Brown Varieties Research Articles

Effects of super dosing of phytase B on egg production and quality in laying hens

Abstract A trial was conducted to evaluate the addition of phytase B (PhyB) to a diet for laying hens. In the feeding trial with laying hens, three feeds were tested: a negative control diet (group I) without the addition of monocalcium phosphate, a negative control group with the addition of 0.05% (6575 AcPU/kg) phytase B (group II) and a positive control diet with recommended levels of calcium and phosphorus (group III). The experiment was carried out on 36 hens of the Bovans Brown variety, 12 animals were assigned to each test group. During the experiment, the number and weight of eggs laid by each hen, individual changes in the body mass of birds, and feed consumption were registered. From the 50th to the 54th day of the experiment, the amounts of the feed ingested and the expelled excrements were measured in order to determine the retention of calcium and phosphorus. In order to examine the effect of diet on egg quality, 36 eggs from each study group were randomly selected for analysis. The research included measurements of physical and morphological parameters determining the quality of egg albumen, yolks and egg shells. Phytase B added to the feed for laying hens did not significantly affect feed conversion and feed consumption per egg but significantly increased the daily feed intake. Hens that consumed phytase B showed higher egg production indicators, including the number of eggs, the mean egg weight, and daily egg mass, as compared to hens from the negative control group (I). The addition of phytase B allowed to obtain similar calcium and phosphorus retention as in hens fed the positive control group diet (III) and showed reduced amounts of phosphorus in the manure. There were also significant positive effects of the addition of phytase B on the color intensity of the yolk and quality of eggshell by increasing its mass, density, and strength.

Comparative profiling of volatile compounds in white and brown Hypsizygus marmoreus during fruiting body development and postharvest storage

Hypsizygus marmoreus (HM) is a nutritious edible mushroom with high industrial yield and rapid market development. HM has become increasingly popular among customers due to its abundant bioactive compounds, chewy texture and unique aroma. The volatile organic compound (VOC) fingerprints of white and brown HM varieties during fruiting body growth and postharvest storage were established by HS-SPME-GC-MS and HS-GC-IMS. A total of 46 aroma VOC were identified from fresh mature HM. Based on odor activity, 12 VOC have been defined as the characteristic VOC, of which five are prevalent in aquatic products and are the main contributors to HM's unique seafood flavor. The brown variety exhibited higher diversity and abundance of VOC. C8 compounds in brown HM was 5.722 mg/kg, which was 1.99 times higher than that in white HM (2.872 mg/kg). Aromatic compounds such as aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, and terpenes are also more abundant in brown varieties (6.35 mg/kg), which was 1.864 times that of white varieties (3.406 mg/kg). C8 compounds increasingly accumulated in white HM during development, especially intensifying before maturing. After stored at 4 ℃ up to 45 d, the VOC profiles of HM remained less changed despite slight decrease, which helps explain their long shelf-life. The findings of this study shed light on elucidating the VOC that contribute to the unique aroma of HM, as well as tracking the odor changes during industrial production and shelf-life.

Evaluation of anti-sickling effects of two varieties of Cajanus cajan (L.) Huth on sickle cell beta thalassemia

Ethno-pharmacological relevance: Globally, the prevalence of sickle cell disease is on the rise, with developing countries experiencing particularly alarming mortality rate compared to developed nations. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) have acknowledged sickle cell disease as a significant global public health concern. Unfortunately, a cure for this condition is yet to be discovered, and existing allopathic treatments, while offering relief, come with serious side effects. In recent times, there has been a growing interest in exploring the potential of medicinal plants for treating sickle cell disease due to their content of secondary metabolites that may impact the disease's mechanisms. Cajanus cajan, a crucial grain legume in rain-fed agriculture in semi-arid tropics, has been traditionally used in folk medicine to manage various illnesses and is suggested to possess anti-sickling properties.Aim of the study: The present study investigated two varieties of C. cajan for their effectiveness in treating sickle cell beta thalassemia, a variant of sickle cell disease. Materials and methodsThe study was divided into four groups consisting of the untreated group (group 1), group treated with standard drug (group 2), group treated with white C. cajan (group 3) and group treated with brown C. cajan (group 4). The effects of the two variety of C. cajan were measured by polymerization test, reversibility test, osmotic fragility test, deoxygenation and beta globin synthesis test. ResultThe results revealed that both varieties of C. cajan demonstrated a reduction in polymerization rates, reversed sickled red blood cells, increased the oxygen affinity of Hb-S/β, elevated the Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio, and maintained the membrane stability of red blood cells. Notably, the white variety exhibited superior anti-sickling properties compared to the brown variety. ConclusionThis suggests that this significant leguminous crop could be utilized for the treatment and management of sickling disorders, particularly in low-income countries where conventional treatments may be financially inaccessible to patients.

