec 1975; and one acanthocephalan species, Acanthosentis tilapiae Baylis 1947 (new geographical record). Morphologic observations of each species are reported. C. kirandensis and B. aegyptiacus are redescribed.     

Isolation of portulaca oleracea (regla) mucilage and identification of its structure

Portulaca oleracea leaves were found to contain 0.42% of a mucilage mixture. The mucilage was fractionated into an acidic and a neutral fraction. The acidic fraction consists of galacturonic acid residues joined by α-(1→4)-linkages; 60% of these residues are present as the calcium salt, and esterified galacturonic acid residues are absent. The neutral fraction is composed of 41% of arabinose and 43% of galactose residues, besides traces of rhamnose residues.