Ziziphus Mauritiana Research Articles

Untangling the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on habitat selection by a tropical rodent

Understanding how animal populations respond to environmental factors is critical because large-scale environmental processes (e.g., habitat fragmentation, climate change) are impacting ecosystems at unprecedented rates. On an overgrazed floodplain in north-western Australia, a native rodent (Pale Field Rat, Rattus tunneyi) constructs its burrows primarily beneath an invasive tree (Chinee Apple, Ziziphus mauritiana) rather than native trees. The dense thorny foliage of the Chinee Apple may allow high rat densities either because of abiotic effects (shade, in a very hot environment) or biotic processes (protection from trampling and soil compaction by feral horses, and/or predation). To distinguish between these hypotheses, we manipulated Chinee Apple foliage to modify biotic factors (access to horses and predators) but not shade levels. We surveyed the rat population with Elliott traps under treatment and control trees and in the open woodland, in two seasons (the breeding season—January, and the nesting season—May). In the breeding season, we ran giving-up density experiments (GUD) with food trays, to assess the perceived risk of predation by rats across our three treatments. Selective trimming of foliage did not affect thermal regimes underneath the trees but did allow ingress of horses and we observed two collapsed burrows as a consequence (although long term impacts of horses were not measured). The perceived predation risk also increased (GUD values at food trays increased) and was highest in the open woodland. Our manipulation resulted in a shift in rat sex ratios (indicating female preference for breeding under control but not foliage-trimmed trees) and influenced rat behaviour (giving-up densities increased; large dominant males inhabited the control but not treatment trees). Our data suggest that the primary benefit of the Chinee Apple tree to native rodents lies in physical protection from predators and (potentially) feral horses, rather than in providing cooler microhabitat.

The Anti-inflammatory Effect of Ethanol Extract Gel of Fig Leaves (Ficus carica Linn.) and Sidr Leaves (Ziziphus mauritiana Linn.)

Abstract: Inflammation is a form of the body's response to tissue damage with a sign of epidermal thickness, an increase in the number of inflammatory cells and the expression of the COX-2 enzyme. The fig leaves and sidr dry leaves are among the natural ingredients that are used to intervene in inflammation. This study aims to identify the anti-inflammatory effects of ethanol extract of the two natural ingredients formulated in the form of a gel. This study probed 15 groups of research subjects of BALB/c rats (Mus musculus), which were given several treatments. The test parameters were administered on the physical characteristics of gel preparations in the form of organoleptic, pH, spread ability, adhesion and viscosity of the gel as well as anti-inflammatory activity test based on epidermal thickness, a number of inflammatory cells and COX-2 expression. The rats were treated for 3 days before the process of histopathological preparation, Hematoxylin Eosin and COX-2 immunohistochemistry. The results implied that the extracted gel of fig and sidr leaves showed good physical characteristics in the organoleptic, pH 5.73- 6.12, 3.29 cm spread ability, 2.98 seconds adhesion and pseudoplastic fluid. The antiinflammatory activity displayed significant differences in the treatment group, which were 2.5% of sidr leaves extract, 5% of sidr leaves extract, 2.5% of fig leaves extract, 5% of fig leaves extract, 2.5% of fig and sidr leaves extract combination, 5% of fig and sidr leaves extract combination, 2.5% of sidr leaves gel, 5% of sidr leaves gel, 2.5% of fig leaves gel, 5% of fig leaves gel, 2.5% of fig and sidr leaves gel combination and 5% of fig and sidr leaves gel combination compared to negative control. However, when it was juxtaposed with normal and positive control, a conclusion of the treatment group had better activity in reducing the thickness of the epidermis could not be drawn. Key words: Anti-inflammatory activity, COX-2 enzyme, Inflammatory cells, Fig leaves, Sidr leaves, Gel.

Identification of Indian jujube varieties cultivated in Saudi Arabia using an artificial neural network.