Comparison of Production Performance, Carcass and Egg Characteristics, Egg Production and Hatching Characteristics of Three white, Gray and Brown Varieties of Japanese Quails

Comparison of Production Performance, Carcass and Egg Characteristics, Egg Production and Hatching Characteristics of Three white, Gray and Brown Varieties of Japanese Quails

Effect of Germination Time on the Properties of Flours from Red and Brown Varieties of Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) Seeds

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of germination time on the proximate composition, functional and pasting properties of flours from red and brown varieties of pigeon pea seeds. The red and brown pigeon pea seeds were cleaned and germinated for 48, 72 and 96 h, respectively and processed into flours, while the flours produced from the ungerminated red and brown pigeon pea seeds served as control samples. The flours obtained were analyzed for proximate, functional and pasting properties using standard methods. The proximate composition of the samples showed that the flours produced from the red pigeon pea seeds had a range of 6.24 – 9.34% moisture, 10.37 – 20.95% crude protein, 1.21 – 1.12% fat, 2.32 – 3.32% ash, 3.14 – 4.23% crude fibre, 76.75-61.07% carbohydrate and 329.29 – 338.10KJ/100g energy, while that of the brown pigeon pea flours had a range of 6.44-9.77% moisture, 10.47-23.69% crude protein, 1.23-1.13% fat, 2.42-3.13% ash, 3.18-4.31% crude fibre, 76.26-57.99% carbohydrate and 358.18-336.83KJ/100g energy. The functional properties of the red pigeon pea flours revealed that the bulk density, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, swelling capacity, gelation capacity and foam capacity ranged from 0.58-022 ml/g, 1.36-1.58 %, 1.40-1.61 %, 2.13-2.38 ml/g, 8.24-11.13 ml/g and 12.28-12.01 %, while that of the brown variety ranged from 0.63-0.36 ml/g, 1.47-1.69 %, 1.46-1.67 %, 1.67-2.46 ml/g, 8.88-11.41 ml/g and 13.33-13.06 %, respectively. The pasting properties of the red pigeon pea flours also showed that the peak, trough, breakdown, set back and final viscosities as well as the peak time and pasting temperature ranged from 3.10 – 5.556cP, 3.35 – 4.86cP, 2.65 – 4.57cP, 5.23 – 7.75cP, 8.82 -10.02cP, 6.79 – 7.34min and 69.79 – 92.710C, while that of the brown variety ranged from 3.59 – 6.21cP, 4.19 – 5.61cP, 3.77 – 5.23cP, 5.59 – 8.25cP, 9.60 – 11.08cP, 7.07 – 7.99min and 80.11 – 99.21oC, respectively. The study, however, revealed that the flours produced from both the red and brown pigeon pea seeds could be generally used as nutrient dense and functional ingredients in the preparation of a wide range of food products especially in Nigeria and other developing countries of the world where there is acute shortage of protein in order to ensure food and nutritional security.

Exogenous γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Enhanced Response to Abiotic Stress in Hypsizygus marmoreus by Improving Mycelial Growth and Antioxidant Capacity.

γ-Aminobutyric (GABA) acid is a nutrient and signaling molecule existing in many plants, participating in the regulation of metabolism and various physiological activities. Two strains of Hypsizygus marmoreus (a white variety and a brown variety) were investigated to study the impact of exogenous GABA on mycelial growth and the response to stress. Mycelial growth, microscopic morphology, antioxidant profile, and gad2 expression in H. marmoreu were investigated under salt, dehydration, or cold stress. The results indicated that 5 mM GABA stimulated mycelial growth under standard cultivation conditions, whereas GABA addition over 10 mM hindered the growth. Under salt, dehydration, or cold stress, treatment with 5 mM GABA significantly enhanced the mycelial growth rate and density of both H. marmoreus strains by promoting front hyphae branching. Meanwhile, the activities of key antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were enhanced by GABA, thereby augmenting the defensive network against abiotic stress. Additionally, gad2 expression and GABA concentration were increased under abiotic stresses as a resistance regulation response. The exogenous addition of GABA strengthened the upregulation of gad2 expression and GABA production. These findings indicated that exogenously adding low concentrations of GABA effectively enhanced the mycelial growth and antioxidant profile of H. marmoreus, thereby improving its resistance against stresses.

