Albizia Procera Research Articles

Decomposition and Nitrogen Dynamics of Tree Pruned Biomass Under Albizia Procera Based Agroforestry System in Semi Arid Region of Bundelkhand, India

The spatial analysis of land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics is necessary for sustainable utilization and management of the land resources of an area. Remote sensing along with Geographical Information System emerged as an effective technique for mapping the LU/LC categories of an area in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The present study was conducted in Banjar river watershed located in Balaghat and Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) approach was adopted for LU/LC classification of study area. The Landsat-8 satellite data of year 2013 was selected for the classification purpose. The NDVI values were generated in ERDAS Imagine 2011 software and LU/LC map was prepared in ARC GIS environment. On the basis of NDVI values five LU/LC classes were recognized in the study area namely river & water body, waste land & habitation, forest, agriculture/other vegetation, open land/fallow land/barren land. The forest cover was found to be highly distributed in the study area with an extent of 115811 ha and least area was found to be covered under river and water body (4057.28 ha). This research work will be helpful for the policy makers for proper formulation and implementation of watershed developmental plans.

TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF REPRESENTATIVE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THAILAND

Objective: Plants are the vital source of pharmaceutically important compounds with less or no adverse side effects. The current study was conducted to catalog the commonly used indigenous and medicinal plants of Thailand based on their phenolic acid content and antioxidant activity.Methods: The herbs were collected from Chiang Mai province, Thailand. The plants were extracted with 70% ethanol. The total phenolic acid content and antioxidant activity were evaluated.Results: The ethanolic extract of plant samples was prepared. Among the tested plant samples, Phyllanthus emblica Linn. and Terminalia belerica Roxb. showed highest phenolic content (Gallic acid equivalent [GAE]; 764.81 mg GAE/g sample) and antioxidant activity (trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity [TEAC]; 394.20 mg/g sample), respectively. About 94-97% of inhibition of free radical was detected in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay tested against the plant samples. The ethanolic extract of Anaxagorea luzonensis Gray., Terminalia sp., T. belerica Roxb, Terminalia chebula Retz., Albizia procera Benth., Harrisonia perforata Merr., and P. emblica Linn. exhibited 97.87, 96.08, 92.26, 86.74, 86.08, 84.47, and 83.13% of superoxide radical inhibition, respectively.Conclusion: The results suggested that T. belerica Roxb. possessed high TEAC ability and DPPH radical scavenging capacity and A. luzonensis Gray. exhibited high superoxide scavenging activity, when compared to that of the other tested samples. The additional detailed study is desirable to understand the complexity and distribution of bioactive compounds present in the commonly used plant species of Thailand.

Assaying the allelopathic effects of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in a nursery bed incorporated with leaf litter

Allelopathic effects of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. were confirmed in Petri dish and pot experiments in our previous studies. However, the degree to which such effects under controlled experiments exist in more complex ecological settings remains to be tested. Thus, the present study was carried out by incorporating different proportions of ground litter of E. camaldulensis in soil. The growth of three agricultural crops: falen (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), and arhor (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.), and two tree species, kala koroi (Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth.) and ipil ipil (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit) were tested. There were inhibitory effects of leaf litter on germination, shoot and root growth, leaf number, and collar diameter as well as a reduction of nodulation by legume crops (25–80% reduction). The extent of the effects was dependent on the proportion of leaf litter, the species and the type of traits. In contrast to shoot growth, the effect on root growth was more severe. No effect on germination was found with the agriculture crops while the two tree species showed reduced germination. The effect was greater in the presence of higher proportions of leaf litter mixed in soil while in some cases lower proportions stimulated growth. Not all species were suppressed; A. procera, C. cajan, V. unguiculata showed compatible growth while C. arietinum and L. leucocephala were found incompatible. This study provides evidence that E. camaldulensis has allelopathic potential under field conditions and a careful selection of associated crops in agroforestry systems is highly recommended.

