Scientifica

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder which has greatly led to an increase in morbidity and mortality globally. Although Xerophyta spekei is widely used for the management of diabetes among the Embu and Mbeere communities in Kenya, it has never been empirically evaluated for its hypoglycemic activity. This study was carried out to verify the hypoglycemic activity of dichloromethane (DCM) extract of Xerophyta spekei as well as its antioxidant activity using various in vitro techniques. Phytochemicals associated with its antioxidant activity were identified through GC-MS...

The European hake, Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758), is one of the most important resources for Mediterranean fisheries. Due to its pivotal role in energy transfer from lower to higher trophic levels, this species is a crucial component of the ecosystem's functioning. The ecological role of Merluccius merluccius , off the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea (southern Alboran Sea), was investigated, exploring seasonal and ontogenetic shifts, geographical variations in prey composition, and feeding strategy. Between November 2020 and July 2022, a total of 402 hake specimens were collected by oceanographic bottom trawl surveys (MEDITS) that were carried out during warm and cold seasons to assess their diet and feeding habits...

A molecule's antibacterial and antiviral action is exclusively linked to substances that selectively eradicate bacteria and viruses or inhibit their growth without significantly damaging adjacent tissues. The purpose of this research is to evaluate quantitative and qualitative phytochemical analysis and the antibacterial effects of Manilkara zapota fruit extract on some Gram-positive ( Staphylococcus aureus , Enterococcus faecalis , Micrococcus luteus , Bacillus cereus , and Listeria monocytogenes ) and Gram-negative ( Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Klebsiella pneumoniae ) bacteria in laboratory conditions...

B. aegyptiaca and B. rotundifolia are known to be multipurpose trees with various uses and values. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the seed germination behaviours of B. aegyptiaca and B. rotundifolia under different presowing treatments. Hence, seeds were collected from the Central and Southern Ethiopian Rift Valley regions. Then, a total of 864 fruits (seeds) subjected to eight different presowing treatments and planted in pots arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) were tested for each species...

The cytotoxic properties of two extracts from Chenopodium quinoa Willd. and three synthetic sapogenins were evaluated in different cancer cell lines (A549, SH-SY5Y, HepG2, and HeLa) to investigate their cytotoxic effects and determine if these cell lines activate the caspase pathway for apoptosis in response to saponin and sapogenin treatment. The saponin extracts were isolated from the agro-industrial waste of Chenopodium quinoa Willd., while the sapogenins were identified and quantitatively determined by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)...

Private forests offer diverse ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation, which are crucial for Nepal. However, there is a notable absence of comprehensive research on these services. Assessing carbon sequestration in private forests can have economic advantages for forest owners by promoting resource conservation and contributing to greenhouse gas reduction. This study aims to estimate and compare carbon stocks in private forests located in two distinct physiographic regions of Nepal while also identifying the factors influencing these carbon stocks...

BACKGROUND: Aquatic organisms demonstrate a high vulnerability to mortality when exposed to Pb, even at low concentrations. The objective of this investigation is to ascertain the histopathological alterations and cortisol concentrations in diverse tissues of Gambusia affinis , with a specific focus on the eggs and larvae, following exposure to varying concentrations of PbCl2 . METHODS: Adult specimens of G. affinis measuring 5-6 cm in length were obtained from a commercial fish breeding facility...

This study assesses the relationship between arthropod and vegetation diversity in four ecosystems with different types of vegetation, during a post-monsoonal season. We determined the arthropod diversity in vegetation surrounding an aquatic environment (AQ), a broad-leaved wet, evergreen forest ecosystem (BL), a Pinus caribaea monoculture plantation (PN), and a Pinus plantation artificially enriched with indigenous broad-leaved tree species (PNEN) located in the Hanthana mountain range, Sri Lanka. Arthropods randomly sampled from three randomly selected sites (5 m × 5 m) of each ecosystem were identified up to the highest possible taxa using standard identification keys...

The study was conducted to investigate and document medicinal plants and associated knowledge on the utilization, management, preparation, and way of administration of the medicinal plant resources in Ensaro district, north Shewa zone, Ethiopia. A total of 100 informants were sampled from four study sites, and questionnaire surveys, semistructured interviews, ranking, and transect walk techniques were employed for data collection in midland, lowland, and highland agroecology and natural forests, riverine forests, and farmlands...

Bioinformatics tools have been employed for the direct development of gene-based simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Through the analysis of 28,056 Mesembryanthemum expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences, a total of 5,851 ESTs containing SSRs were identified, amounting to approximately 17.07 Mb. Among these, 938 EST sequences harbored more than one SSR marker, and 788 EST-SSR sequences were found in compound form. The most prevalent types of SSR motifs were mononucleotide repeats (MNRs), accounting for 44%, followed by di-nucleotide repeats (DNRs) at 37%, and trinucleotide repeats (TNRs) at 16%...