Comparative disease incidence and prevalence in green and brown varieties of Kappaphycus alvarezii cultivated in Pelakak Village, Lingga District

This study was aimed to analyze the disease incidence and prevalence development of Kappaphycus alvarezii from green and brown varieties. This study used a completely randomized design experimental method with two treatments and four replications. Seaweeds were reared with a longline culture method. The initial weight of seaweeds from each replication unit was 2.70 kg. Incidence and prevalence were observed every day until the 42-th day of culture period. All data obtained were analyzed with an independent t-test. The results showed that there were six incidents of pests and disease attack/infection on two seaweed varieties, namely: (1) Rabbitfish Siganus sp., (2) Epiphytic Filamentous Algae (EFA), (3) Green filamentous algae (Chaetomorpha sp.), (4) Brown seaweeds Sargassum sp., (5) Ice-ice disease, and (6) Fusarium sp. mold. Each attack/infection from six pests and disease was insignificantly different (p>0.05) on both seaweed varieties during observation. The weight gain of green variety slightly increased at 0.15±1.48kg, but the value was lower than brown variety at 0.73±0.39 kg. Therefore, both varieties of K. Alvarezii can be cultured at the same planting period. Pest and disease attacks can be reduced by moving the seaweed to other safer locations.

Hydrothermal Treatment via Microwave Radiation Improves Viscoelastic Properties of Native Gluten-Free Flours for Extrusion 3D Printing

The market for gluten-free products is experiencing significant growth due to the increase in the number of gluten/wheat affected patients diagnosed, but largely as a result of the emergence of a new niche market dedicated for consumers who optionally avoid gluten. Native flours are perceived as viable alternative for industrially used starch and hydrocolloids blends, mainly due to their lack of vitamins and minerals, which are abundant in non-refined raw materials. Edible inks for on-demand printing are under significant consideration, while texture building capacity remains an issue. As heat-moisture treatment has proved to be useful for stabilizing the pasting and rheological behavior of various native flours, HMT supported by microwave heating was investigated as printable ink stabilizers. For Spanish and Polish buckwheat flours and two different varieties of teff (white and brown) flour pasting, structural and textural characteristics after the microwave supported heat moisture treatment in 30% of initial moisture content were evaluated. The peak viscosity was reduced by 54% and 60% for Polish and Spanish flour, respectively, while for teff, the reduction was 15% and 43% for the white and brown varieties, respectively. Significant improvement in viscoelastic modulus G’ (for Polish and Spanish buckwheat flour, 32% and 16%, respectively; for white and brown tef varieties, 14% and 18%, respectively) was observed for all the treated samples regardless of the species or variety; this resulted in better performance during 3D printing.

Proximate composition and sensory acceptability of cowpea-based pudding produced from cowpea cultivated using different weed control methods

Abstract This study evaluates the effect of different weed control methods on the proximate composition and sensory properties of cowpea-based pudding produced from cowpea flour. Cowpea seeds of Ife Brown variety with three different treatments [(supplementary hoe weeding at 6 weeks after sowing, two hoe weeding at 3 and 6 weeks after sowing, and three hoe weeding at 3, 6, and 9 weeks after sowing (WAS)] were processed into flour samples and analysed for physicochemical properties using standard methods. The puddings were prepared from cowpea flour and were subjected to proximate composition, colour properties as well as sensory qualities using standard methods. The pH, total titratable acidity, water absorption capacity and amylose of cowpea flour were 4.85–5.10, 0.02%–0.05%, 276.00%–287.09%, and 22.04%–24.60% respectively. The ranges of values for moisture content, crude fat, total ash, crude fibre, crude protein, and total carbohydrate of cowpea based pudding were 74.26%–76.15%, 0.63%–0.71%, 0.75%–0.94%, 0.66%–0.75%, 16.70%–17.83%, and 5.11%–5.55% respectively. The colour properties of cowpea-based pudding were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by each treatment. However, cowpea-based pudding prepared from treatment of supplementary hoe weeding at 6 weeks after sowing and three hoe weeding at 3, 6, and 9 weeks after were preferred most by the panelist.

