Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: B. Life and Environmental Sciences

Preliminary Checklist, Distribution and Host Plants of Family Aphididae (Insecta: Hemiptera) from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

2023-06-17T14:35:58+00:00

The northern areas of Pakistan, located at the junction of the Oriental and Palaearctic regions, are expected to harbor a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Azad Jammu & Kashmir, situated at the junction of these two regions with multiple climatic zones, extensive forest types, and rich plant diversity, remains underexplored in terms of aphid fauna. This study, based on comprehensive field surveys conducted in the Poonch division from 2015 to 2016, identified 69 aphid species in 39 genera and 10 tribes under seven subfamilies. These aphid species were associated with 71 host plant species under 59 genera and 39 families. The study also provided the first preliminary checklist of aphids in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, documenting their distribution and associated host plants.

Effects of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria on Growth and Essential Oil Production of Peppermint

2024-11-18T10:57:55+00:00

Peppermint is abundant with organic compounds having therapeutic, coloring, preservative, and other uses for humans. Moreover, peppermint is used in food and perfume industry and as medicine in every corner over the world. Considering the economic and medicinal value of peppermint, there is a significant gap between supply and demand. Therefore, an analysis of the impact of bacteria that promote plant development was carried out on peppermints (Pseudomonas putida and Curtobacterium sp. strain LUW) essential oil production. Under the study, the plant growth parameters, essential oil, chlorophyll and carotenoids, and free proline of leaves were measured. The outcomes demonstrated that the use of both Pseudomonas and Curtobacterium (Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria) in the soil significantly increased root diameter, leaf area, leaf number, plant height, quantity of stems, root length, root volume, dry weight of leaf, and peppermint plants' relative water content by 34.29, 23.34, 36.57, 21.08, 87.5, 12.28, 20.37, 42.62, and 6.46 compared to the control conditions respectively. Furthermore, the application of bacteria in the soil that promotes plant growth raised the total quantity of essential oil, proline, and chlorophyll concentration in the leaf by 50.90, 20.90, and 33.35%, respectively, compared to the control conditions. Moreover, essential oil and proline content increased with Curtobacterium sp. strain application compared to Pseudomonas putida.

Preliminary Phytochemical, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Investigation of Selected Medicinal Plants of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2024-11-18T12:03:53+00:00

The majority of the people living in rural areas are still relying on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare needs. The locally available medicinal plants contain bioactive compounds that are widely used for the treatment of various chronic diseases caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) microbes. However, research in this area has been limited. In this regard, the current study was designed on assessing the antimicrobial properties and phytochemical constituents of ethanol, methanol, hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous extracts of Ruellia tuberosa, Aesculus indica, and Myrsine africana against MDR microbes. The results of phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of different classes of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, steroids, terpenoids, and reducing sugar, though anthraquinons, phlobatanins, and glycosides were absent in the selected plants. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis of methanol extract showed that M. africana had notable concentrations of total phenol (3.75 ± 0.05 mg 100g^-1) and total flavonoid (11.39 ± 1.72 mg 100g^-1) contents, while R. tuberosa had the highest (0.74 ± 0.06 mg 100g^-1) tannins content. In addition, the lowest concentrations of total phenol (2.88 ± 0.04 mg 100g^-1) and flavonoid (6.77 ± 1.02 mg 100g^-1) were examined in A. indica, while the lowest tannin (0.31 ± 0.03 mg 100^-1) moiety was observed in M. africana. Moreover, the mean highest (46.64%) antioxidant activity was observed for A. indica, while the lowest value was observed for M. africana (32.56%). The antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that ethanol, hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous extracts of the selected plants had remarkable inhibitory potential against the test bacterial and fungal species. The antimicrobial activity of selected plant extracts had no to low and moderate to good inhibitory potential against the test microorganisms.

Effect of Substituting Table Sugar with Date Fruit Powder on the Nutritional and Sensorial Properties of Cake

2024-06-02T10:15:40+00:00

Despite the World Health Organization's advice to limit sugar consumption, consumers unwillingly rely on table, refined, or added sugars owing to a lack of suitable alternatives. Date powder (DP) is a potential nutraceutical reservoir that can be an excellent natural sugar or table sugar (TS) replacer. Since Dhaki is one premium date fruit variety, it was utilized in its Tamer stage for developing DP owing to its higher sugar content, shelf-life stability, and low moisture. The date fruit was cleaned, depitted, thermally dehydrated (50±1^○C for 2 days), powdered, and utilized as a TS replacer in cakes. A total of four formulations of cake sweeteners were set (i.e., T₀= control/ cake without DP, T₁= 10% DP + 90% TS, T₂= 20% DP + 80% TS, T₃= 30% DP + 70% TS). DP and cake formulations were subjected to assessment as per standard analytical methods. Findings showed that DP had 3.45% moisture, 5.22% protein, 0.78% fat, 6.84% fiber, 5.23% ash, 21.34% carbohydrate, 68.18% reducing sugar, 3.33% non-reducing sugar and 71.51% total sugar with pH value 5.4. The nutritional and sensorial properties of all cake samples (T₀-T₃) remained statistically different (p < 0.05). Among all samples T₃ had significantly higher (p < 0.05) average values for fat (19.03%), protein (15.44%), ash (5.77%), carbohydrate (61.36%), fiber (3.51%), non-reducing sugar (6.85%), energy value (478.47 kcal/100g), color (8.33), texture (8.33), taste (9.0), aroma (8.33), and overall acceptability (8.50) followed by T₂, T₁, and T_0.Findings conclude that increasing DP proportion in cakes not merely improved sweetness but also enhanced their nutritional value (fiber content, energy value, etc.), and sensorial attributes. DP is therefore recommended to be used as one suitable TS replacer in a variety of food products.

Potential Role of Extracellular Matrix and its Components in Cancer Development and Progression

2023-10-07T16:28:00+00:00

Cancer occurs due to unregulated multiplication of cells. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins come in a huge variety, and each one has unique biochemical and biophysical characteristics that affect the phenotype of cells. To ensure tissue homeostasis, the ECM undergoes continuous deposition, remodeling, and degradation from early development until maturity. In order to govern cell behavior and differentiation, the ECM's composition and structure are spatiotemporally controlled. However, when ECM dynamics are dysregulated in any way, illnesses like cancer can arise. Collagen is a major component involved in ECM regulation but after cross linking with each other, it initiates ECM stiffness, loss of cell contacts and cell geometry. Due to which most of the regulators including the Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) and Yes-associated protein (YAP) are inhibited and cause extensive cell proliferation and tumor metastasis. Proteases like Metalloproteinases degrades collagen and other proteins that leads to ECM break down and cancer progression. As cancer spreads, the stress and pressure on cells increases which damage arteries and capillaries causing hypoxia. Hypoxia inducible factors take advantage of the situation and enhance invasiveness of cancer cells. This stress generated by tumor cells in their surrounding causes dysregulation of ECM matrix. Finding strategies to study the relationship between mechanical stress in tumors and their destructive behavior is vital for cancer research.