This study aimed to develop a method for identifying different cultivars of Indian jujube fruits (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) based on a single Indian jujube fruit color and morphological attributes using an artificial neural network (ANN) classifier. Eleven Indian jujube fruit cultivars were collected during winter of season 2020 from a local orchard located at Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia to measure their lengths, major diameters, and minor diameters. Different morphological descriptors were calculated, including the arithmetic mean diameter, the sphericity percent, and the surface area. Moreover, the color values of L*, a*, and b* of the skin of fruits were recorded. The ANN classifier was used to identify the appropriate class of Indian jujube fruit by using a combination of morphological and color descriptors. The proposed method achieved an overall identification rate of 98.39% and 97.56% in training and testing phases, respectively. In addition to color and morphological features, ANN classifier is a useful tool for identifying Indian jujube fruit cultivars and circumventing the difficulties met during fruit grading.

Lactobacillus plantarum as feed additive to improvement invitro ruminal biofermentation and digestibility of some tropical tree leaves.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) on the invitro gas production (GP) kinetics and ruminal fermentation parameter of three species of tropical forage Ziziphus mauritiana, Acacia victoriae and Moringa oleifera. Treatments were (i) Z. mauritiana (Z) without LP (-ZLP), (ii) Z. mauritiana (Z) with LP (+ZLP), (iii) A. victoriae (A) without LP (-ALP), (4) A. victoriae (A) with LP (+ALP), (5) M. oleifera (M) without LP (-MLP) and (6) M. oleifera (M) with LP (+MLP). The LP was used at 0·5 Mcfarland (1·5 × 108 colony-forming unit per millilitre (CFU per ml)). Kinetic of GP (GP from the fermentable fraction [b], GP rate [c] and lag phase [L]) and GP were affected (P < 0·05) by plant species and LP. The highest value of b, c and GP were observed in +MLP treatment compared with other treatments. The lowest value of L was observed for the +ZLP treatment compared with other treatments. The GP and fermentation parameter included organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME) content, microbial CP (MCP) and truly degraded substrate (TDS) were affected by plant species and LP supplementation. The highest OMD, ME, TDS and MCP values were observed in +MLP treatment. At different incubation times, the highest amount of ammonia-N was observed in treatment +MLP compared with other treatments. Under the influence of experimental treatments (effect of plant species and LP), the highest concentrations of total volatile fatty acids, acetate and acetate to propionate ratio were observed in treatments +MLP, +ALP and +ALP, respectively. Concentrations of propionate, iso-butyrate, n-valerate and iso-valerate were affected by plant species, and the highest levels were observed in -ZLP, +MLP, -MLP and +MLP tretments, respectively. The use of LP as a microbial additive had a positive effect on the invitro digestibility and ruminal fermentation of tannins-rich tropical plants. Results suggest that dietary LP inclusion could be an option to improve ruminant energy utilization efficiency of tannins-rich tropical plants. Regardless the effect of the forage species, the use of LP as a microbial additive improved GP and kinetics and also increased OMD, TDS, MCP and enhanced the total invitro ruminal VFAs production.

Giving bidara leaf extract (Ziziphus mauritiana) through drinking water as an alternative antioxidant against quail haematological

Bidara leaves (Ziziphus mauritiana) contain quercetin 3-O-rhamnoglucoside 7-O-rhamnoside which is a major flavonoid compound that has the potential as an antioxidant. This study was aimed to determine the effect of giving bidara leaf extract as an alternative antioxidant on the haematological status of quail. This study used 160 quails aged 9 days that were reared for 42 days. This study used a completely randomized design, which consisted of 5 treatments and 4 replications. Using the experimental arrangement: P0 (without vitamin C and bidara leaf extract); P1(vitamin C); P2 (0.20 mL bidara leaf extract); P3 (0.24 mL bidara leaf extract) and P4 (0.28 mL bidara leaf extract). Parameters measured were hematocrit, haemoglobin, erythrocyte and leukocyte. The result showed that erythrocytes and leucocytes had no significant effect (P>0.05) but had a significant effect (P<0.05) on haemoglobin and hematocrit. The highest haemoglobin level was at P4 while the lowest haemoglobin level was at P0. The treatment of P3 (0.24 mL of bidara leaf extract) can increase the levels of quail hematocrit. Therefore, it can be concluded that the higher level of giving bidara leaf extract, the higher of haemoglobin level in quails and giving bidara leaf extract at P3 (0.24 mL) was the best alternative to an antioxidant in quails.