Cow detection and tracking system utilizing multi-feature tracking algorithm

In modern cattle farm management systems, video-based monitoring has become important in analyzing the high-level behavior of cattle for monitoring their health and predicting calving for providing timely assistance. Conventionally, sensors have been used for detecting and tracking their activities. As the body-attached sensors cause stress, video cameras can be used as an alternative. However, identifying and tracking individual cattle can be difficult, especially for black and brown varieties that are so similar in appearance. Therefore, we propose a new method of using video cameras for recognizing cattle and tracking their whereabouts. In our approach, we applied a combination of deep learning and image processing techniques to build a robust system. The proposed system processes images in separate stages, namely data pre-processing, cow detection, and cow tracking. Cow detection is performed using a popular instance segmentation network. In the cow tracking stage, for successively associating each cow with the corresponding one in the next frame, we employed the following three features: cow location, appearance features, as well as recent features of the cow region. In doing so, we simply exploited the distance between two gravity center locations of the cow regions. As color and texture suitably define the appearance of an object, we analyze the most appropriate color space to extract color moment features and use a Co-occurrence Matrix (CM) for textural representation. Deep features are extracted from recent cow images using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN features) and are also jointly applied in the tracking process to boost system performance. We also proposed a robust Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) algorithm for cow tracking by employing multiple features from the cow region. The experimental results proved that our proposed system could handle the problems of MOT and produce reliable performance.

Variability of Fatty Acid Composition and Lignan Content in Sesame Germplasm, and Effect of Roasting.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds are highly valued for their culinary applications and for producing a premium-quality oil. This study investigated the polyphenol content and fatty acid composition of a set of sesame accessions and examined their association with seed colors. Among the different colors, black-seeded accessions exhibited the highest total lignan content, while white-seeded accessions had average lower levels. Brown-seeded accessions showed relatively lower concentrations of sesamol and intermediate levels of sesamolin and sesamin than other colors. The oil derived from these seeds contained unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs), nutritionally crucial for human consumption. Brown varieties exhibited higher concentrations of these fatty acids. Roasting black and white sesame seeds at increasing temperatures (180 and 250 °C) significantly affected lignan and UFAs concentrations. Higher temperatures resulted in elevated levels of detrimental t-oleic and t-linoleic acids. Furthermore, sesamolin content notably decreased at 180 °C and became undetectable at 250 °C. The temperature also caused a marked increase in sesamol, regardless of seed color. PCA analysis highlighted clusters between white and black varieties according to roasting temperature, displaying the potential application of chemometrics to assess processing effects and ensure sesame quality and safety. This research provides valuable insights for exploiting sesame within agrosystems in Mediterranean climates.

Effect of Silicon Application Methods on Drought Tolerance, Growth and Yield of Some Varieties of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp in Gombe State

One of the things that limits crop yield is drought. It has been demonstrated that silicon (Si) plays a significant part in reducing environmental stress in cowpea. To investigate the impact of silicon (Si) on plant development, drought tolerance, physiology, and anatomy, the cowpea white variety and cowpea brown variety were chosen. Two cowpea types were sown in each pot during the trial, which was carried out in August 2021 at Gombe State university. Four treatments—a zero treatment, silicon (Na2SiO3) in soil, silicon (Na2SiO3) in seed, and silicon (Na2SiO3) in water—were used in the experiment, which was set up in a completely randomized block design. Vegetative, physiological, and reproductive factors are among those measured. The cowpea white treatment's findings for the vegetative parameters include the greatest averages for plant height (17.2), leaf count (14), stem diameter (1.9), and trifolium count. The greatest chlorophyll concentration of any treated silicon variety found in seed is 0.68, while the highest chlorophyll stability index of any variety found in soil is 50% for the cowpea white variation. Cowpea white of the treatment silicon in seed has the lowest transpiration rate of 0.1 mL, whereas cowpea white and brown of the treatment silicon in soil have the highest relative water contents (91.4% and 89.7%, respectively). The cowpea brown treatment silicon seed's reproductive properties had the highest mean flower count (3.7), compared to the white type, there were 1.7 pods, 17.1 pods, 5.7 pods, 12.0 seeds per pod, and 49g of total biomass. The cowpea white variety benefits from the Na2SiO3's effects on physiology and vegetative parameters, whereas the brown variations benefit from it in terms of reproduction.