Urban trees are extremely significant and provide numerous advantages for both the environment and people. In order to provide a healthy and sustainable environment, green spaces have long been seen as a crucial component of contemporary cities. Nevertheless, as urbanization and population growth have accelerated, environmental challenges have become a major worldwide issue. This study mainly focuses on the assessment of hazardous trees along the Bagmati river corridor and documents major tree species for urban forestry...

The pharmaceutical sector has made considerable strides recently, emphasizing improving drug delivery methods to increase the bioavailability of various drugs. When used as a medication delivery method, nanoemulsions have multiple benefits. Their small droplet size, which is generally between 20 and 200 nanometers, creates a significant interfacial area for drug dissolution, improving the solubility and bioavailability of drugs that are weakly water-soluble. Additionally, nanoemulsions are a flexible platform for drug administration across various therapeutic areas since they can encapsulate hydrophilic and hydrophobic medicines...

Histone deacetylation is a key biochemical event associated with transcriptional regulation. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) mediate the deacetylation of histones. Fatty acids have been reported to function as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi). The present instigation reports the HDAC inhibitory activity of egg yolks and egg yolk-derived fat of country and farm chicken for the first time. Egg yolks and fatty acids derived from both country (CCEF) and farm chicken (FCEF) demonstrated significant HDAC enzyme activity inhibition...

Sitophilus oryzae is an insect pest known for its destructive impact on rice crops. Chemical pesticides continue to be employed for the prevention of Sitophilus oryzae . The aforementioned phenomenon exerts adverse effects, notably in the form of human intoxication. Hence, one alternate approach to address the issue involves utilizing a preparation derived from the leaves of the jackfruit tree. The leaves of the jackfruit tree are known to possess many bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, saponins, and tannins, which have insecticidal properties...

Background. Dendrobium genus has been used in traditional medicine to treat various illnesses. The study aims at examining the phytochemical, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and thrombolytic properties of the leaf, stem, and root of Dendrobium lindleyi Steud, and the relationship between phytochemicals and bioactivities is determined. Results . The qualitative screening found a variety of bioactive compounds, including alkaloids, coumarins, cardiac glycosides, glycosides, flavonoids, proteins, phenols, quinines, resins, steroids, saponins, tannins, and terpenoids, in varying amounts...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium that causes metal deterioration by forming biofilms on metal surfaces. This work was carried out to analyze the antibacterial activity and the phenolic and flavonoid contents of the Moringa oleifera leaf extract against Pseudomonas aeruginosa . M. oleifera leaves were extracted in a methanol solution at different concentrations. The M. oleifera leaf extract yields were 12.84%, 18.96%, and 19.64% for the 100%, 75%, and 50% methanol ratios, respectively. Extracts of M. oleifera leaves had a minimum inhibiting concentration (MIC) of approximately 6144  μ g/mL against P...

Soft rot disease affects a range of crops in the field and also during transit and storage, resulting in significant yield losses and negative economic impacts. This study evaluated the in vitro antibacterial activities and mode of action of Piper betle extracts against the soft rot disease-causing bacteria, Erwinia caratovora subsp. caratovora ( ECC ). Dried leaves of P. betle were extracted with water, ethanol, and hexane solvents and evaluated for their antibacterial activity. The results showed the highest antibacterial activity against ECC in the ethanol extract, followed by hexane and water extracts with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) 1...

Dental caries, a predominant childhood and adolescence affliction, has numerous factors implicated in its pathogenesis. Electronic cigarettes (ECs) have recently gained popularity among the younger population. Various factors, such as the EC liquid composition and aerosols, are associated with the development of dental caries. This review explains numerous EC-related factors which may lead to dental caries. An electronic search was conducted in Medline (Pubmed), Scopus, and Embase databases to evaluate the original research investigating the role of ECs in developing dental caries...

Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana L., is considered a widely spreading invasive plant, while saponin contents accumulated in the roots have pharmaceutical uses, such as rheumatism treatments and anti-inflammation. Adventitious root cultures are an important source of diverse secondary metabolites, which have significant applications in various fields. This study focused on the optimization of parameters for root induction using different medium states and treatments with auxins on a pokeweed leaf. Semisolid and liquid MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) media were supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) at 0...

Understanding daily water use determinants is critical to sustainable water access and its efficient use at household level. To pursue this objective, primary data were generated through a survey of 276 respondents across the 5 quarters into which the city of Iwo is divided. 67.5% of the respondents were between 19 and 45 years old while 35.5% were between 46 and 65 years old and the remaining 3.9% comprised of those above 65 years. The results of factor analysis (FA) showed that 12 of the 40 factors analyzed were significant determinants of daily water use in homes...