Food and Feeding Behavior of Red Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) and Role in Seed Dispersal at Urban Area, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Red vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) was mostly forage on Lawsonia inermis, Delonix regia, Aurocaria species, Bouganvillia spectebilis, Asparagus racemosus, Psidum guovava, Lantana camara and Ziziphus nummularia and Ziziphus mauritiana. In non-breeding season they mainly feed upon ripe fruits and insects. During breeding season they most preferred protein rich diets, helpful in development of newly hatched young once. They are usually feed upon insects, grasshopper, aphids, spiders, cockroaches, honey bee and dragonflies. During observation, we records two pair of red vented bulbul feed upon junk food (Bikaji sev Bhujia). Junk food was more preferred as compare to other food materials. This observation was very rare and interesting performed by adults, behavior indicate birds are change feeding preferences. Udaipur region are highly affected by invasion of Lantana camara and Prosopis juliflora. Bulbul plays role in dispersal of various types of plant species.

Étude de l’activité antioxydante et détermination des teneurs en éléments minéraux des feuilles et fleurs de Ziziphus mauritiana lam

In Senegal, like almost everywhere in Africa, the majority of the population uses medicinal plants for treatment. Thus, medicinal plants occupy an important place in scientific research. The objective of this study is to contribute to the valorization of Z. mauritiana through the study of the antioxidant capacity and its nutritional composition. The leaf extract showed greater antioxidant capacity. It presented the lowest IC50 which are 40.5049 ± 0.0313 and 44.3500 ± 0.0412 μg/ml respectively for the inhibition of DPPH and ABTS radicals. The flower extract presented an IC50 of 715.4129 ± 0.0221 μg/ml with DPPH and IC50 of 80.9238 ± 0.01212 μg/ml with ABTS. The water content in the flowers is slightly higher than the leaves, respectively 9.6095 ± 0.0233 g/100g and 9.4400 ± 0.4511 g/100g. The ash content in the leaves was significantly higher than in the flowers (respectively 9,954 g/100g and 8,621 g/100g). The leaves contained respectively 4.3765 ± 0.0445; 4.1750 ± 0.6466; 284.0000 ± 0.5204; 19.9500 ± 1.2413; 65.9012 ± 1.5366; 65.5000 ± 0.6765 and 2.1170 ± 0.0076 g/100g of zinc, iron, magnesium, copper, potassium, calcium and sodium. The composition of flowers in the same order was 4.0660 ± 0.0701; 4.2500 ± 0.4543; 322.5000 ± 2.4149; 21.4250 ± 0.6495; 80.3750 ± 1.9211 and 62.7250 ± 1.1669 g/100g. The leaves and flowers of Ziziphus mauritiana lam. contain minerals and are a potential source of natural antioxidants. It could be beneficial in the prevention of degenerative diseases linked to oxidative stress.

Heavy metal accumulation by roadside vegetation and implications for pollution control.