Chemical profile of common varieties of Allium cepa L. sold in FCT-Abuja, Nigeria

Onions (Allium cepa L.) belong to the family of vegetables and herbs with strong antioxidants properties that combats the formation of free radicals and other microbial based disease conditions. The study aimed at investigating chemical profile of common varieties of Allium cepa L. sold in FCT-Abuja, Nigeria. The samples were randomly purchased at point of sales, processed and analyzed for Phytochemical, antioxidant, mineral elements, microbial activities and GC-MS fingerprints using standard methods. Results indicated presence of alkaloid, flavonoids and tannin; antioxidant inhibitory concentrations (IC50) range of 1.496 - 2.961 mg/mL and presence of Ca, Mg, Cu, Cr and Fe were observed. The GC-MS fingerprints identified 17 compounds with retention times ranging from 3.09 to 9.77 minutes. The presence of flavonoids, alkaloids and tannins corroborated report from the earlier studies of white onions. Inhibitory concentrations of the antioxidants obtained are lower than values reported from previous similar studies. The levels of the mineral contents of all the samples are within the safe limits in terms of mineral overloads and contamination, while the GC-MS fingerprints indicated nine (9), eight (8) and seven (7) compounds in the red, white and brown varieties respectively. The allyl group from organosulfur compounds is responsible for the antimicrobial activities. All the varieties of Allium cepa L analyzed contained alkaloid, flavonoids, free from heavy metals contamination and also had potent antimicrobial activities due to the presence of the 17 compounds revealed by the GC-MS fingerprints which was not previously reported. The findings of the present study has therefore contributed to additional knowledge on the existing database on Nigerian cultivars of Allium cepa .

Changes in Lacto-Fermented Agaricus bisporus (White and Brown Varieties) Mushroom Characteristics, including Biogenic Amine and Volatile Compound Formation

This study aimed to evaluate the changes in Agaricus bisporus (white and brown) characteristics (colour and acidity parameters, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and mould/yeast counts, biogenic amine content, fatty acid (FA) and volatile compound (VC) profiles, overall acceptability, and emotions induced for consumers) during a 48 h lactic acid fermentation with Lacticaseibacillus casei No. 210, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum No. 135, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei No. 244, and Pediococcus acidilactici No. 29 strains. Fermented white and brown A. bisporus showed higher LAB count and lower pH, lightness, redness, and yellowness than non-fermented ones. Yeast and fungi counts were similar between non-fermented and fermented samples. All samples contained spermidine (on average, 191.5 mg/kg) and some of the fermented samples had tyramine (on average, 80.7 mg/kg). Saturated FA was the highest in non-fermented brown A. bisporus. The highest monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FA contents were found in Lp. plantarum No. 135 fermented white and brown A. bisporus, respectively. For the first time, the VC profile of fermented A. bisporus was analysed. 1-Octen-3-ol content significantly decreased while benzyl alcohol, acetoin, and 2,3-butanediol increased in most fermented samples. Fermented A. bisporus received good acceptability scores. The emotional evaluation showed that the LAB strain and the interaction of the LAB strain and A. bisporus variety were significant on the intensity of emotions “happy” and “sad”, while all analysed factors and their interactions were significant on the intensity of “angry” and “disgusted” (p ≤ 0.05). The findings of this study show the potential of the selected LAB strains and contribute to the increasing body of research on fermented mushrooms.

Breeding of brown cotton for spinnable yarn in intraspecific and interspecific hybrids (G. hirsutum L. and G. barbadense L.)

