Asian Journal of Biochemistry最新文献

{"title":"Comparative Assessment of some Mineral, Amino Acid and Vitamin Compositions of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Rind and Seed","authors":"Anthony Cemaluk C. Egbuonu","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.230.236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.230.236","url":null,"abstract":"The mineral, amino acid and vitamin compositions of the rind and seed flours of Charleston gray variety of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) were investigated, using standard methods. The mineral (mg/100 g) in the rind and seed, respectively viz: calcium (28±0.01, 54±0.02), phosphorous (129.7±0.01, 614.3±0.02), sodium (11.4±0.04, 87.0±0.06), potassium (21.7±0.00, 524.0±0.04), magnesium (30.4±0.01, 509.1±0.03), manganese (1.30±0.01, 6.40±0.04), iron (4.63±0.00, 7.08±0.01), copper (0.4±0.01, 0.7±0.00) and zinc (1.25±0.01, 10.13±0.02) was, aside that of copper (±0.3), significantly (p<0.05) higher in the seed. The value of the amino acids (g/100 g) in the seed sample viz: glutamate (11.43±0.01) followed by arginine (6.12±0.06), isoleucine (4.27±0.10), aspartate (2.81±0.01), glycine (2.47±0.03), leucine (2.09±0.01), valine (1.71±0.03), alanine (1.43±0.04), lysine (1.01±0.04), histidine (0.80±0.00), tryptophan (0.40±0.00) and cystine (0.39±0.02) was higher (p<0.05) than the corresponding value (0.00±0.00) in the rind sample. The vitamin composition in mg/100 g for the rind and seed, respectively for retinol (vitamin A) (50.15±1.41, 70.10±1.04), niacin (vitamin B3) (0.04±0.1, 3.32±0.00), ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (7.23±0.02, 6.8±0.03), thiamine (vitamin B1) (0.03±0.01, 0.20±0.00), riboflavin (vitamin B2) (0.02±0.1, 0.15±0.04) and pyridoxine (vitamin B6) (0.04±0.00, 0.09±0.01) was higher (p<0.05) in the seed flour for retinol and niacin. The preponderance of these nutrients in the, especially seed, samples, may be of nutritional and physiological importance warranting further studies to increase the dietary use of these food wastes and reduce the attendant burden in the environment.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"84 1","pages":"230-236"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83899408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alkaline and Acid Catalyzed Transesterification Bioprocess in Biodiesel Preparation from Fresh Water Algae","authors":"A. Hossain","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.205.213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.205.213","url":null,"abstract":"The study was carried out to investigate the biodiesel yield and quality with different alkaline and acid catalysts from algae. Algal species, Spirogyra was used to produce biodiesel applying the alkaline and acid transesterification process. A single homogenous catalyst (KOH) and heterogenous mixture of catalysts (KOH+NaOH+H2SO4) were treated to obtain a high quality biodiesel fuel that complied with the specifications of the American Standard Testing and Material, ASTM D 6751 and European Norm, EN 14214 standards. The biodiesel yield and the physical and chemical properties of produced biodiesel were evaluated. The highest biodiesel yield of 96.9% was achieved dealing 1:3 volumetric oil-to-methanol proportions by 1.5% mixture of catalysts (NaOH+KOH+H2SO4) at 40°C reaction temperature and a stirring speed of 320 rpm. Biodiesel formation yielded a lower at the rate of 94.9% biodiesel in a single catalyst than in the mixture of catalysts (96.9%). There was no significant difference in the viscosity of the biodiesel produced between the single and mixture of catalysts. However, the total acid number and metal (Na, Ca, Mg, Cu) content differed significantly between the homogenous and heterogenous catalysts of produced biodiesel. There was more methyl ester (biodiesel yield) of biodiesel produced in the mixture of catalysts compared to the biodiesel formed applying a single catalyst. The results showed that biodiesel obtained from Spirogyra sp., under optimum conditions through alkaline and acid bioprocess transesterification was of good quality that could be practiced as a source of diesel fuel.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"28 1","pages":"205-213"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88179919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Production of Xylanase from Various Lignocellulosic Waste Materials by Streptomyces sp. and its Potential Role in Deinking of Newsprint","authors":"V. N. Kalpana, V. Rajeswari","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.222.229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.222.229","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"31 1","pages":"222-229"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86679064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variation of Amino Acids in the Muscle of Crab Portunus sanguinolentus During Storage","authors":"E. pri, K. Jeyalakshm, S. Ravichandr, M. Chandran","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.237.241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.237.241","url":null,"abstract":"Amino acids are at the basis of all life processes, as they are absolutely essential for every metabolic process. In the present study variation of amino acids in the muscle of the crab Portunus sanguinolentus during frozen storage was analyzed. In the freshly caught crabs the levels of Glycine and Arginine were the highest, followed by glutamine (Gln) Ala and proline (Pro) together they accounted for 83% of the total amount of FAA. Taurine (Tau) and Glu were also in fairly large amounts. High levels of Gly, Arg, Pro, Tau and Ala are generally present