Vehicular emissions cause heavy metal pollution and exert negative impacts on environment and roadside vegetation. Wild plants growing along roadsides are capable of absorbing considerable amounts of heavy metals; thus, could be helpful in reducing heavy metal pollution. Therefore, current study inferred heavy metal absorbance capacity of some wild plant species growing along roadside. Four different wild plant species, i.e., Acacia nilotica L., Calotropis procera L., Ricinus communis L., and Ziziphus mauritiana L. were selected for the study. Leaf samples of these species were collected from four different sites, i.e., Control, New Lahore, Nawababad and Fatehabad. Leaf samples were analyzed to determine Pb2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Mn2+ and Fe3+ accumulation. The A. nilotica, Z. mauritiana and C. procera accumulated significant amount of Pb at New Lahore site. Similarly, R. communis and A. nilotica accumulated higher amounts of Mn, Zn and Fe at Nawababad and New Lahore sites compared to the rest of the species. Nonetheless, Z. mauritiana accumulated higher amounts of Ni at all sites compared with the other species included in the study. Soil surface contributed towards the uptake of heavy metals in leaves; therefore, wild plant species should be grown near the roadsides to control heavy metals pollution. Results revealed that wild plants growing along roadsides accumulate significant amounts of heavy metals. Therefore, these species could be used to halt the vehicular pollution along roadsides and other polluted areas.

Nutritional and Biochemical Quality Assessment of Commonly Consumed Jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana L.) Varieties Available in Bangladesh

A study was conducted to determine major biochemical and mineral constituents in commonly consumed jujube varieties of Bangladesh. A total of 15 (4 local/deshi and 11 exotic) varieties of matured jujube fruits were collected from the different markets and local areas of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh, and analyzed for this study. The study results revealed that all studied physical properties were lower in local/deshi sour varieties of jujube, and BAU kul contained the maximum amount of flesh (edible part of fruits) along with flesh and seed ratio. Among the biochemical properties- titratable acidity, vitamin C, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total sugar and reducing sugar content varied from 0.178-2.769%, 33.28-98.63 mg/100 g flesh, 0.0019-0.0174 mg/g tissue, 0.0007-0.0148 mg/g tissue, 2.50-9.83% and 0.135-4.150%, respectively. The study results revealed that local/deshi varieties contained a comparatively higher amount of vitamin C and lower total sugar. However, BARI kuls contained significantly higher amounts of vitamin C and chlorophylls compared to other exotic varieties. The content of Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, and S in jujube varieties ranged from 0.040-0.233%, 0.071-0.164%, 0.054-0.189%, 0.490-2.602%, 0.062-0.234% and 0.079-0.359%, respectively. Regarding major nutrients studied, Ca, Na, K, P, and S contents were higher in local/deshi sour varieties while Mg content was higher in exotic varieties. The study results concluded that most of the biochemical and mineral contents in local/deshi sour jujube fruits were higher, allowing breeders to develop new varieties and improve the quality of existing exotic cultivars.

Studies on Physico-chemical characters of Thai Apple ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) grown in Assam

An experiment was carried out during 2017-19 to study the morpho-physical and bio-chemical characters of Thai Apple ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) grown in Assam. The leaves of Thai Apple ber fruits collected from different locations of Assam showed elliptic shape with serrate leaf margin, obtuse apex and oblique base. The colour of mature leaves was observed to be dark green. The leaf length, leaf breadth and petiole length of Thai Apple ber fruits shows a great variations among all collection. The plant of Gela Pukhuri and Simen Chapori recorded early flowering and harvesting among the Thai Apple ber plants of other locations in the present study. The fruits of Boitamari (BC-8) recorded longest fruit (5.10cm) while, maximum fruit weight (53.08g) was recorded in BC-1 (Simen Chapori). The shape and surface of seeds was found to be ovate and warty and pulp-stone ratio ranged from 18.76 - 23.28.The biochemical analysis reveals that the quality characters like moisture content, TSS, titratable acidity, TSS-acid ratio and ascorbic acid content differed. Total sugar (6.37 - 7.81%) and reducing sugar (2.44 - 3.06%) contents varied significantly among the Thai Apple ber fruits of different locations. The highest vitamin A (16.08 μg/100g) were found in Gela Pukhuri (BC-3) and highest protein (0.87g/100g) was found in BC-2 (Bongalmora). The calcium and phosphorus contents of the Thai Apple ber fruits ranged from 20.48mg/100g to 23.50mg/100g and 24.08mg/100g to 25.25mg/100g, respectively. It can be concluded that Thai Apple apple ber fruits can successfully be grown under sub-tropical area of Assam. The ber fruits collected from Simen Chapori (BC-1) was found best in terms of biochemical composition i.e. TSS, TSS/ acid ratio, total sugar, reducing sugar and moisture content.