Plant extracts as natural photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy: in vitro activity against human mammary adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells

ObjectiveTo examine three plant extracts [Lumnitzera racemosa (Combretaceae) (L. racemosa), Albizia procera (Fabaceae) (A. procera) and Cananga odorata (Annonaceae)] for their potential as source of photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy. MethodsHuman mammary adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells were treated with the plant extracts, which were irradiated with 5.53 mW and 0.553 mW broadband light. Cell viability was assessed using MTT assay and induction of apoptosis was determined using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-dUTP nick end labeling assay. ResultsThe crude ethanolic extracts, independently, were nontoxic against cancer and non-cancer cells but when irradiated with 5.53 mW broadband light, L. racemosa and A. procera extracts were cytotoxic against MCF-7 with IC50 of 11.63 μg/mL and 10.73 μg/mL, respectively. With 0.553 mW broadband light, the IC50 values were higher at 17.14 μg/mL and 19.59 μg/mL, respectively. Photoactivated L. racemosa and A. procera extracts were found to be more cytotoxic against MCF-7 than the non-cancer cell line, human dermal fibroblast-neonatal. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of the extracts was mediated by apoptosis. ConclusionsTwo of the plant extracts used, L. racemosa and A. procera were toxic and induced apoptosis to mammary cell adenocarcinoma, MCF-7 when photoactivated. These extracts were also more toxic to human cancer than non-cancer cell lines.

Performance of Vegetative Growth and Artificial Fruit Body Formation of Hypsizygus marmoreus in Bangladesh

Hypsizygus marmoreus is an edible and medicinal mushroom belongs to Basidiomycetes. The optimal culture conditions for the vegetative growth of brown and white strains of H. marmoreus were investigated to obtain suitable farming condition. Temperature suitable and unsuitable for vegetative growth was obtained at 20 and 35oC, respectively. The both strains of H. mermoreus love medium temperature and the mycelial growth was well developed at 20-25oC. This mushroom prefer pH ranging 6-8 for mycelial growth. The highest and lowest mycelial growth was found at pH 7 and 5 of both strains, respectively. Among 5 different carbon sources, sucrose was the best, whereas, maltose and lactose were the worst. The most suitable nitrogen sources were CaNO3 (in brown strain 65.6 mm and in white strain 56.3 mm) and the most unsuitable was NH_4H_2PO_4 (in brown strain 44.02 mm and in white strain 40.2 mm). Five different culture media were used to screen the optimal mycelial growth of H. marmoreus. PDA and YM (yeast-malt extract) were the most suitable and Czapek dox and Hennerberg were the most unfavorable for vegetative growth, whereas, glucose peptone was moderately suitable. The highest and lowest vegetative growth was observed in media prepared with mango (Mangifera indica) and koroi (Albizia procera) sawdust, respectively. However, for both strains, 3 weeks were required to complete mycelium running in mango sawdust, whereas, 4 weeks were spent to get 100% mycelium running in mahagoni (Swietenia mahagoni) and koroi sawdust. The premordia and fruiting bodies of H. marmoreus were formed in the mango sawdust medium sooner. The fruiting bodies of brown strain were formed earlier than white strain after occurrence of primordia. In case of limiting ventilation, the stem development was found to be good but no cap was seen to be formed. Ventilation influenced the growth and development of fruit body of H. marmoreus. Therefore, it could be said that physiochemical requirement for the vegetative growth is strictly considerable and results focused in this paper could be followed by farmers to scale up farming of H. marmoreus in Bangladesh.

Utilization pattern of fuelwood plants by the Halam community of Tripura, Northeast India

ABSTRACTThe present study was undertaken to identify the fuelwood plant species and their utilization pattern by the Halam community of Tripura. The main objective of this study was to assess the species preference as fuelwood, the total value index, and the fuelwood value index (FVI) of 22 species. The majority of the households use the plant resources for domestic purpose. Although the community’s mostly preferred fuelwood species were Tectona grandis L.f, Shorea robusta C. F. Gaertn, and Gmelina arborea Roxb, a total of 22 species were reported from the study site. Trewia nudiflora L., Albizia procera Benth., Dysoxylum procerum Hierm., and Cassia siamea Lam. were also reported as fuelwood species with good wood quality (FVI). Thus awareness on the use of these species as fuelwood can be increased in the community to reduce stress on the preferred species and the surrounding forest.

