Inhibition of Rehmannia mosaic virus Infection by Ganoderma sp. Extract

In fruiting bodies and mycelia of several fungi belonging to a Basidiomycetes group, among others, Ganoderma contains active polysaccharides and has potential as an antiviral substances. This study aimed to determine the effect of mycelium and fruiting body extract of Ganoderma sp. against Rehmannia mosaic virus (ReMV) infections on Chenopodium amaranticolor with variations of dilution and application times. The results showed that mycelium and fruiting body extract of Ganoderma sp. could inhibit ReMV infections. Antiviral extract which were applied 4 hours before, and at the same time with virus inoculation resulted in a higher viral inhibition rates than when applied 4 hours after virus inoculation. Fruiting body extract at 10-1 and 10-2 dilutions delayed symptom appearance caused by ReMV infection when applied 4 hours before virus inoculation. Mycelium extract at dilution of 10-2 and 10-3 applied 4 hours before virus inoculation resulted in the highest inhibition rate (100%) which was indicated as the number of local lesions on Chenopodium amaranticolor leaves. Meanwhile the fruiting body extract dilution of 10-1 resulted in highest inhibition (99.55%) when applied 4 hours before virus inoculation.

Toksisitas Partisi N-Heksan dan Etil Asetat pada Ekstrak Sargassum sp. terhadap Larva Aedes aegypti Instar III

ABSTRAK: Kejadian demam berdarah dengue pada awal 2019 tercatat lebih dari 17.000 kasus demam berdarah dengan angka kematian mencapai 169 jiwa di seluruh Indonesia. Sargassum sp. merupakan jenis rumput laut cokelat berlimpah namun belum dimanffatkan dengan baik. Sargassum sp memiliki beragam aktivitas biologis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui toksisitas ekstrak rumput laut cokelat Sargassum sp. larva Aedes aegypti instar III. Ekstraksi dilakukan dengan cara maserasi sampel Sargassum sp. dengan pelarut metanol, dilanjutkan partisi dengan pelarut n-heksana dan etil asetat serta analisis fitokimia menggunakan kromatografi lapis tipis. Sepuluh ekor larva nyamuk dipaparkan dalam 100 ml aquades dengan beberapa konsentrasi ekstrak (0, 50, 100, 250, 500 dan 1000 ppm), abate sebagai kontrol positif dan DMSO dengan tiga kali ulangan. Aktivitas larvasida ekstrak Sargassum sp. juga ditentukan dengan menghitung nilai LC50 pada jam ke-72. Perubahan morfologi diamati secara mikroskopis. Fraksi n-heksana dan etil asetat Sargassum sp. memiliki nilai LC50 berturut-turut sebesar 3129.15 ppm dan 996.28 ppm. Larva yang dipaparkan dengan ekstrak etil asetat Sargassum sp. memiliki kerusakan morfologi pada bagian kepala, siphon, saluran pencernaan, papila anal serta warna tubuh menjadi lebih gelap. Keseluruhan fraksi n-heksana dan etil asetat Sargassum sp. mengandung senyawa golongan fenolat dan terpenoid. Berdasarkan hasil tersebut, fraksi etil asetat Sargassum sp. berpotensi sebagai larvasida. ABSTRACT: In the early 2019, there has been 17,000 Indonesian people suffered and 169 died from Dengue epidemic. Sargassum sp. in Indonesian waters were plentiful, rich in biological activity and still unexpolitated. This study aimed to determine the 72-h LC50 of Sargassum sp. extract to Aedes aegypti instar III larvae. Extraction was done by maseration with methanol, partitioned with n-hexane and ethyl acetate, folowed by TLC analysis. Ten larvae were exposed with 100 mL aqudest in a serial concentration (0; 50;100; 25; 500 dan 1000 ppm), completed with Abate® powder as positive, aquadest as negative control. All treatments were replicated three times. Observation on morphological aberration was done microscopically. 72-h LC50 of n-hexane and ethyl acetate fraction were 3129.15 ppm dan 996.28 ppm, respectively. There were larval morphologically damage in head, siphon, digestive tract and papilla anal and dark coloured body. Extract were composed with phenolate and terpeniod coumpoud. It is concluded that Sargassum sp. extract was a good source for larvacide.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Fruiting Body Extract and Solid-State-Cultivated Mycelia of Taiwanofungus camphoratus

Taiwanofungus camphoratus is a rare and valuable medicinal mushroom indigenous to Taiwan. It has traditionally been used to promote good health. This study aimed to explore the immunomodulatory effects of “Leader Deluxe Taiwanofungus camphoratus capsule” (LDAC). LDAC is a healthy food product composed of fruiting body extract and solid-state-cultivated mycelia of T. camphoratus. Two complementary studies were performed. In the first, LDAC was orally administered to BABL/c female mice for 6 weeks as part of a non-specific immune study. In the second, mice were treated with LDAC for 8 weeks and immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) in a specific immune study. LDAC increased the growth of splenic immune cells and enhanced the activity of macrophages and natural killer cells. It increased the levels of interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)-γ, serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G, and OVA-IgG, and decreased the levels of IL-4, IL-5, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, serum IgE, and OVA-IgE. Thus, the findings of this study strongly supported the idea that LDAC possesses immunomodulatory activity.

Conspecific mortality cues mediate associative learning in crickets, Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Many terrestrial and aquatic animals learn associations between environmental features and chemical cues of mortality risk (e.g. conspecific alarm pheromones or predator-derived cues), but the chemical nature of the cues that mediate this type of learning are rarely considered. Fatty acid necromones (particularly oleic and linoleic acids) are well established as cues associated with dead or injured conspecifics. Necromones elicit risk aversive behavior across diverse arthropod phylogenies, yet they have not been linked to associative learning. Here, we provide evidence that necromones can mediate associative olfactory learning in an insect by acting as an aversive reinforcement. When house crickets (Achetadomesticus) were forced to inhabit an environment containing an initially attractive odor along with a necromone cue, they subsequently avoided the previously attractive odor and displayed tolerance for an initially unattractive odor. This occurred when crickets were conditioned with linoleic acid but not when they were conditioned with oleic acid. Similar aversive learning occurred when crickets were conditioned with ethanol body extracts composed of male and female corpses combined, as well as extracts composed of female corpses alone. Conditioning with male body extract did not elicit learned aversion in either sex, even though we detected no notable differences in fatty acid composition between male and female body extracts. We suggest that necromone-mediated learning responses might vary depending on synergistic or antagonistic interactions with sex or species-specific recognition cues.