The impact of harvest time on the quality of Indian jujube ‘Nomsod’ produced in northeastern Thailand

The impact of harvest time on the quality of Indian jujube ‘Nomsod’ produced in northeastern Thailand

Distinct morpho-physiological and biochemical features of arid and hyper-arid ecotypes of Ziziphus nummularia under drought suggest its higher tolerance compared with semi-arid ecotype.

Tree species in the arid and semi-arid regions use various strategies to combat drought stress. Ziziphus nummularia (Burm. f.) Wight et Arn., native to the Thar Desert in India, is highly drought-tolerant. To identify the most drought-tolerant ecotype of Z. nummularia, one ecotype each from semi-arid (Godhra, annual rainfall >750mm), arid (Bikaner, 250-350mm) and hyper-arid (Jaisalmer, <150mm) regions was selected along with two other Ziziphus species, Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk. and Ziziphus rotundifolia Lamk., and screened for parameters contributing to drought tolerance. Among these, Z. nummularia (Jaisalmer) (CIAHZN-J) was the most drought - tolerant. The tolerance nature of CIAHZN-J was associated with increased membrane stability, root length and number, length of hairs and thorns, root dry/fresh weight ratio, seed germination (at -0.5MPa), proline content (31-fold), catalase and sugar content (two- to three-fold). Apart from these characteristics, it also exhibited the longest duration to reach highest cumulative drought stress rating, maintained higher relative water content for a longer period of time with reduced leaf size, leaf rolling and falling of older leaves, and displayed sustained shoot growth during drought stress. To determine drought tolerance in Ziziphus, we developed a morphological symptom-based screening technique in this study. Additionally, transcriptome profiling of CIAHZN-J in response to drought revealed the up-regulation of genes involved in sugar metabolism and transport, abscisic acid biosynthesis, osmoregulation, reactive oxygen species homeostasis and maintaining water potential. Expression profiles and semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR results further correlated with the physiological and biochemical mechanisms. In conclusion, CIAHZN-J is an excellent genetic stock for the identification of drought-responsive genes and can also be deployed in crop improvement programs for drought tolerance.

Electrochemical sensing of dopamine via bio-assisted synthesized silver nanoparticles

A simple, environment-friendly, cost-effective procedure is proposed for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Ziziphus mauritiana (ZmL) as reducing as well as stabilizing agent and its application on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the detection of dopamine by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Results showed a substantial enhancement of peak current using Ag@GCE as compared to bare-GCE for the detection of neurotransmitter dopamine. The synthesized ZmL-AgNPs were characterized using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We investigated the electrochemical responses of both bare-GCE and Ag-assembled GCE using cyclic voltammetry to delineate the performance enhancement due to ZmL-AgNPs. The present ZmL-AgNP-assembled GCE displayed very high sensitivity and selectivity with excellent linear calibration range 10–100 µM for detection of dopamine with a limit of detection and limit of quantification values 0.1 and 0.3 µM, respectively. The sensor was successfully applied for dopamine detection in real urine samples.

EVALUATION OF COATINGS FOR SHELF LIFE ENHANCEMENT AND QUALITY RETENTION IN BER (ZIZYPHUS MAURITIANA LAMK.)

Ber, a climacteric fruit crop, is liable to spoilage during storage. This study aims to evaluate the effect of coatings on shelf life and quality retention in ber under ambient storage conditions. Coated and uncoated ber fruits were stored at ambient storage temperatures (±25ºC) for 10 days and accessed every 2 days for analysis. Ber fruits reported minimum weight loss (2.68g), PLW (14.35%) and TSS (9.52%) with the application of petroleum jelly coating. Minimum total sugars (8.98%), minimum reducing sugar content (3.96%), maximum non-reducing sugars (5.69%) and maximum antioxidant activity (63.83%) was recorded in fruits with petroleum jelly coating. This study highlights the importance of coating of fruits for enhanced shelf life and quality retention under ambient storage conditions.

