Tramadol is effective in the treatment of moderate to severe pains. However, abuse of the drug can have negative impact on other organs and physiological processes. Hence, this study was aimed at determining the histopathological effect of tramadol treatments on the testes of male albino rats. Eighteen male rats were divided into three groups: control, T1 and T2 using completely randomized design (CRD) with six rats in each group. Rats in group A were the control group and were given just food and water and groups T1 and T2 were given tramadol treatments at 50 and 100 mg/kgBW respectively, daily. The treatments were administered via oral gavage daily for 65 days and at the end of the treatment the rats were sacrificed using chloroform anaesthesia. There was no significant difference in the weight of testes. Sperm count and weight of epididymes significantly reduced (p<0.05) in tramadol treated animals when compared with the control. Histological examination reveal that tramadol treated rats had lumen with fewer spermatids with slight necrosis, atrophy and inflammation in T1 treated rats while severe inflammation and haemorrhage around the Leydig cells were observed in T2 treated animals indicating a dose dependent testicular toxicity and degeneration when compared with the control group. The results obtained from this study indicate that tramadol treatments has deleterious effects on weight epididymes (from 0.425 g in the control group to 343 g for T1 and T2 animals, respectively), sperm count, and testicular integrity in male albino rat as mammalian models in a dose dependent manner.
Over the past few years, the utilization of various agricultural residual wastes for the production of bioactive metabolites of industrial significance has been increased under solid-state fermentation in converting waste to wealth. In this context, present investigation presents the biosynthesis of an anti-cholesterol drug, lovastatin from palm kernel cake (PKC), a by-product obtained during the palm oil processing as a potential substrate, using Aspergillus wentii NCIM 661 under solid state fermentation (SSF). All the crucial process parameters such as initial moisture content, pH, incubation temperature, fermentation time and the effect of additional nutritional sources were optimized using single-parameter optimization to enhance the lovastatin production. A yield of 2.71 mg of lovastatin per gram dry substrate was obtained with palm kernel cake under the optimized fermentation parameters respectively. This study successfully and productively utilized both the agro-waste and fungal strain for the biosynthesis of lovastatin at their best and demonstrated the feasibility of solid-state fermentation for the commercial production of metabolites with therapeutic significance. Findings from this study are very much promising for the economic utilization and value addition of these important agro residues, which are abundantly available in many developing countries like India.
Background: The use of synthetic organic colors has been acknowledged for many years as the most reliable and economical method of restoring some of the food’s original shade to the processed products. However, from the health safety point of view, they are not accepted by consumers because they produce skin allergies, less stable and also produce highly toxic wastes that pose a threat to the environment.
The Aim of the Study: The aim was to isolate and identify pigment-producing bacteria from soil and to study various growth parameters for their pigment production.
Materials and Methods: Soil samples were collected from different site within Sokoto State metropolis and were screened on nutrient agar for isolation of pigment-production bacteria. The isolated pigment-producing bacteria were subjected morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization. The phylogenetic analyses of bacterial isolates were carried out using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA 6 software). Ethanol, methanol and chloroform were used for pigments extraction and the extracted pigments were characterized using Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The effects of growth medium, pH, temperature, incubation time, shaking and static conditions on pigments production was determined. The stability of the pigments was tested toward pH and temperature.
Results: Three (3) isolates that showed purple, orange and blue-green pigment were selected for pigment productions. The isolates were identified as Chromobacterium violaceum,Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salinococcus roseus. The optimization studies revealed that the Chromobacterium violaceum produced highest purple pigment in nutrient broth at pH 8 for 96 hours of incubation at 35°C under shaking condition while Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced green pigment in nutrient broth at pH 7, 72 hours of incubation at 37°C under shaking condition and Salinococcus roseus produced highest orange pigment on nutrient broth at pH 7, after 96 hours of incubation at 40°C under shaking condition. The characteristics of the pigments corresponded to that violacein, pyocyanin and zeaxanthin based on their FTIR, UV-visible spectroscopy and TLC results. It was found that all the pigments showed good stability at the temperatures of 200°C and fairly stable at lower pH (2).
Conclusion: It therefore concluded that the soil could be the source for isolating pigment-producing bacteria that would offer various industrial applications such textile industries.
Background: Microbial biomass is a valuable resource to the development of sustainable energy. However, the challenge of having an effective media for energy production have adversely affected biotechnological development. This study was aimed at comparing algal biomass produced by Chlorella sp. using hot and cold water extracts of poultry droppings.
Methodology: Fifteen grams (15 g) of poultry droppings was infused into 500 mL (cold and hot water) and allowed to stand for 48 h prior. Algal growth was monitored by cell dry weight and optical density readings taken at 620 nm using a spectrophotometer.
Results: Physicochemical composition of the poultry droppings for cold water infusion revealed the following: pH, 6.7; conductivity, 3404.1 µs/cm; phosphate, 25.3 ppm; nitrate,1.88 ppm; phosphate, 25.3 ppm; Mg2+, 27.20 ppm; TOC, 38.03 ppm and COD, 53.8 ppm after 48 h. Whereas, the values obtained for hot extractions were: pH, 6.28; conductivity, 3.82 µs/cm; nitrate, 1.24 ppm; phosphate, 28.0 ppm; Mg2+, 19.85 ppm; TOC, 64.03 ppm and COD, 553.3 ppm. The proximate composition of extract revealed crude fibre, 17.69%, ash content, 24.16%; crude fibre, 22.7%; crude protein, 21.02%; crude fat, 3.19% and crude carbohydrate 23.02%. Microflora obtained from the biostability test revealed the presence of Proteus sp, Vibrio sp. and Salmonella sp. in cold extract while hot extract had Bacillus sp. and Serratia sp. The Chlorella sp. was identified using colonial and microscopic features. Biomass yield of 3.1 g/L and 2.8 g/l wet weight of Chlorella biomass was recorded for the cold and hot aqueous extracts of the poultry droppings respectively.
Conclusion: This study revealed that hot poultry droppings extract (PDE) could offer a better feedstock for biodiesel production.