in the muscle of crabs. The P. sanguinolentus muscle was also rich in Gln but low in Tau. The total amount of FAA altered slight throughout storage, but increased by 24-38% prior to the preliminary decomposition stage. The overall quantity of Arg, Gly, Ala and Glu before storage averaged 1272 mg/100 g. the total amount of these four taste-active amino acids increased by12-48% within 4 days of storage at 4°C, but hardly reduced after storage. Significant differences, except glutamic acid and tyrosine, were observed among the amino acid values changed during storage at 4°C. Major FAA such as Gly, Ala, Pro, Gln, Arg and Tau also increased, whereas, their levels usually exhibited small changes or even a decrease except that the Arg and Tau contents increased to some extent. The Glu content fluctuated during the early storage periods but its level reduced after 1 day of storage.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"36 1","pages":"237-241"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80008238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Purification, Biochemical Characterization of a Macrotermes gilvus Cellulase and Zymogram Analysis","authors":"Chamaiporn Champasri, T. Champasri, Khanutsanan Woranam","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.190.204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.190.204","url":null,"abstract":"Cellulase plays an important role in cellulose degradation. The enzyme catalyzes the cleavage of b-1,4 glycosidic bond between glucose residues. The Macrotermes gilvus cellulase was purified by using ammonium sulfate precipitation and anion exchange column with 1.38% recovery and 22-fold purification. The SDS-PAGE coupled with zymogram analysis revealed the molecular weights approximately of 54 kDa. The biochemical properties of the enzyme exhibited the optimum temperature and optimum pH of 45°C and 5.2. Interestingly, the enzyme was active over a wide range of temperatures (7-70°C) and a broad range of pH values (4.5-8). At the indicated temperatures and pH values, the enzyme exhibited more than 84 and 50% of its activity. The thermal stability and pH stability of the enzyme were also investigated. The result showed that the enzyme retained nearly 40% of its original activity after incubation in mild acidic (pH 5.2), neutral (pH 7.0) and basic (pH 10.0) conditions for 5 h. The enzyme retained its activity more than 70% of initial activity at both 37 and 45°C after incubation for 3 h. Moreover, the activity of the enzyme was strongly inhibited by Cu and slightly affected by Fe and EDTA, whereas the presence of Ca and Mg slightly increased the enzyme activity. Due to the wide temperature and pH range of enzyme activity, the Macrotermes gilvus cellulase might be potential enzyme for industrial or agricultural application.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"45 1","pages":"190-204"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81465402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Isolation and Characterization of Strontium Resistant Mutant of Neurospora crassa","authors":"M. Anupama, K. Kumar, J. Latha","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.156.164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.156.164","url":null,"abstract":"Strontium is a trace element that has no known essential biological role. The divalent cation, Sr2+, displays physicochemical properties similar to those of the abundant and biologically essential cations Ca2+ and Mg2+. Abundant release of strontium is known to be the effect of radionuclide explosions. As there is no special strain for the removal of strontium from the effected environments, a strontium-resistant strain of Neurospora crassa (SRR) was obtained by repeated subculturing of the wild type on strontium containing agar medium. Neurospora crassa SRR was obtained by repeated subculturing, then the stability of the mutant was compared with wild type in terms of uptake, cellular partitioning and cross-resistant to other metals. Neurospora crassa SRR is twelve fold more resistant to strontium ions compared with the wild type. Resistance was stable on repeated subculturing of SRR on strontium-free media. Neurospora crassa SRR is also cross-resistant to calcium (fourfold). Higher concentrations of calcium ions are required to reverse growth inhibition due to strontium toxicity in Neurospora crassa SRR, compared with the wild type. The mechanism of strontium uptake is shown to be primarily due to binding of strontium to mycelia and cell walls. Efflux of mycelial strontium was also observed in wild type and strontium-resistant Neurospora crassa. The characteristics of SRR in comparison with wild type Neurospora crassa are discussed in relation to the mechanisms of strontium resistance.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"30 1","pages":"156-164"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75506486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"FTIR Spectroscopy in Combination with Chemometrics for Analysis of Wild Boar Meat in Meatball Formulation","authors":"A. Guntarti, S. Martono, A. Yuswanto, A. Rohman","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.165.172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.165.172","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"109 1","pages":"165-172"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80687718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Separately Administered Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors (Sildenafil and Tadalafil) and Opioid (Tramadol), Reversibly Alter Serum Lipid Profile in Male Albino Wistar