Assessing Restoration Outcomes in Light of Succession: Management Implications for Tropical Riparian Forest Restoration

Today there is a wide variety of approaches on how to determine when a river restoration project can be considered ecologically successful. The limited information on river restoration responses renders this practice a subjective component of river management. We aimed to contribute to this issue by assessing the ecological outcomes of a restoration project conducted in Quebrada Chiclana, a first-order tropical stream located in the headwaters of the Rio Piedras in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. We focused on the reforestation component of the restoration project using current structure and composition of riparian vegetation as an indicator of restoration success. Recovery of riparian vegetation was studied eight years after restoration using a forest succession approach. We conducted a vegetation census and measured structural variables on vegetation at restored and nearby reference areas. We encountered a riparian vegetation community composed of 35 tree and 84 non-tree species. The non-native trees tall albizia ( Albizia procera ) and African tuliptree ( Spathodea campanulata ) were the most abundant tree species within the study area. We observed 11 out of the 16 woody species initially proposed in the reforestation plan but with lower tree density than proposed. Even though we demonstrate that the river restoration project has not yet met its reforestation objectives, our results show recovery of the vegetation community in the impacted area has occurred through natural succession.

A New Record of Heteropsylla cubana Crawford and its Morphometric Study on Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth. in Jharkhand

Albiziaprocera (Roxb.) Benth.is a common ornamental and medicinal plant species distributed throughout the India.This plant was found to be very susceptive to different insect pest attack. The present study was done to investigate Heteropsyllacubana infestation on A. proceraand its morphometrics at Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi, India during 2014 and 2015. The infestation of H. cubanawas first time observed A. procerain Jharkhand. Infestation pattern of H. cubana was recorded and it was found that H. cubana as a serious pest of A. procera in Jharkhand. Additionally,morphometrics of egg, nymphal stages and adult of this psyllid insect was also recorded in this study.

Morphological and Biochemical Activities of Root Nodule Rhizobium Isolated From Five Multipurpose Forest Species of India

Five leguminous tree species viz. Dalbergia sissoo Albizia procera, Albizia labbeck, Pongamia pinnata and Leucaena leucocephala were evaluated for their rhizobial activities in different growth medium through biochemical test and the Rhizobium strain isolated from different tree species were coded as Ds1( D. sissoo ), Ap1( A. procera ), Al1 (A. lebbeck ), Pp1( P. pinnata ) and Ll1( L. leucocephala ) respectively. All strains of Rhizobium isolated showed variation in their morphology and biochemical test. The nodule in A. procera and P. pinnata mainly recovered from lateral roots while in D. sissoo, A. lebbeck , and L. leucocephala nodules were principally formed in tape roots. The isolated Rhizobia were rod shaped, gram negative, showed no growth in Hofer’s alkaline medium and glucose peptone agar. The Rhizobium strain Ds1 exhibited fastest growth in YEMA and CRYEMA followed by Al1 strain as both isolates attained 6 to 11 mm diameter size within 3-4 days compared to other species under present investigation. In a salt tolerance test all the isolates found tolerant in 1% NaCl, however Ds1 and Ap1 strains both were showed their ability to grow even in 2% salt medium. The Pp1 strain was found the most active strain among all other isolates of tree species as this isolate rendered highest positive results in citrate utilization, carbohydrate catabolism, catalase activities, methyl red test and urease production test.

Biochemical investigations during in vitro adventitious shoot regeneration in leaflet explants from nodal segments of a mature Albizia procera tree

The in vitro adventitious shoot differentiation in leaflet explants of an adult tree differed from that of leaflet explants of seedlings of Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth. reported previously elsewhere. The leaflet explants from an adult tree passed through an initial callus phase for 30 days on MS medium supplemented with 3 % sucrose, 2.5 µM 2,4-D followed by a subsequent adventitious shoot differentiation phase for another 30 days on half MS medium supplemented with 0.25 µM each of BA and IBA. The regeneration rate of in vitro adventitious shoots in explants from the adult tree, i.e.1.66 shoots/callus, was lower than that from seedlings, i.e. >10 shoots/callus, which was reported elsewhere. Correspondingly, the activities of nitrate reductase and peroxidase, and endogenous phenol content remained very low during in vitro adventitious shoot differentiation in leaflet explants of an adult tree possibly due to lower availability of competent stem (juvenile) cells for the process.