Visible light induced antibacterial and antioxidant studies of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO fabricated using aqueous leaf extract of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam

A cost-effective phytogenic fabrication of zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper-doped zinc oxide (Cu-doped ZnO) using aqueous leaf extract of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. was successfully demonstrated. The structural, morphological and optical studies have been carried out using various techniques. XPS, XRD analysis and FT-IR spectroscopic studies confirmed the successful synthesis, crystalline nature and purity of synthesized ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO. UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectra showed reduction of band gap energies from 3.11 to 2.54 eV as Cu doping increases from 0% to 5%. SEM images revealed the synthesized ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO are irregular and spherical shaped, respectively. Antibacterial property of the synthesized materials were evaluated against Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative Escherichia coli using different concentrations. This investigation revealed that the synthesized materials were able to inhibit the activity of Staphylococcus aureus better than Escherichia coli under both dark and visible light conditions with the highest inhibition of 9.33 ± 0.58 mm under light irradiation. The synthesized materials were also found to effectively scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals in the dark and an enhancement of the scavenging activity was observed under visible light irradiation.

Studies on changes in biochemical attributes during growth and development of ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruit cv. (Narendra ber selection-2)

The Studies on changes in biochemical attributes during growth and development of ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruit cv. (Narendra Ber Selection-2) was conducted during growing season of 2019-20. The fruits on tagged current season shoot were harvested at 21, 36, 51, 66, 81, 96, 111, 126, 141, 156, 171 and 186 days after fruit set. Samples were collected from Main Experiment Station, Horticulture and transported to the post graduate laboratory of Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, ANDUA&T, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The objective was to probe the pattern of biochemical changes in developing ber fruits. The outcomes reveal that total soluble solids increased from 1.04% to 17.94% during 186 days of fruit growth and development whereas acidity content continuously decreased and recorded 0.39% on 21th day and 0.14% on 186th day of growth and development. Ascorbic acid content increased from 3.29 mg/100g to 90.26 mg /100g of fruit. Reducing, Non-reducing and total sugar content significantly increased from 0.22% to 4.76%, 0.11% to 5.77% and 0.35% to 10.87%, respectively. Moisture content showed decreasing trend and was maximum 71.12% on 21st day and minimum 65.79% on 186th day of observation. An abrupt decrease in chlorophyll content was recorded with growth and development of the fruit.

Performance of Growing Rabbits Fed Graded Levels of Ziziphus mauritiana Leaf Meal in a Diets

Purpose: An eight weeks feeding trail was conducted to evaluate the performance of growing rabbits fed graded levels of Zizipus mauritiana leaf meal in a diet.&#x0D; Methodology: Dietary treatment were designated A, B, C and D which were made up to 100% concentrate, 15%, 30% and 45% Ziziphus mauritiana leaf meal inclusion levels respectively, twenty cross bred growing rabbits of both sexes averaged 72.8g, balanced for weight and were used in a completely randomized experimental design. They were tattooed and randomly allocated to four dietary treatments replicated with seven rabbits. The rabbits were allowed one week pre-conditioning (adaptation) period during which the animals were collected for feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion efficiency was calculated.&#x0D; Findings: There were significant (p&lt;0.05) differences in all the parameters considered. Diet D had the highest significant (p&lt;0.05) effect in terms of weight gain with value of 648g compared to others while the control diet recoded the least value with 436g. similarly, diet D was the most consumed and a significant (p&lt;0.05) difference was observed between diet B and C, with the former having a higher value of 124.86g. the result further revealed that as the level of Ziziphus Mauritian leaf increased in the diets lower values for feed conversion efficiency were obtained.&#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, policy, and practice: This indicates that supplementation with the test ingredient increases the efficiency with which the dies were utilized. Thus, diet D, with the most favorable results among the treatments groups is superior to others. It is therefore recommended for growing rabbits.&#x0D; Key words: Rabbits, Leaf meal, feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion efficiency

