Annual Research & Review in Biology

Aims: To characterize the growth, carbon assimilation and quality of Ipomoea aquatica as influenced by magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) application as well as to determine the best rates of iron oxide nanoparticles that give high growth, carbon assimilation and quality of Ipomoea aquatica.

Study Design: Ipomoea aquatica plants were exposed to four different treatments of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄) (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg L^-1). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. One unit of experiment consisted of 8 plants and there were 96 plants used in the experiment.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, between March 2018 and July 2018.

Methodology: The growth parameters measured included: plant height, basal diameter, total leaf number, leaf temperature, total chlorophyll content and plant biomass. The carbon assimilation parameters were measured using IRGA (Infrared Gas Analyzer, LICOR 6400 XT Portable Photosynthesis System). i.e. transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance and water use efficiency (WUE). The chlorophyll fluorescence were measured by using Pocket PEA that measured maximum efficiency of photosystem ii, (fv/fm), maximum quantum yield of phytochemical and non-photochemical process in photosystem II (fv/fo), minimal fluorescence (fo), performance index (PI) and Density of Reaction Centers Per PSII Antenna Chlorophyll (RC/ABS). Total phenolics and flavonoids contents in leaves were measured using Folin-Ciocalteu method.

Results: It was observed that plant height, shoot length, plant temperature, total biomass, and total chlorophyll content were significantly influenced (p≤0.05) by the different concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles. The net photosynthetic rate (A), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), maximum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/fm), maximum quantum yield of phytochemical and non-photochemical process in photosystem II (Fv/fo), performance index and the density of reaction centers per PSII antenna chlorophyll of Ipomoea aquatica were significantly reduced at higher concentration of magnetic nanoparticles. However, water use efficiency and minimal fluorescence value (Fo) of Ipomoea aquatica increased with increase of MNP concentration. In addition, the application of magnetic nanoparticles significantly influenced (P≤0.05) the total flavonoids and total phenolics content in water spinach. Both of these parameters were increased when higher concentration of magnetic nanoparticles was applied to Ipomoea aquatica. This study showed that MNP affected the growth, carbon assimilation and secondary metabolites production of Ipomoea aquatica.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the higher concentration of magnetic nanoparticles reduced the growth rate and carbon assimilation of water spinach and enhanced the production of secondary metabolites.

Aim: This study investigated the health risk associated with chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn) and arsenic (As) through consumption of some food crops in selected industrialized areas located in the south eastern states of Nigeria using the estimated daily intake(EDI), bioaccumulation factor(BCF), target hazard quotient(THQ) and incremental lifetime cancer risk(ILCR).

Study Design: Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to assess the concentrations of Cr, Mn and As in the different food crops and soils at the industrialized areas.

Place and Duration: Samples were collected around industrial layouts in south east states of Nigeria. Duration was between February 2018 to September 2018.

Methodology: Twelve (12) different food crops which included 3 each of vegetables, tubers fruits and nuts and their rhizophere soils were collected from farmlands close to the industries at Osisioma, Akwuuru, Ishiagu, Ngwo, Irete while Umudike was the control site for this study.

Results: Mean concentrations of Cr and Mn ranged from 0.01 ± 0.01c to 26.32 ± 0.02 dmg/kg and 0.01 ± 0.00 to 5.53 ± 0.00 mg/kg while As which was Below Detection Limit (< 0.01) mg/kg. 60 and 11 0ut of 72 samples exceeded the WHO permissible limits of 0.2 and 2 mg/kg for Cr and Mn respectively. The BAF of >1 was recorded in 26 Samples out of 108 with its highest values in Pumpkin and Waterleaf suggesting it could be tried as bioindicators .THQ > 1 was recorded in all samples for different locations except for Star apple and Kolanut. ILCR values for Cr in all the samples ranged 10^-2 to 10^-5 exceeding the permissible range of 10^-4 to 10^-6.

Conclusion: The exposed population has the probability of contracting cancer and other ailments due to exposure to the heavy metals in this study. Therefore, this study suggests further consideration of the metals as chemicals of concern with respect to industrial locations in South Eastern, Nigeria.

Introduction: One of environmentally friendly method for controlling plant diseases is the use of Trichoderma spp. as a natural controlling agent.

Objectives: The objective of this research was to find out the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. against downy mildew disease.

Methodology: This research was conducted in the Plant Pest and Disease Laboratory in the Plant Protection Department of Faculty of Agriculture in Lampung University. This research used completely randomized design consisting without treatment (0), Trichoderma spp. Gading Rejo Region (GDR) isolate (1) Trichoderma spp. Nusantara Tropical Farm (NTF) isolate (2), and Trichoderma spp. Trimurjo (TRJ) isolate (3) treatments which were applied to the plant growing points as fungicide (B) and as inducer of plant resistance to be applied in the plant roots (P).

