The Mouse Oocyte Toxicity Assay

Abstract Background Powders and extracts of Piper guineense seeds and leaves were assessed for insecticidal activities against Callosobruchus maculatus in the laboratory at temperature and relative humidity of 29.6 °C and 75.9%, respectively. Bioactive compounds in P. guineense leaves and seeds were also investigated. The powders were tested at rates 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 g/20 g cowpea seeds while extracts were tested at 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0%. Results Results of contact toxicity assay of the seed powder caused 100% adult mortality at 96 h post-treatment period whereas leaf powder evoked 90% adult mortality within the same period at concentration of 1.0 g/20 g cowpea seeds. Low adult emergence was observed on cowpea seeds treated with 1 g of seed powder with percentage adult emergence of 10.0% and inhibition rate (IR) of 97.5%. Beetle Perforation Index (BPI) obtained from treated cowpea seeds was significantly different (P < 0.05) from BPI of untreated seeds. Extracts of P. guineense seed were more toxic than seed powder. Piper guineense seed extract caused 87.5% adult mortality of C. maculatus while leaf extract caused 70.0% adult mortality within 24 h of infestation at concentration of 1%. Progeny development of C. maculatus was completely inhibited in cowpea treated with 2% and 3% leaf and seed extracts of P. guineense. β-Pinene was the most abundant active compound in P. guineense seed (55.6%) and leaf (48.4%). β-Phellandrene occurred 38.2% in seeds while Ocimene had the least value of 0.2% in seed and 0.5% in leaf. Conclusion The study showed that P. guineense seed powder and extracts were more effective than leaf powder and extract. Utilization of plant products as alternative to synthetic insecticides in protecting cowpea seeds against C. maculatus should be encouraged for enhanced food safety and security. Piper guineense is used as spice and medicine and interestingly safe for human use.

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Chromatic intervention and biocompatibility assay for biosurfactant derived from Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83573-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Vishal Panchariya ◽

Vishal Bhati ◽

Harishkumar Madhyastha ◽

Radha Madhyastha ◽

Jagdish Prasad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Skin Fibroblast ◽

Mouse Skin ◽

Fibroblast Cells ◽

Toxicity Assay ◽

Balanites Aegyptiaca ◽

Hemolysis Assay ◽

Full Factorial ◽

Human Rbcs

AbstractExtraction of biosurfactants from plants is advantageous than from microbes. The properties and robustness of biosurfactant derived from the mesocarp of Balanites aegyptiaca have been reported. However, the dark brown property of biosurfactant and lack of knowledge of its biocompatibility limits its scope. In the present work, the decolorization protocol for this biosurfactant was optimized using hydrogen peroxide. The hemolytic potential and biocompatibility based on cell toxicity and proliferation were also investigated. This study is the first report on the decolorization and toxicity assay of this biosurfactant. For decolorization of biosurfactant, 34 full factorial design was used, and the data were subjected to ANOVA. Results indicate that 1.5% of hydrogen peroxide can decolorize the biosurfactant most efficiently at 40 °C in 70 min at pH 7. Mitochondrial reductase (MTT) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays on M5S mouse skin fibroblast cells revealed that decolorized biosurfactant up to 50 µg/mL for 6 h had no significant toxic effect. Hemolysis assay showed ~ 2.5% hemolysis of human RBCs, indicating the nontoxic effect of this biosurfactant. The present work established a decolorization protocol making the biosurfactant chromatically acceptable. Biocompatibility assays confirm its safer use as observed by experiments on M5S skin fibroblast cells under in vitro conditions.

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Ral GTPase is essential for actin dynamics and Golgi apparatus distribution in mouse oocyte maturation

Cell Division ◽

10.1186/s13008-021-00071-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ming-Hong Sun ◽

Lin-Lin Hu ◽

Chao-Ying Zhao ◽

Xiang Lu ◽

Yan-Ping Ren ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Golgi Apparatus ◽

Oocyte Maturation ◽

Polar Body ◽

Mouse Oocyte ◽

Actin Dynamics ◽

Mouse Oocytes ◽

Oocyte Meiosis ◽

Ral Gtpase ◽

Polar Body Extrusion ◽

Cytoskeleton Dynamics

Abstract Background Ral family is a member of Ras-like GTPase superfamily, which includes RalA and RalB. RalA/B play important roles in many cell biological functions, including cytoskeleton dynamics, cell division, membrane transport, gene expression and signal transduction. However, whether RalA/B involve into the mammalian oocyte meiosis is still unclear. This study aimed to explore the roles of RalA/B during mouse oocyte maturation. Results Our results showed that RalA/B expressed at all stages of oocyte maturation, and they were enriched at the spindle periphery area after meiosis resumption. The injection of RalA/B siRNAs into the oocytes significantly disturbed the polar body extrusion, indicating the essential roles of RalA/B for oocyte maturation. We observed that in the RalA/B knockdown oocytes the actin filament fluorescence intensity was significantly increased at the both cortex and cytoplasm, and the chromosomes were failed to locate near the cortex, indicating that RalA/B regulate actin dynamics for spindle migration in mouse oocytes. Moreover, we also found that the Golgi apparatus distribution at the spindle periphery was disturbed after RalA/B depletion. Conclusions In summary, our results indicated that RalA/B affect actin dynamics for chromosome positioning and Golgi apparatus distribution in mouse oocytes.

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