Title : Thermophilic Bacteria: Applications in Agriculture |
Authors : Shivani Sankla,Asha Sahu,Sudeshna Bhattacharjya,Nisha Sahu, A B Singh |
Thermophilic bacteria are common in soil and volcanic habitats and have a limited species composition. They are inhabitants of various environments, such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents, terrestrial hot springs, and other extreme sites, including volcanic region, tectonically active faults, and processing waste residues, like compost piles and deep organic landfill. Yet they possess all the major nutritional categories and metabolize the same substrates as mesophilic bacteria. The ability to proliferate at growth temperature optima well above 60°C is associated with extremely thermally stable macromolecules. Thermophiles have attracted considerable attention because they present specific features with biotechnological and industrial interest, such as the production of different biomolecules (exopolysaccharide, antimicrobial, biosurfactant) and thermostable enzymes (amylases, cellulases, chitinases, pectinases, xylanases, proteases, lipase, and DNA polymerases), for biotechnological applications in medical, industrial, and agriculture processes. Many thermophilic bacteria possess properties suitable for biotechnological and commercial use. There is, indeed, a considerable demand for a new generation of stable enzymes that are able to withstand severe conditions in agriculture processes by replacing or supplementing traditional chemical processes. Thermophilic bacteria have application in chemical feedstock and fuel production, bioconversion of wastes, enzyme technology, and immobilization of heavy metal. This article reviews the fundamental and applied aspects of thermophilic bacteria that are of potential agriculture interest. |
Keywords : Thermophilic Bacteria , Composting , Agriculture |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Nutrient-dense alternate crops for crop diversification and combating malnutrition |
Authors : J. Shanalin,P. Vinodhini,R. Rajavarthini,V. Keerthana |
Malnutrition problem is one of the biggest threats that India has been combating since its independence. Further, as farmers worldwide experience more frequent drought and erratic rainfall linked to climate change, the race to find and improve drought-resistant crops grows ever more important. Alternate crops must be incorporated into our normal diet, dispelling the idea that they are only grown by the poorest of the poor. Nutrient dense crops like millets, quinoa, chia, grain amaranth etc. are being increasingly recognized for their potential to play important roles as alternative food grains. Stress-resistant crops are needed to ensure yield stability under stress conditions and to minimize the environmental impacts of crop production. The introduction of new cultivated species and improved varieties of crops is a technology aimed at enhancing plant productivity, quality, health and nutritional value and/or building crop resilience to diseases, pest organisms and environmental stresses. It reduces the risk of total crop failure and also provides alternative means of generating income, as different crops will respond to climate scenarios in different ways. |
Keywords : Malnutrition , Nutrient dense crops , Millets , Nutritional deficiency , Disorders |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Importance of Vegetables in the Human Diet |
Authors : Niraj Kumar Prajapati,Raj Pandey,Awaneesh Chandra,Hari Bakshand,Rajaneesh Singh |
Vegetables are considered essential for a balanced diet because they provide vitamins, minerals, fibre, and phytochemicals. Appropriate consumption of vegetables can prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases and improve the risk factors associated with these diseases. Vegetables are used as leaves, stems, fruits, flowers, roots, etc. Vegetables also have seasons and their own nutritional value. They are not only a storehouse of many nutrients but also have therapeutic value, and they exhibit antioxidant properties. Important metals are delivered to our bodies by plants absorbing them from the soil. This article will provide basic information about the importance of vegetables in the human diet as well as their effects on vegetable food content and human health. |
Keywords : Diet , Disorders , Human , Nutrition , Vegetables |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Role of Machine Learning in Computational Toxicity Prediction |
Authors : Ankur Omer |
It is necessary to do study on how to predict toxicity since actually conducting toxicity testing may be both time-consuming and expensive. Bioinformatics tools can save time and money. Ever since its start, it has consistently delivered results. The process of analysing and classifying data is an essential component of bioinformatics. Because of their speed and low cost, in silico approaches have gained popularity in recent years for evaluating the kinetic and toxic behaviour of drugs. Machine learning is a potent tool for exploring in vitro and in vivo data for previously undiscovered complicated combinatorial associations. It has found useful applications in areas as varied as predicting pharmacodynamic characteristics and protein activities, identifying spam, locating oil spills, and recognising human voices. Algorithms such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), and Self Organizing Maps (SOMs), as well as the difficulties they present, the potential ties they may one day forge, and the web-based toxicity prediction tools have been discussed in this article. |
Keywords : Machine learning , Predictive toxicology , SVM , ANN , SOM , Toxicity prediction , in silico |
Published in : Journal of Recent Advances in Applied Sciences |
Title : Gokhshura (Tribulus terrestris L.): In Traditional medicine and its pharmacological properties |
Authors : K. Venkatesan,R. Chandrakala ,B. A. Vaishnavi |
Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris L.) is very valued herb in the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine for treatment of various kinds of diseases. Plant contains various chemical viz., Gitogenin, Astragalin, Dioscin, Gracillin, Hecogenin, Ruscogenin, Trillin, Spirosterol, Saponin etc. which are found medicinally important. Various studies which are done on Gokshura revealed the result that the plant possesses Antiurolithiatic, Antimicrobial, Antihelminthic, Cardiotonic, Anti- inflammatory, Hypolipidemic, Immunomodulatory, Antispasmodic, Analgesic, Aphrodisiac, Antidiabetic, Anti-tumour, Hepato-protective, Anticarious, Anti-oxidant, CNS modulator properties. Considering its therapeutic values, this article has been done to gather complete information on different aspects of Gokshura. |
Keywords : Gokshura , Ayurveda , Pharmacological , Cardiotonic , Traditional Medicine |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Underutilized Aquatic Vegetables and Their Nutritional Values |
Authors : Jogdhande Srinivas ,C. N. R. Santhoshini |
In India, lakes, rivers and other freshwaters support a large diversity of biota representing almost all taxonomic groups. From an ecological point of view, the diversity of species present in the wetlands is an indication of the relative importance of the aquatic biodiversity issue as a whole. The total numbers of aquatic plant species exceed 1200 and aquatic vegetation is a valuable source of food. In the winter, migratory waterfowl search the sediment for nutritious seeds, roots and tubers. Resident waterfowl may feed on different species of aquatic vegetation year-round. Aquatic vegetables are "environmentally friendly": they suffer from few diseases and pests and can be grown without chemical fertilizers. Concerted efforts are being made to unravel the genes that lie behind some of these attractive traits, such as resistance to pests. |
Keywords : Underutilized aquatic vegetables , Nutritious Value , Water Spinach , Lotus and Water Chestnut |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Drying and Dehydration of Flowers and Foliage of Bundelkhand Region For Value Addition |
Authors : Priyanka Sharma,Gaurav Sharma ,Ghanshyam Abrol |
Dry flower industry is contributing about 70 % share of flower export from India. The technique of drying of flowers is not new and has been practiced over the centuries. Dried flower arrangements remain as it is, look beautiful and add colour to a home and do not wilt and require replacement unlike fresh flowers. Different flower parts are generally utilized for making dry flowers viz, unopened flower buds, flowers/ inflorescence, fruits/pods, leaves, twigs etc. which can be utilized either as it is or after value addition for making various dry flower products. |
Keywords : Dehydration , Drying , Dry flowers , Bundelkhand , Value Addition |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Bio-Economic Approach for Sustainable Agriculture- Integrated Farming System |
Authors : V. David Chella Baskar,. Sundar Pal,Umanath Malaiarasan |
By integrating water, nutrient, and energy, multi-enterprise farming increases productivity and profitability in small farms. By recycling byproducts and residuals from different components within the system, it has the potential to reduce cultivation costs for farmers and ensure a stable source of income and employment. |
Keywords : Bio economy , Circular bio economy , Integrated farming system , Sustainability |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Nuptial Gifting- A Unique Reproductive Behavior in Insects |
Authors : S. Sambathkumar |
Reproduction is one of the important phenomenon in insects for their successful establishment and predominance in the Universe. It is not only involved by joining of male and female insects together and oviposition rather involves many pre copulatory behaviors which significantly influence the rate of success in reproduction. In most cases, male insects are attracted towards females by sensing through a specific cues includes pheromones, visual activities, acoustics etc. In order to ensure the copulation and reproductive success, a specialized behavior, Nuptial Gifting is noticed in many insects. It encompasses transfer of any form of nutrients from the male to the female during or directly after copulation. This transfer of gifts can be performed in three ways viz., oral gifting, seminal transfer and transdermal injection. This behavior secure the paternal investment through increase the life fitness, offspring population of the gift offering male insects and entice females for copulation and ensures maximum sperm transfer. Thereby, nuptial gifts evolved as ban to balance reproductive costs between the sexes. |
Keywords : Insect reproduction , Nuptial gift , Seminal gift , Oral gift , Courtship behavior |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |
Title : Nematodes: The Ignored Precedence |
Authors : Rupak Jena,Mukesh Kumar Patra,Sujit Kumar Behera ,Anukiran Sahu,Prasant Pollimera Pollimera |
Nematodes are cylindrical, multicellular, microscopic, sessile organisms that are ubiquitous in nature and possess characteristics of ideal bio-indicators. Of the estimated 5,00,000 species only 1 percent is identified and the rest are yet to be explored. Only a handful of nematode species are detrimental to plants and animals while rest attributes to many beneficial environmental impacts seen and unseen. Free living nematode C. elegans contributed significantly to research of organ development and programmed cell death. Nematode species Odontophora villoti, Parasphaerolaimus paradoxus, Trichotheristus mirabilis, Theristus pertenuis etc. act as biological indicators to disturbances like ecological disturbances like heavy metals, hydrocarbon pollution, organic enrichment, xenobiotics, and combinations. The nematodes are known to impact the process of nutrient cycling while maintaining the soil health by breaking down the organic matter in the food web. Predacious nematodes in soil parasitizes various pathogens and pests that are detrimental to the crops. In the hue and cry of sustainability entomopathogenic nematodes are promisingly widely used as biological insecticides in sustainable pest management programs. So nematodes are a major bane to the society and its full potential to synergize mankind is to be explored. |
Keywords : Nematodes , Bio-indicators , Nutrient cycling , C. elegans , Environment |
Published in : Frontiers in Food & Nutrition Research |