Allelopathic effects of Mikania cordata on forest and agricultural crops in Bangladesh

Mikania cordata, an invasive weed is becoming a problem in the secondary degraded forests and plantations of Bangladesh, not only competing with but also releasing allelochemicals to cultivated crops. Allelopathic effects of the leaves of M. cordata were investigated through an experiment in the green house of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Five economically important agricultural crops (Oryza sativa L., Triticum aestivum L., Vigna sinensis L., Abelmoschus esculentus L. and Amaranthus tricolor L.) and three forest crops (Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth. & Hook, Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth., and Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) Nielson) were used as bioassay species. Experiments were conducted on trays at an average room temperature 27 °C. The effects of different concentrations of leaf extracts were compared to controls. Water soluble allelochemicals of M. c ordata inhibited the germination and initial growth of the tested agricultural and forest crops. Germination percent of forest crops declined with increasing concentration of extracts. The inhibitory effect on root elongation of forest crops was pronounced, whereas a stimulatory effect was found on P. falcataria up to a concentration of 25 %. Abelmoschus esculentus showed poor germination (%) and low shoot development (0.5 cm) and no development of taproot or lateral roots at treatment of 100 % concentration. The inhibitory effect was proportional to the concentrations of the extracts with higher concentrations producing stronger inhibitory effects. Lower concentrations showed some stimulatory effect. The inhibitory effect was pronounced in root and lateral root development rather than germination or shoot development of the crops. Mikania cordata should be eradicated for healthy growth and development of the forest and adjacent agricultural crops.

Anti-HIV-1 integrase activity and molecular docking of compounds from Albizia procera bark

Context: Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth. (Mimosaceae) has been traditionally used in Thai longevity preparations. Thus, searching for HIV-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) agents from natural sources is of interest.Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the inhibitory activity against HIV-1 IN of compounds isolated from the stem bark of Albizia procera.Materials and methods: The EtOH extract and isolated compounds of Albizia procera bark were examined for anti-HIV-1 IN activity at various concentrations (10–100 µg/mL and 10–100 µM) using the multiplate integration assay and molecular docking.Results and discussions: The results showed that the ethanol extract had good anti-HIV-1 IN activity with an IC50 value of 19.5 µg/mL, whereas ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the most potent with an IC50 value of 19.1 µg/mL, followed by water fraction (IC50 value = 21.3 µg/mL), hexane and chloroform fractions (IC50 value > 100 µg/mL), respectively. From bioassay-guided isolation, the ethyl acetate fraction was further separated to give two compounds which are (+)-catechin (1) and protocatechuic acid (2), respectively. Of the tested samples, (+)-catechin (1) exhibited appreciable activity against HIV-1 IN with an IC50 value of 46.3 µM, whereas protocatechuic acid (2) showed mild activity with 46.0% inhibition at concentration of 100 µM. (+)-Catechin (1) could interact with Thr66, Gly148, and Glu152 in the core domain of IN enzyme, whereas protocatechuic acid (2) could bind with Thr66, His67, Glu152, Asn155, and Lys159. This is the first report on anti-HIV-1 IN activity of Albizia procera bark. These results may suggest that Albizia procera bark has potential as anti-HIV-1 IN agent.

Morphology of teliospores of ravenelia sp. On forest trees

The study was conducted to show the morphology of teliospores of Ravenelia sp. This rust infects three different forest trees. These all three trees, Albizia procera, Albizia lebbeck , and Pongamia pinnata belong to family Fabaceae . Rust fungus , Ravenelia clemensae Syd. infects the leaves of Albizia procera and Albizia lebbeck , and the host tree Pongamia pinnata was infected by another species of Ravenelia , which was Ravenelia hobsoni . The rust infection starts in the month of September under favorable environmental conditions, when the new foliage is produced on the host plants. The present study showed that telial stage of Ravenelia sp . was found on all three host trees while pycnial, aecial and uredial stages were not found in these trees. The morphology of these spores, is described below. The morphological characters of these teliospores were found to be nearly similar to each other.