Results: The research results showed that the Trichoderma spp. treatments could reduce the disease occurrence at 4 and 5 days after inoculation, but they could not reduce the disease severity and improve stover dry weight of corn plant.

Conclusion: The Trichoderma spp. Treatment as biofungicide and plant resistance inducer are effective against the incubation period and suppress the disease occurrence of downy mildew disease significantly at the early course of the disease.

Aims: One of the most important causes of mortality is vascular complications resulting from diabetes mellitus. Herbal medicines are commonly used for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions in diabetes.  Artemisia annua (A. annua) as a medicinal plant has vasculature protective effects in diabetic rats. In the present study, the role of prostaglandins in the vasodilator effect of A. annua aqueous extract in diabetic rats has been studied.

Study Design: This animal study was conducted on diabetic rats. Aqueous extract of Artemisia annua was used for diabetic rats. Then, isolated thoracic aortic rings were exposed to indomethacin and after exposure, the contractile responses were measured.

Methodology: The studied animals were male Wistar rats (n=36) which were randomly divided into intact, untreated-diabetic, and A. annua aqueous extract treated-diabetic groups. For the induction of diabetes, streptozotocin was intraperitoneally (i.p.) administered (60 mg/kg). A. annua extract-treated group received i.p. 100 mg/kg of extract for one month. After one month, the dose contractile response of isolated aortic rings to phenylephrine (doses of 10^-9-10^-4 mol/L) in the absence and presence of indomethacin as a prostaglandins inhibitor was determined using isolated tissue setup.

Results: Comparison of contractile responses before and after adding indomethacin in treated extract diabetic rats, showed that contractile responses of aorta ring with and without endothelium after adding indomethacin significantly increased at all concentrations of phenylephrine (P<0.05–P<0.0001) while indomethacin in diabetic rats did not effect on contractile response.

Conclusions: Since the vasodilator effect of the aqueous extract of A. annua with a concentration of 100 mg/kg of body weight was pronounced even after endothelium removal, it can be claimed that the vasodilator effects of the extract are related to inhibition of prostaglandin generation both indirectly and directly.

Background: Diesel vehicles exhaust contains toxic nanoparticles that drastically affect lung tissue due to their direct cytotoxic effects, induction of oxidative stress, inflammatory signaling pathways and DNA damage. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exhibit anti-inflammatory effects and efficient regenerative capacity in chronic lung diseases. 

Objectives: Evaluation of the effects of MSCs and MSCs-derived micro vesicles (MSCs-MVs) on pulmonary toxicity induced by diesel exhaust nanoparticles (DENPs).

Materials and Methods: Sixty male rats were equally divided into: Group I (Control rats), Group II (DENPs group) received repeated doses of DENPs (180μg/rat) intratracheally every other day for 6 days, Group III (MSCs group) received MSCs intravenously (3×10⁶ cells) after the last dose of DENPs and Group IV (MSCs-MVs group) received MSCs-MVs (0.5 mg/mL) intravenously after the last dose of DENPs. Lung tissue were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical assessment. Inflammatory cytokines and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) contents of inflammatory cells, albumin, LDH and total proteins were evaluated.

Results: Histological picture of lung tissue in DENPs group showed numerous collapsed alveoli, thick interalveolar septa and marked cellular infiltration. Elastic fibers were markedly decreased by DENPs. Increased optical density of NF-κB/p65 immunoreactivity. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed significant elevation of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, IL-6), polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), neutrophils, macrophages, LDH, total proteins and albumin. Treatment with either MSCs or MSCs-MVs led to a significant amelioration of all of the aforementioned studied parameters.

Conclusion: MSCs-MVs and MSCs showed significant therapeutic effects against DENPs damaging effects on the lung tissues via their regenerative capacity and anti-inflammatory effects.

Plants play vital roles in many health care systems, be it rural or an urban community. Plants became familiar as medicine due to the primordial ideologies and believed. Several plant parts served as medicines to so many ailments including gastrointestinal ailments, due to the fact that their active ingredients are powerful against the microbes as well as healing so many physiological abnormalities. The principal antimicrobial components were used to inhibit the growth of microbes (S. aureus, E. coli, Salmonella spp, B. cereus, and B. subtili,), as well as most of the recognized compounds in most plants were aromatic or saturated organic compounds which enabled the plants to be active against the gastrointestinal microbes. The commonly used diluents were; water, methanol and Di methyl sulphate oxides to ascertain the level of activity of the plants. As such, plant materials in one way or the other are very active when dealing with microbes due to their active ingredients or the phytoconstituents. Most of the microbes identified in many reviewed researches were enteric bacterial species, by which divided into both gram negative and gram positive bacterial isolates, they differ in their cell components, which are the main targets of bioactive constituents to deal with any bacteria. However, certain parasites contributed towards the production of ailments for their survival and causing havoc to the hosts and sometimes be mutualistic.