Evaluation of antimycobacterial activity of medicinal plants used by Malian traditional medicine practitioners to treat tuberculosis

Global Tuberculosis (TB) control is facing major challenges such as occurrence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR). The current TB drugs are getting less effective and associated with side effects limiting their use, especially with MDR and XDR infected patients. In Mali, many medicinal plants are used against various diseases including bacterial infections. The study aimed at studying the antimycobacterial activities of 60 extracts from 22 Malian medicinal. The antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was assessed employing micro-broth dilution method. Out of 60 extracts evaluated, eleven from nine different plants were found to be active against H37Rv strain. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranked from 125 μg/mL to 1250 μg/mL. The most active extracts (125 μg/mL) were represented by ethanolic extract of Saba senegalensis and Vitellaria paradoxa leaves, dichloromethane extract of Cola cordifolia leaves, Strychnos spinosa and Ximenia Americana roots. Ethanolic extract of Zizyphus mauritiana, Guiera senegalensis and methanolic extract of Anthocleista djalonensis also prevented the growth of H37Rv at 250 μg/mL. The results suggest that Saba senegalensis, Vitellaria paradoxa, Cola cordifolia, Strychnos spinosa and Ximenia Americana could be potential sources of antimycobacterial molecules

Fruit properties during the harvest period of eleven Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) cultivars.

The geometric attributes and physical, mechanical, and chemical properties were determined for 11 Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) cultivars grown in Saudi Arabia including Zaytoni, Kashmiri, Komethry, Um-Sulaem with spines, Toffahy, Um-Sulaem without spines, Abdel-Sattar, Pu-Yun, Pu-Pineau, seedy ber, and buddling ber. The geometric mean diameter, surface area, sphericity, and shape index of the fruits ranged from 20.61 to 42.48 mm, 1339.58–5666.92 mm2, 71.39–96.80%, and 110.25–275.18%, respectively. The fruit physical properties, i e fruit weight, fruit volume, stone weight, flesh weight, true fruit density, and pulp-stone ratio varied from 4.71 to 39.02 g, 4.78 to 42.75 cm3, 0.11 to 2.35 g, 4.61 to 36.67 g,0.913 to 1.055 g/cm3, and 7.90 to 43.11, respectively. In addition, the mean color value of L*, a* and b* for the fruits ranged from 64.48 to 96.33, 2.65–4.05, and 6.32–84.36, respectively. The mechanical properties, including elastic range, bioyield force, modulus of elasticity, plastic range, and rupture force ranged from 2.31 to 8.86 mm, 21.64–325.77 N, 14.15–124.09 N/s, 0.83–3.45 mm, 56.42–364.21 N, and 107.77–480.91 N/s, respectively. The greatest rupture force belonged to the Pu-Pineau cultivar and the smallest belonged to the Um-Sulaem without spines cultivar at the horizontal orientation of both cultivars. The fruit chemical analysis values for total soluble solids, titratable acidity, total soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio, and vitamin C ranged from 13.43 to 23.55%, 0.48–1.27%, 14.24–39.85%, and 55.27–164.47 mg/100 g, respectively. The relevant data obtained for the 11 varieties of Indian jujube are valuable for developing and designing machines for processing operations, transportation, separating, packing, sorting, and harvesting. Additionally, the findings revealed considerable variation in chemical content, physical and mechanical characteristics among the tested cultivars.

