Annual Research & Review in Biology

The study aims at evaluating cyanobacterial diversity along altitudinal gradient with respect to various edaphic factors at western Saudi Arabia. Thirty-one cyanobacteria species belonging to 17 genera were isolated and identified along the different sites of the study area. Nostoc and Spirulina had the highest number of species in the study area (four species each), followed by Chroococcus and Oscillatoria (two species each). The number of colonies had positive correlation with organic matter and phosphates. The application of the two-way indicator species analysis  to the data set of the percentage presence of 31 cyanobacteria species in 40 stands resulted in agglomerating of 6 groups (communities) at 4^th level of classification. The application of the detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) indicates reasonable segregation between these groups .The application of CCA on the cyanobacteria communities and environmental variables indicated that some cyanobacteria species are correlated positively with total number of associated plants, TSS and phosphates such as Woella saccata Wolle, Chroococcus minor Lemm, Chroococcus majore Lemm, Microcystis areuginosa, Smith Anabaena spiroides Lemm  and Nostoc muscorum Agard, while others are negatively correlated with organic matter, chlorides, pH, EC, clay and silt such as Oscillatoria  limosa Bory, Synchococcus sp., Spirulina major Kutz and Lyngbya  borgertii Lemm. It is worthy to mentioned that, the soil samples dominated by Commicarpus sinaicus Meikle, Verbesina encelioides (Cav.) Benth &Hook. f. ex A. Gray, Argemone ochroleuca Sweet, Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Boiss., Acacia tortolis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi and Morettia parviflora Boiss. had no cyanobacteria species.

Aim: Evaluation of the anti-obesity potentials of Sphenostylis stenocarpa ethanolic seed extract in albino rats.

Study Design: Experimental design.

Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria, from October to December, 2017.

Methodology: The rats were assigned into 6 groups (A- F) of 12 rats per group replicated three times. Obesity was induced in rats of groups B to F, by daily feeding with high fat diet for 5 weeks. Only rats with an abdominal circumference (AC) of 20 cm, thoracic circumference (TC) of 17 cm and body mass index (BMI) of 0.68 g/cm2 and above respectively were considered obese and used for the study. The extract obtained by standard methods was screened phytochemically. Whereas the rats in the normal control (group A) received normal growers mash diet and distilled water, the obese negative control (group B) received the high fat diet and distilled water only, while the positive control (group C) received high fat diet, distilled water and 60 mg/kg b.wt of Orlistat. Graded doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg b.wt of the extract were administered to groups D, E and F respectively.

Results: Evidently, 400 mg/kg of Sphenostylis stenocarpa treatment proved to be the most effective dose in all parameters assayed. The treatments proved to be more effective when compared with the negative control than as compared with the positive control.

Conclusion: The ethanolic seed extract of Sphenostylis stenocarpa proved to possess some anti-obesity potentiality which evidently seems to be most effective with longer duration of treatment.

Floristic diversity of the coastal regions of Gulf of Aqaba has been compiled based on the vegetation survey with consultation of literature and herbarium collections during two spring seasons of 2016 and 2017. A total of 109 species belonging to 86 genera in 36 families are recorded in the study area; of which above 50% of the taxa falling in 6 dominant families. Amaranthaceae 23% is the dominant family followed by Poaceae 17%, Fabaceae 7 and 3% Asteraceae. Various vegetation units belonging to three major habitats such as sabkhas, wadis and hilly areas, three life-forms and chorological units have been identified. Based on the physiognomic study the climate of the study area is classified as a transition zone between Mediterranean and sub-Saharan arid zone. A high number of ephemerals in the area indicate dry climate prevailing in these areas. Halophytes dominate along the coastal zone, ephemerals in wadi-bed and chamaephytes in foothills and slopes.

Semen and Testicular  traits were measured on 54 matured rabbits aged 10 - 12 months and weighed between 2.20 – 2.26 kg and  data were used to determine the influence of genotypes on g semen, libido and testicular evaluation. The genotypes used are Chinchilla (CHIN), New Zealand White (NZW) and New Zealand Red (NZR). The experiment was randomized complete design with genotype as the factor of interest. Traits measured were Volume, motility, concentration, pH and colour. Feed and water were served ad libitum throughout the 16 weeks experimental period. At the end of the trial, 8 rabbits per genotype were slaughtered and their reproductive organs were carefully dissected out and separated into different components. The testicular morphometry and sperm characteristics were evaluated. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) among the genotypes for semen evaluation Volume values were 0.59,0.72 and 0.52,motility 85.08, 87.27 and 86.24 respectively for Libido value are , 4.25, 4.45 and 4.31 respectively and Testicular trait studied.  New Zealand White (NZW) was significantly superior (P < 0.05) to other genotypes for most of the parameters studied, followed by New Zealand Red (NZR). The study is aimed at breeds  effect on testicular morphometry and sperm characteristics. This result shows that breeds can be of effect on testicular morphometry and sperm quality of male rabbits.

Background: Antioxidants from plants are preferred due to their multiple mechanisms of actions. In this study, the mixture of flowers and leaves (according to traditional use) of Cytisus triflorus (Fabaceae) was assessed for their in vitro antioxidant activities.

Materials and Methods: The mixture leaves-flowers powder was macerated in methanol, filtered, and then dried to give the crude extract. The crude extract was successively extracted with different solvents of increasing polarity giving: petroleum ether extract, chloroform extract and ethyl acetate extract. Total phenol content was determined by Folin-ciocalteau assay and the AlCl₃ method was used for determination of the total flavonoids. The mixture was assessed for its in vitro antioxidant activity using spectrophotometric methods like DPPH, β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching, Ion chelating, reducing power, Superoxide anion radical scavenging, ABTS radical scavenging, Hydrogen peroxide and Anti-Hemolytic Assays. Antioxidant activities were compared with BHT and ascorbic acid as standard antioxidants.

Results: Quantitative analysis of antioxidative components showed that ethyl acetate extract is the richest fraction in term of polyphenols (69.78 ± 2.97 µg GAE/mg of extract) when chloroform extract has the highest amount of flavonoids (17.4 ± 0.46 µg QE/mg extract). Results showed that the crude extract and fractions of this plant exhibited high antioxidant activities. Crude extract showed the strongest effect in almost all tests (DPPH, ion Chelating, β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching and Anti-Hemolytic assays), when petroleum ether extract was the weakest one. Aqueous extract exhibited the highest activity in reducing power test with IC50 value of 320 µg/mL while chloroform extract was the most effective in hydroxyl scavenging assay (IC50 = 440.45 µg/mL). In hydrogen peroxide scavenging test, ethyl acetate extract was the most effective with a similar effect to that of ascorbic acid (IC50 = 1.54 µg/mL).

Conclusion: Results obtained indicated that extracts from Cytisus triflorus exhibited a potential effect to prevent disease caused by the overproduction of radicals.