Rats","authors":"V. U. Nna, U. Akpan, E. Osim","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.132.144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.132.144","url":null,"abstract":"Several undesired effects following chronic use of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (particularly, sildenafil and tadalafil) and opioid (tramadol) have been reported. This study assessed the effect of chronic administration of sildenafil, tadalafil, tramadol and sildenafil+tramadol (as used in Nigeria today), on serum lipid profile (cardiovascular risk assessment), since alterations may not be easily discernable by their users. Fifty male albino wistar rats weighing 180-200 g were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 10), thus; control (0.2 mL normal saline), sildenafil treated (10 mg kgG1), tadalafil treated (10 mg kgG1), tramadol treated (20 mg kgG1) and sildenafil+tramadol treated (10 and 20 mg kgG1, respectively) group. The drugs were administered every two days, per oral route, for eight weeks. All animals had access to food and water ad libitum. At the end of eight weeks, 5 animals were sacrificed from each group, leaving the remaining 5 per group for another 8 weeks without treatment (recovery phase). Blood was collected from each animal via cardiac puncture and serum lipid profile assessed. Serum total cholesterol was significantly (p<0.001) increased in tadalafil treated group, but significantly (p<0.001) reduced in tramadol and sildenafil+tramadol treated groups, compared with control. Serum LDL-c concentration was significantly increased in sildenafil (p<0.01) and tadalafil (p<0.001) treated groups, but significantly reduced in tramadol and sildenafil+tramadol treated groups, compared with control. Cardiac Risk Ratio (CRR) was significantly reduced in tramadol (p<0.001) and sildenafil+tramadol (p<0.01) treated groups, compared with sildenafil and tadalafil treated groups. The same trend was observed for atherogenic coefficient. Atherogenic index of plasma was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in sildenafil+tramadol treated group, compared with control and tadalafil treated groups. Following withdrawal of treatment, serum total cholesterol and LDL-c reduced significantly (p<0.001) in tadalafil recovery group, compared with its treated group, while serum lipid profile did not differ significantly between the treated and recovery group of rats administered sildenafil, tramadol and sildenafil+tramadol. Sildenafil and tadalafil exhibited hyperlipidaemic effects, while tramadol and sildenafil+tramadol exhibited hypolipidaemic effects, with poor reversibility.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"43 1","pages":"132-144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75440825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phytochemicals and Acute Toxicity Profile of Aqueous and Methanolic Extracts of Crateva adansonii Leaves in Swiss Albino Rats","authors":"Tsado N. Amos, L. Bashir, S. E. Saba, Mohammed Saba, Balarabe M. Mohammed, Ibrahim H. Abdulsalam, George J. Josiah","doi":"10.3923/ajb.2015.173.179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/ajb.2015.173.179","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"18 1","pages":"173-179"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73322299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of Ethanol and Aqueous Leaves Extract of Trema guineensis","authors":"K. François, Y. Félix, Gnahoué Gouéh, B. Alexis, J. D. Allico","doi":"10.3923/AJB.2015.145.155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3923/AJB.2015.145.155","url":null,"abstract":"Trema guineensis is a plant of Cote d’Ivoire which is widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of diseases such as malaria, anemia. We have tested the anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of carrageenan induced paw edema, erythrocyte sedimentation test, concentration of Reactive protein-C), the in vitro antioxidant (DPPH radical essay and lipid peroxidation) and the in vivo antioxidant activities (FRAP, TBARS essay) of its ethanolic leaves extract as well as its aqueous leaves extract. The maximum inhibition (33.58%) was obtained with the ethanolic extract with the dose of 200 mg kgG1 b.wt. after 5 h of drug treatment in carrageenan induced paw edema, whereas diclofenac (used as the standard) produced 27.97% of inhibition. Reactive Protein-C (CRP) concentration indicated that the ethanolic extract (0.29±0.02 mg LG1) had more impact on the edema. This tendency was still observed with the erythrocyte sedimentation test. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate IC50 value. The results showed that, the ethanolic extract exhibited significant DPPH with IC50 value of 20.23±0.4 μmol mLG1 while, the aqueous extract inhibited with IC50 value of 12.3±0.09 μmol mLG1 in comparison to the control (vitamin C). Lipid peroxidation induced by the Fe2+, was inhibited more by the ethanolic extract. The in vivo study in rats with the extracts showed a significant antioxidant activity using the FRAP and TBARS methods. The ethanolic extract values (11.77±0.33% and 730±5.00 μmol of iron II/L) were the best compared to the vitamin C (reference molecule). These observations helped us to conclude that the ethanolic and aqueous extracts are endowed with interesting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities; in addition, the ethanolic extract (200 kg mgG1 b.wt.) was most active. The phenols, the flavonoids and the flavonols may play an important role in these activities.","PeriodicalId":8510,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Biochemistry","volume":"23 1","pages":"145-155"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84829567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}