The negative association between pigmentation and fiber quality characters negatively affects the success of coloured fiber cotton breeding. Unfavourable linkage can be broken by crossbreeding multiple genotypes with different genetic backgrounds. We crossed two brown varieties with two white barbadense and four white hirsutum varieties. In 2022, twelve hybrids and their parents were grown in Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. Variance analysis of line × tester showed that the differences among genotypes, parents and crosses were highly significant for seed cotton yield (SCY), ginning out-turn (GOT), fiber quality parameters and colour parameters such as L* , a* and b* . Among brown colour cotton genotypes, Gelincik formed the best hybrids with barbadense varieties, Giza-75 and Bahar-82, in terms of fiber colour and quality parameters. The significant and positive standard heterosis for seed cotton yield per plant and fiber length were recorded in Gelincik × Bahar-82 hybrids. Giza-75 and Bahar-82 were good general combiners for fiber length and strength. Gelincik × Bahar-82 and Gelincik × Giza-75 with acceptable colour values and superior fiber quality traits were found to be usable both for pedigree selection and for further studies on the use of hybrid varieties. Therefore, we highlighted that barbadense varieties must be included in breeding coloured fiber cotton.

Variations in Antioxidant Activity, Physical, Chemical and Selected Antinutritional Factors of Two Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan (L)) Varieties as Affected by Processing Methods

This study evaluated the variations in antioxidant activity, physical, chemical and antinutritional properties of two pigeon pea varieties (white and brown) as affected by processing methods (boiling, roasting and sprouting). The processing methods revealed significant (p<0.05) variations in the results of tested parameters. The unprocessed white pigeon pea variety had the highest gelatinization temperature (84 °C), trypsin inhibitor (9.04 Tiu/ng), polyphenols (137.05 mgGAE/100 g) and ABTS (141.10 μmTrolox/g), while the unprocessed brown variety retained higher concentrations of bulk density (0.71 g/g), phytate (2.55%), tannin (0.94 mg/100 g), FRAP (7.86 mmol/100 g) and total flavonoid (1.02 mgQE/100 g) contents, respectively. Boiled white pigeon pea variety had the highest moisture (11.60%), fat (5.19%), oil absorption capacity (2.97 mg/ml), DPPH (103.25%), and magnesium (80.65 mg/100 g), whereas roasted white pigeon pea variety showed significantly (p<0.05) higher concentrations in water absorption capacity (2.25 g/ml), swelling index (3.51%), and wettability (59.70%). Roasted brown pigeon pea variety exhibited greater ash (5.04%), fiber (5.31%), protein (24.36%), and oil absorption capacity (2.97 mg/ml) than other treatments, respectively. On the other hand, the sprouted white pigeon pea variety had the highest carbohydrate (60.09%), calcium (124.00 mg/100 g) and iron (11.38 mg/100 g) content. From the variety and processing methods, the study shows that the white variety of pigeon pea was a good source of proximate, minerals and functional values, while the brown variety had the highest antinutrients and antioxidant activities. Hence, pigeon pea is a good source of nutrients and that differences in nutrient values are due to variety and processing treatments.

Histological and Micromeritic Differences Between the Two Varieties of Lonchocarpus sericeus (Poir.) Kunth ex DC. (Fabaceae)

Purpose: Lonchocarpus sericeus (Poir.) kunth ex DC. (Fabaceae) is a tropical plant used in ethnomedicine as an analgesic, appetite stimulant, antibacterial and cytotoxic agent. This study aims to establish histological and micromeritic parameters as standards for the leaves of brown and white varieties. Methods: The leaves of both varieties were collected, dried under shade and pulverized. Microscopic evaluations were done on both the fresh and powdered samples. Micromeritic properties were determined for the plant organs collected. Carr’s index, angle of repose and Hausner’s ratio were calculated. Chemomicroscopic and fluorescence evaluations were also done on the powders. Results: The results obtained from the microscopy of the fresh leaves revealed hypostomatic stomatal distribution and anomocytic type of stomata for the brown variety and paracytic type of stomata for the white variety both on abaxial surfaces. The epidermal cell shapes for the abaxial and adaxial surfaces were both irregular. The stomatal number was found to be 36.9 ± 0.71 and 17.8 + 0.97 for the brown and white varieties respectively. The stomatal index was 8.13 %. and 7.45 % for the brown and white varieties respectively. The angle of repose for the brown and white varieties were 33.7 ± 0.72 and 40.05 ± 0.57 respectively. The chemomicroscopic result revealed that both leaves contained cellulose, mucilage, lignin, protein and starch. Conclusion: The results obtained from this study can be used to distinguish between the two varieties, and could also serve as pharmacopeial standards for quality assurance of the medicinal plant as a herbal drug. Keywords: Lonchocarpus sericeus, Carr’s index, Hausner’s ratio, micromeritic, histological

Hypsizygus marmoreus as a Source of Indole Compounds and Other Bioactive Substances with Health-Promoting Activities.

