• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• 제30권2호
• /
• pp.31-39
• /
• 2015

Antheraea mylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is a commercial silk producing forest insect of India, but it has never been experimented in Uttarakhand state in spite of the huge availability of its forestry host plants. This is the first study on A. mylitta in Uttarakhand. The goal of this study is to introduce forest based commercial rearing of A. mylitta, in tropical forest areas of Uttarakhand to reduce poverty among forest dependent people. In current study, we assessed the effect of seven forest tree species, rearing seasons, and their interactions on cocoon productivity of Daba (bivoltine) ecorace of A. mylitta in the New Forest of FRI, Dehra Dun during 2012 and 2013 and collected the data that was analysed by two-way completely randomized block factorial design. Post HOC Tukey's HSD test was carried out to compare the homogeneous pairs of means. We also carried out Evaluation Index analysis to rank the tested forestry host plants for better growth and development of A. mylitta under the climatic condition of Uttarakhand. Analysis of variance indicated that cocoon yield of A. mylitta differed significantly between rearing seasons (DF=1, F=88.24, p<0.05) and host plants (DF 6, F= 368.63, p<0.05); however, their interactions were found insignificant (DF=6, F=0.99, p>0.05). In first rearing season of July-August, there was higher cocoon yield than the second season of September-November. Results indicated that Terminalia alata fed larvae showed significantly higher cocoon yield (164.11 cocoons/300 larvae); followed by, T. tomentosa (148.89 cocoons), T. arjuna (140.00 cocoons) and Lagerstroemia speciosa (129.47 cocoons) fed larvae. Whereas, Lagerstroemia tomentosa fed larvae that was used by the first time in India, showed lowest cocoon yield (48.81 cocoons), followed by T. chebula (72.53 cocoons) fed larvae. Cocoon yield of T. tomentosa and T. arjuna fed larvae of A. mylitta did not differ significantly with each other.

• KIEAE Journal
• /
• 제14권3호
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 2014

This study is performed to establish the basis of the development of unique tropical botanical garden that will be connected with the identity of the local inheritance resources, 'Silla'. The glasshouse is the traditional 'Silla; housing and the landscape facilities are tried to imagine 'Silla' kingdom. Combination of the plant exhibition and the cultural inheritance resources can create their own unique theme. The garden divided into five spaces by life cycles of plants and the purpose of appreciation, the palm garden, ornamental foliage garden, flower garden, water lily garden, and tropical fruits garden. The appropriate flowers and trees are selected by their flowering time and the purpose of enjoyment. Especially, Ficus religiosa is the symbol plant of buddhism which is the state religion of 'Silla'.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• 제41권1호
• /
• pp.104-109
• /
• 1998

31과 50종 인도산 식물체 84 시료와 12파 20종 아프리카산 식물체 27 시료의 메탄을 조추출물의 5종 장내세균(Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli)에 대한 생육억제활성을 in vitro 혐기조건하에서 여지확산법으로 검정한 결과 억제활성은 공시세균과 식물체의 종류 및 부위에 따라 달리 나타났다. 인도산 식물체 시료중, Cymbopogon citratus 전부위, Ocimum basilicum 전부위, Madhuca indica 꽃 및 Aegle marmelos 잎 추출물이 Cl. perfringens에 대하여 강한 생육저해활성을 나타낸 반면, O. basilicum 전부위 추출물은 E. coli에 대하여 중간정도의 생육저해활성을 보였다. 그러나, 이들 식물체들은 공시 유산균의 생육에는 영향을 미치지 않았다. 이러한 결과로 부터 이들 열대식물들의 약리학적인 작용을 일부 설명할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• 제1권2호
• /
• pp.313-316
• /
• 1997

Thomas'fruit-eating bat, Artibeus watssoni, is known to alter leaves of a wide variety of tropical plants to construct tent roosts. On Barro Colorado Island and Gigante Peninsula in the canal zone, Panama, A. watsoni is found to use the black palm, Astrocaryum standleyanum, as its tent plant. Bats cut the first five to ten pinnae from the proximal side of the terminal blade and chew additional four to nine pinnae without severing their central veins. The distance from the frond rachis to the cut decreases distally leaving an inverted V-shaped cut path. The distal portions of the bifurcated blade are then collapsed and folded to form the'bifid'tent with an inverted boat-shaped cavity underneath. All tents were in fronds of trunkless juvenile plants.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• 제6권4호
• /
• pp.221-227
• /
• 2004