Impacts of floods on forest trees and their coping strategies in Bangladesh

During recent years, the Government of Bangladesh, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), semi-government organizations, private organizations and individuals have established a large number of plantations under different programs viz. social forestry, agro-forestry and avenue plantations with indigenous and exotic tree species without considering their habit and habitats. Along with the indigenous species like Albizia procera, Albizia lebbeck, Mangifera indica, Azadirachta indica, Gmelina arborea, Trewia nudiflora and Artocapus heterophyllus and many exotic species e.g. Swietenia macrophylla, Albizia saman, Dalbergia sissoo, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Acacia auriculiformis, Melia sempervirens, Acacia mangium etc. have been planted randomly. With increasing trend of climate-induced floods, millions of trees have been dying due to floods and water-logging. The most affected species are Dalbergia sissoo, Albizia saman, Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia mangium and Artocarpus heterophyllus etc. This situation has caused severe impacts on socio-economic conditions of Bangladesh. The impacts involved a significant loss in terms of investment, biodiversity and afforestation program. Little investigations have been conducted to find out the causes of the deaths and also to find out the suitable adaptation practices to reduce impacts of floods on trees. This synthesis focused on the impacts of floods on plantations and also assessed the potential role of traditional forest management practices in addressing the effects flooding on forests in Bangladesh. The study added important information and revealed knowledge gaps on the causes of large forest deaths. It also provided recommendations for policy on the establishment of frequent floods resilient tree crop plantations.

Monitoring of Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapour Exchange over a Young Mixed forest Plantation Using Eddy Covariance Technique

Studies on CO 2 and water vapour exchange in natural and man-made vegetation are necessary for quantifying their role in landscape-level carbon budget. The present study investigated variations in carbon and water vapour fluxes and monthly net ecosystem exchange (NEE) over a 9-year-old mixed forest plantation ( Holoptelea integrifolia, Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia catechu and Albizia procera) in Terai Central Forest Division of Nainital district, Uttarakhand using January to September 2013 eddy covariance data. During leafless period (i.e. January), the plantation acted as a net carbon source (i.e. positive NEE) with daily mean release of 0.35 g C m -2 day -1 , while from leaf onset to growing period (i.e. April to September), it acted as a sink (i.e. negative NEE) due to carbon uptake by an increasing number of leaves. The monthly mean daily NEE was noticed to be increasingly more negative in each subsequent month until September. The diurnal trend in NEE closely followed the variations in the intensity of photosynthetically active radiation. The diurnal NEE in all months was related to vapour pressure deficit with time-lag. Maximum daytime uptake (-29.5 μmol m -2 day -1 ) and night-time release of CO2 (8.2 μmol m -2 day -1 ) was observed in July. Monthly mean of daily NEE over plantation continuously increased from February and was highest (-5.74 g C m -2 day -1 ) in September. Rectangular hyperbolic function provided reasonably good fit between NEE and PAR. Ecosystem parameters (μ and P max ) of the light response curve also followed the canopy development trend.

Effect of Different Leaf Litters on Carbon, Nitrogen and Microbial Activities of Sodic Soils

AbstractThis study investigates the effect of single leaf litter of Terminalia arjuna (Ta) and Prosopis juliflora (Pj), mixed leaf litters [Ta, Pj, Azadirachta indica (Ai) and Albizia procera (Ap)] and paddy straw (Ps; Oryza sativa) on chemical properties and microbial activities of slightly sodic (SS), moderately sodic (MS) and highly sodic (HS) soils during 1 year in vitro decomposition process. For this purpose, equal amount (60 g) of single leaf litter [Ta (C : N = 43) and Pj (C : N = 38)], mixed leaf litters [1/4 of Ta, Pj, Ai and Ap (C : N = 30)] and Ps (C : N = 107) was added to equal amount (600 g) of SS, MS and HS soils. After addition of litters, changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), available nitrogen (Nav), microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen, soil respiration, microbial quotient (Cmic : Corg) and metabolic quotient (qCO2) were observed at 2 months intervals for the whole year in greenhouse at constant soil moisture. The respective annual increase, at the end of the experiment, in SOC and Nav was highest in MS soil (40% and 45%), whereas soil microbial biomass and soil respiration showed decreasing trend from HS soil (39% and 29%) to SS soil (28% and 21%). The highest SOC was mineralized in the MS (42%) and HS (32%) soils containing litter of Ta; although greater (20%) accumulation of SOC in SS soil was noticed with mixed leaf litters. The study reveals that MS and HS soils comparatively showed fast decomposition of litters and significant increase in carbon, nitrogen and microbial activities. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Shampoos Then and Now : Synthetic versus Natural *#