Hypsizygus marmoreus is an edible medicinal mushroom species with a high dietary value. In this study, the fruiting bodies of commercial and self-cultivated crops and mycelium from in vitro H. marmoreus cultures (both white and brown varieties) were evaluated. This study aimed to analyze the presence of indole compounds and other biologically active substances and determine the effect that the addition of zinc and magnesium ions to the culture medium has on the content of the tested compounds in mycelial cultures. The content of indole compounds and other organic compounds was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, the content of bioelements was determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry, the glucan content was determined spectrophotometrically, and the antioxidant activity of extracts was estimated using DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS methods. The results showed that H. marmoreus mycelium from in vitro cultures is a good source of indole compounds, bioelements, glucans, and lovastatin. Mycelia from in vitro cultures showed the most diverse composition of indole compounds (L-tryptophan, 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan, tryptamine, 5-methyltryptamine, and melatonin). Additionally, in vitro cultures of H. marmoreus enriched with Zn and Mg salts increased the contents of Na, Ca, Zn, 5-methyltryptamine, melatonin, protocatechuic acid, sterols, and total glucans. Only in the case of the white variety of mycelial enriched cultures, ergothioneine and Mg levels also increased. To summarize, the content of the active compounds differed depending on the H. marmoreus variety and the tested material.

The effects of fermentation with water kefir grains on two varieties of tigernut (Cyperus esculentus L.) milk

This study investigated the effect on the brown and yellow varieties of tigernut milk after fermentation with water kefir grain, and then determined the properties and bioactive components of the resulting tigernut kefirs. The yellow variety of tigernut milk had higher glucose, fructose and sucrose concentrations. The lactococci and lactobacilli counts for the tigernut kefirs reached from 8.71 to 8.78 log CFU/ml and from 6.94 to 8.14 log CFU/ml, respectively. The presence of yeast in tigernut kefir is related to water kefir grain microbiota. Tigernut kefirs contained from 2.44 to 2.96 g/L of lactic acid. The stepwise discriminant analysis demonstrated that succinic acid, folate, vitamin E, and iron contents were found to be discriminating attributes of the tigernut milk varieties. In contrast, benzoic acid, quercetin and vitamin K were discriminating attributes for tigernut kefirs. The total phenolic content of the samples varied from 77.82 to 101.77 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE) L−1; the brown variety of tigernut kefir had a lower total phenolic content than the yellow variety. An increase in the total antioxidant capacity was noticed after kefir fermentation. The extensive findings of this study demonstrated that tigernut milk from both varieties provide an excellent environment for the growth of water kefir microbiota.

An Overview on Colour Cotton Research – A Review

In the current review of literature study we aimed to describe and delineate on current and future perspectives on colour cotton research. In India, about 40 coloured genotypes of upland cotton (G. hirsutum), mostly of various shades of brown and green colour have been developed. Brown cotton lines are at the forefront and expects that one of its varieties, DDCC-1, was proposed for release in 2021. Furthermore, DMB-225, a medium brown variety was developed in 2013, along with three other varieties. However, DMB-225 was not released commercially on the grounds that it would contaminate white cotton, though its fiber quality was found highly suitable. By not using chemical dyes, as well as reducing the use of pesticides, the naturally colored cottons have become popular for being ecological and environmentally safe. However, The limitations which impede commercial cultivation of coloured cotton itself signalize future thrust area of research viz. (i) development of wide range of colors with different shades, uniformity and stability, (ii) improvement of fiber properties such as length, strength and maturity, (iii) development of high yielding, early maturing varieties and hybrids, (iv) development of coloured cotton varieties and hybrids amenable to mechanical picking, (v) development of male sterility based hybrids in desi and upland coloured cottons, and (vi) development of coloured transgenic cottons..