Protocol was established for production of virus free healthy seeds using meristem ($0.3-0.5\;\cal{mm}$ in size) culture and field management under net house condition in tomato. The isolated meristem was found well established in MS liquid medium containing $0.1\;\cal{mg}\;1^{-1}\;of\;GA_3$. For shoot and root development either from primary meristem or from nodal segment of meristem derived plants, semisolid MS medium having $0.5\;\cal{mg}\;1^{-1}$ of IBA was found most effective. The elimination of the studied viruses (ToMV, CMV, ToLCV) in meristem-derived plants was confirmed by DAS-ELISA test. For field management of the virus eradicated meristem-derived plants, use of net house was found very effective measures to check viral vector visit and eventually infection. The meristem-derived plants were vigor and high yielder than the native seed derived plants and produced healthy seeds. Due to stop vector visit, no viral symptoms were observed in both $R_1\;and\;R_2$ plants cultivated in net house condition. Starting of viral infestation was observed in $R_2$ generation when they were planted in open house condition without control of vector visit. Therefore, for management of viral diseases, use of virus free meristem derived plantlets and their subsequent cultivation in soil under net house condition without using any vector killing insecticide can be recommended for producing healthy seeds in tomato. The developed protocol for environmentally healthy tomato seed production in Bangladesh may be used in the countries having similar tropical like environment conducive for viral vector visit.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• 제27권2호
• /
• pp.243-264
• /
• 2013

Antheraea mylitta Drury is a commercial silk producing forest insect in India and Xanthopimpla pedator Fabricius is its larval-pupal endoparasitoid, which causes pupal mortality that affects seed production. Effects of host plants, rearing season and their interactions on parasitic behaviour of X. pedator were studied here, as influence of these factors on biological success of X. pedator is not known. Seven forest tree species were tested as food plants for A. mylitta, and rate of pupal parasitization in both the rearing seasons were recorded and analysed. Results showed that rearing season and host plants significantly affected the rate of pupal parasitization in both the sexes. Pupal mortality was found significantly higher (14.52%) in second rearing season than the first (2.89%). Likewise, host plants and rearing seasons significantly affected length, diameter, and shell thickness of cocoons in both sexes. Out of all infested pupae, 85.59% were found male, which indicated that X. pedator chooses male spinning larva of A. mylitta for oviposition, but we could not answer satisfactorily the why and how aspect of this sex specific parasitic behaviour of X. pedator. Multiple regression analysis indicated that length and shell thickness of male cocoons are potential predictors for pupal parasitization rate of X. pedator. Based on highest cocoon productivity and lowest pupal mortality, Terminalia alata, T. tomentosa, and T. arjuna were found to be the most suitable host plants for forest based commercial rearing of A. mylitta in tropical forest areas of Uttarakhand state, where it has never been reared earlier. Sex and season specific interaction of X. pedator with its larval-pupal host, A. mylitta is a novel entomological study to find out explanations for some of the unresolved research questions on parasitic behaviour of X. predator that opens a new area for specialised study on male specific parasitization in Ichneumonidae.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• 제32권11호
• /
• pp.1686-1694
• /
• 2019

Objective: Lignin plays a relevant role in the inhibition of cell wall (CW) structural carbohydrate degradation. Thus, obtaining accurate estimates of the lignin content in tropical plants is important in order to properly characterize the mechanism of lignin action on CW degradation. Comparing conflicting results between the different methods available for commercial use will bring insight on the subject. This way, providing data to better understand the relationship between lignin concentration and implications with tropical forage degradation. Methods: Five grass species, Brachiaria brizantha cv $Marand{\acute{u}}$, Brachiaria brizantha cv $Xara{\acute{e}}s$(MG-5), Panicum maximum cv Mombaça, Pennisetum purpureum cv Cameroon, and Pennisetum purpureum cv Napier, were harvested at five maturity stages. Acid detergent lignin (ADL), Klason lignin (KL), acetyl bromide lignin (ABL), and permanganate lignin (PerL) were measured on all species. Lignin concentration was correlated with in vitro degradability. Results: Highly significant effects for maturity, lignin method and their interaction on lignin content were observed. The ADL, KL and ABL methods had similar negative correlations with degradability. The PerL method failed to reliably estimate the degradability of tropical grasses, possibly due to interference of other substances potentially soluble in the $KMnO_4$ solution. Conclusion: ADL and KL methods use strong acid ($H_2SO_4$) and require determination of ash and N content in the lignin residues, therefore, increasing time and cost of analysis. The ABL method has no need for such corrections and is a fast and a convenient method for determination of total lignin content in plants, thus, it may be a good option for routine laboratory analysis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제61권4호
• /
• pp.449-454
• /
• 2023