Hair care has been important to mankind from times immemorial. The market today is replete with synthetic hair care products, pushing natural materials to the background. These natural materials, being produced from plants, are bio-degradable and non-toxic. In a bid to investigate natural products, we studied the surface tension, foaming and relevant parameters of natural surfactants extracted from Shikakai (Acacia concinna) and Seto Siris (Albizia procera), traditionally used in hair care. In order to get a better understanding, Johnson's Baby Shampoo has also been studied. Shikakai showed very prominent surface tension reduction and high foaming, showing that it can be a potential candidate for good hair care. These effects are not so prominent for Seto Siris. However, as it is widely available in the hills, large quantities can be used. Qualitative measurement of their cleaning properties and subsequent comparison with commercial shampoo show that both plants have a large potential in providing nontoxic natural hair care products.

Ganoderma Association with the Mortality of Acacia auriculiformis,Susceptibility to Different Hosts and Its Controls

An investigation was conducted to find out the association of Ganoderma spp. with the mortality of Acacia auriculiformis at Jahangirnagar University Campus, Bangladesh. Diseases severity of the tree was calculated where the highest (52.2 %) incidence was recorded in site-1 of the study area. Isolation and identification of the Ganoderma spp. and Trichoderma spp. were carried out. A total of 11 hosts were examined for examine the susceptibility of Ganoderma on host. All of the wild Ganoderma spp. viz., G. lucidum-1, G. lucidum-2, G. lucidum-3 and G. applanatum preferred to use saw dust of Mangifera indica followed by Ceriops decandra whereas the least performance recorded in Albizia procera and Dipterocarpus turbinatus. Trichoderma isolates found effective to control Ganoderma infestation under field conditions.

Rural households’ preferences and attitudes towards biomass fuels - results from a comprehensive field survey in Bangladesh

Biomass fuel is the main source of rural household energy in many developing countries in South and Southeast Asia. This paper examines the preference and attitude towards biomass fuels of consumers living in rural areas of Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data of 240 households from four upazilas located in four distinct agro-ecological zones of Bangladesh. Different inferential statistical tests were carried out to analyze the information. The results revealed that branches, leaves, cow dung, rice straw and stem wood were the most commonly used biomass fuels, whereas the most preferred biomass fuels were firewood (branches and stem wood) followed by cow dung, bamboo and jute stalk. Due to the short supply of firewood, the rural households opted for inferior types of biomass such as leaves, twigs, rice straw and other crop residues. Samanea saman, Albizia procera and Mangifera indica are the main preferred firewood tree species. The analysis showed that the consumption patterns of and preferences for biomass fuels significantly varied between the regions and the socio-economic groups. The economic inability of consumers to afford commercial fuels was the main reason for the widespread use of biomass fuels. Nevertheless, the majority of the rural households posed positive attitudes towards an on-farm and off-farm afforestation programme as a response to a future supply of biomass fuel. The study demonstrated that firewood was the most preferred biomass fuel and, as a consequence, the current consumption was not sustainable. Therefore, extensive farming of various fast growing firewood species both in private and public lands has been solicited to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Standardization of In-Vivo Nitrate Reductase activity in the leaves of Albizia Procera (Roxb.) Benth.

The combination of different concentration of substrate (0.025M, 0.05M, 0.10M, 0.15M, 0.20M and 0.25M, KNO3) with different pH of buffer (0.10 M and 0.20 M, KH2PO4 of the pH 6.5, 7.0, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7 and 7.8) solution were tried for the nitrate reductase activity of Albizia procera. Maximum nitrate reductase activity was observed in the combination of buffer solution of 0.10M KH2PO4 having pH 7.5 and substrate solution of the concentration 0.20M.