Performance of Red Sokoto goat fed graded level of Ziziphus mauritiana (Magarya) leaves as milk enhancer

The study conducted to investigate the performance of Red Sokoto goat fed graded level of Ziziphus mauritiana (Magarya) leaves as milk enhancer. Ziziphus mauritiana is widely distributed and evergreen plant of the study area; perhaps it could play an important role as fodder. A Feeding trail for 12 weeks was carried out to determined weight gain, milk yield by Red sokoto goats fed graded level of Ziziphus mauritiana. Twenty Red Sokoto goats were randomly allotted to five treatments as A (Negative control), B (0%,C (10%), D (20%) and E C (30%) of four replicates. The four experimental diets formulated were designate as B (0%,C (10%), D (20%) and E C (30%) inclusion levels of the test ingredient, Parameters measured were does and kids weight changes, milk yield, total solid, protein, fat, solid not fat, pH and ash. The result showed that the ash content of the experimental diets varied significantly (P&lt; 0.05) across the treatments, with 0% inclusion level having the highest ash content (12.29%) followed by 10% inclusion level (11.83%) while 30% inclusion level had the least (09.22%). The crude protein (CP) content was higher in 30% inclusion level (16.11%) , while EE and CF were however higher in 30% inclusion level 6.33% and 30.75%) respectively. Milk yield was estimated by the weigh-suckle-weigh method. The result revealed that milk yield, total solid, SNF, fat and ash varied significantly (P&lt;0.05) among the treatments. Treatment D was superior to other treatments in the average milk yield (0.43Kg/day), fat (4.41%) and protein (3.54 %) content. Furthermore, Weight Changes of Kids showed treatment D at nine week had the higher weight gain followed by treatments E. It is therefore, concluded that supplementation of lactating Does with treatment D (20% level as supplement) throughout trial, positively improves lactation performance of the does and kids weight changes. Therefore, it is however, suggested that further investigation on the anti- nutritional factors of the plant.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; L'étude menée pour étudier la performance de la chèvre Rouge Sokoto nourrie des feuilles de Ziziphus mauritiana (Magarya) feuilles comme exhausteur de lait. Ziziphus mauritiana est largement répandu et plante à feuilles persistantes de la zone d'étude; peut-être qu'il pourrait jouer un rôle important en tant que fourrage. Une piste d'alimentation pendant 12 semaines a été effectuée pour déterminer le gain de poids, le rendement laitier par les chèvres sokoto rouges nourries niveau classé de Ziziphus mauritiana. Vingt chèvres Sokoto rouges ont été attribuées au hasard à cinq traitements comme A (contrôle négatif), B (0%, C (10%), D(20%) et E C (30 %) de quatre répliques. Les quatre régimes expérimentaux formulés ont été désignés comme B (0%, C (10%), D (20%) et E C (30%) niveaux d'inclusion de l'ingrédient d'essai, Paramètres mesurés ont été fait et les enfants changements de poids, le rendement du lait, total solide, protéines, gras, solide pas gras, pH et cendres. Le résultat a montré que la teneur en cendres des régimes expérimentaux variait considérablement (P&lt; 0.05) entre les traitements, le taux d'inclusion de 0 % ayant la teneur en cendres la plus élevée (12.29 %) suivi d'un taux d'inclusion de 10 % (11.83 %) tandis que le niveau d'inclusion de 30 % était le moins élevé (0.,22 %). La teneur en protéines brutes (CP) était plus élevée dans le niveau d'inclusion de 30 % (16.11 %), tandis que l'EE et les FC étaient toutefois plus élevés dans le niveau d'inclusion de 30 % 6.33 % et 30.75 %) respectivement. Le rendement du lait a été estimé par la méthode de pesée-lait-pesée. Le résultat a révélé que le rendement laitier, le solide total, le SNF, la graisse et les cendres variaient considérablement (P&lt;0.05) parmi les traitements. Le traitement D était supérieur à d'autres traitements dans le rendement laitier moyen (0.43 kg/jour), la graisse (6.41 %) protéines (3.54 %) Contenu. En outre, les changements de poids des enfants ont montré le traitement D à neuf semaines a eu le gain de poids plus élevé suivi des traitements E. Il est donc conclu que la supplémentation de la lactation ne avec le traitement D (20% niveau comme supplément) tout au long de l'essai, améliore positivement la performance de lactation des changements de poids ne et les enfants. Par conséquent, il est toutefois suggéré que des enquêtes plus approfondies sur les facteurs antinutrit nutritionnels de la plante.