Free-living amoebae (FLA) rarely cause human infections but can invoke fatal infections in the central nervous system (CNS). No consensus treatment has been established for FLA infections of the CNS, emphasizing the urgent need to discover or develop safe and effective drugs. Flavonoids, natural compounds from plants and plant-derived products, are known to have antiprotozoan activities against several pathogenic protozoa parasites. The anti-FLA activity of flavonoids has also been proposed, while their antiamoebic activity for FLA needs to be emperically determined. We herein evaluated the antiamoebic activities of 18 flavonoids against Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba species which included A. castellanii and A. polyphaga. These flavonoids showed different profiles of antiamoebic activity against N. fowleri and Acanthamoeba species. Demethoxycurcumin, kaempferol, resveratrol, and silybin (A+B) showed in vitro antiamoebic activity against both N. fowleri and Acanthamoeba species. Apigenin, costunolide, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, rosmarinic acid, and (-)-trans-caryophyllene showed selective antiamoebic activity for Acanthamoeba species. Luteolin was more effective for N. fowleri. However, afzelin, berberine, (±)-catechin, chelerythrine, genistein, (+)-pinostrobin, and quercetin did not exhibit antiamoebic activity against the amoeba species. They neither showed selective antiamoebic activity with significant cytotoxicity to C6 glial cells. Our results provide a basis for the anti-FLA activity of flavonoids, which can be applied to develope alternative or supplemental therapeutic agents for FLA infections of the CNS.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• 제32권1호
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2016

Tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta is a commercial forest silkworm in India that produces tasar silk, but never experimented in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India. A. mylitta express divergent phenotypic characters under different ecological conditions; so, we studied the effect of seven forest tree species in two rearing seasons on variability in silk gland weight of Daba (bivoltine) ecorace of A. mylitta at Forest Research Institute in Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand during 2012 and 2013. We used two-way completely randomized block factorial design and Post HOC Tukey's HSD test to analyse the collected data and there after carried out multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that silk gland weight differed significantly between rearing seasons (DF=1, F=2333.98, p <0.05), host plants (DF 6, F= 1516.25, p <0.05) and their interactions (DF=6, F=7.10, p <0.05). Higher silk gland weight was found in second rearing season than the first on all the host tree species. Terminalia alata fed A. mylitta larvae showed the highest silk gland weight of 8.03 and 9.47 g in first and second rearing seasons, followed by T. tomentosa (7.19 & 9.01g), T. arjuna (6.8 & 8.08 g) and L. speciosa (6.57 & 7.83 g) fed larvae, respectively. Post HOC Tukey's HSD test indicated that silk gland weight of L. speciosa and T. arjuna fed larvae in both the rearing seasons did not differ significantly. E.I. analysis also confirmed that T. alata, T. tomentosa, T. arjuna and L. speciosa are better in their order of merit than T. bellirica , T. chebula and L. tomentosa. Multiple regression analysis indicates that larval weight gain is a strong predictor (β=1.002, t=346.777, p = <0.05) for the silk gland weight of A. mylitta ; however, larval duration had significant negative regression weight (β=-0.270, t=-8.436, p = <0.05) on mean weight of silk gland.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• 제3권3호
• /
• pp.157-162
• /
• 2003

Various extracts of higher plants have been used in traditional medicine systems for centuries. While tropical and sub-tropical plants have received considerable attention from the researchers for evaluation of their bioactivity, temeperate plants have always been neglected somewhat. Similarly, seeds of the plants have not been considered seriously compared to other plant parts, e.g. leaves, stems, roots, flowers, etc. as a potential source for biologically active compounds. As part of our on-going evaluation of the extracts of the seeds of temperate plants, especially from Scotland, for biological activity, Achillea millefolium, Angelica sylvestris and Phleum pratense have been chosen for the present study. Both A. millefolium and A. sylvestris are well known for their traditional medicinal uses in Europe and also in the orient, but there is no report on any medicinal properties of P. pratense available to date. Extracts of the seeds of these plants have been assessed for their antioxidant and antibacterial potential and also for general toxicity. Both DCM and MeOH extracts of A. millefolium showed the most significant broad spectrum antibacterial activity among the three plants and inhibited the growth of almost all test strains of bacteria. The DCM extracts of all three species were active against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Citrobacter freundii $(MIC=6.25{\times}10^{-1}\;mg/mL)$. While the MeOH extracts of A. millefolium and P. pratense were active against C. freundii, that of P. pratense was also active against MRSA. The MeOH extract of A. sylvestris did not show any antibacterial activity against any of the eight bacterial strains at test concentrations. The MeOH extract of P. pratense showed the most prominent antioxidant activity $(IC_{50}=145\;{\mu}g/ml)$ and there was no antioxidant activity observed with the DCM extract of A. millefolium. The DCM extract of P. pratense was the most toxic $(LC_{50}=20\;{\mu}g/ml)$ among the extracts.