Optimization of benzyl amino purines (BAP) concentration and medium type on the induction of banana shoots (Musa acuminata Colla.) cv. Barangan Merah under in vitro condition

The use of optimum concentration of BAP and the right medium type can support shoot induction on the explant of banana sucker cv.Barangan Merah. The Research was conducted at the Laboratory of Tissue Culture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Syiah Kuala. This research used a completely randomized 3x3 factorial design. The first factor was Benzyl Amino Purines (BAP) concentration at three levels of concentration, i.e. control, 3 mg.L-1, and 6 mg.L-1. The second factor was Musrahige & Skoog (MS) medium type at three levels, i.e. solid, solid-liquid, and liquid. Results showed that the BAP treatment of 3 mg.L-1 had the biggest response to the number of open midribs compared to other BAP treatments. The type of solid medium tends to shoot induction better than other types of medium. The contamination that occurred was 13.9% of the 72 explants planted. The contamination was caused by Mucor and Aspergillus fungi. The bacteria causing the contamination were gram positive bacteria (coccus) and gram-negative bacteria (coccus and bacilli).

Polyphenolic Content of Musa Acuminata and Musa Paradisiaca bracts: Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Potentials

Polyphenols are known for their bioactive potentials and have been used as drugs and preservatives for decades. The drive around this research is to estimate the usefulness of bananas and plantain bracts. The bracts of banana (Musa acuminata) and plantain (Musa paradisiaca) were investigated for their chemical composition, antibacterial, and antioxidant capacity. The result of proximate analysis revealed appreciable amount of moisture content (8.45%; 7.83%), crude protein (1.53%; 1.57%), crude fiber (21.2%; 16.5%), fat content (2.01%; 2.25%), ash content (16.60 %; 15.10%), and carbohydrate (52.6%; 56.8%) dry matter (DM) for M. acuminata and M. paradisiaca respectively. The cellulose and lignin content of the bract samples revealed M. acuminata (34.61 ± 1.06%; 9.13 ± 0.31%) and M. paradisiaca (35.68 ± 0.31%; 11.68 ± 0.75%) respectively. The phytochemical analysis showed that the bracts contained (g/100g) tannins (29.01%; 24.21%), flavonoids (8.35%; 6.33%), saponins (26.02%; 25.08%), phenol (0.56%; 0.34%), and alkaloids (3.30 %; 3.74%), respectively for M. acuminata and M. paradisiaca respectively. Antimicrobial activity of the methanolic, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane extracts presented a wide range of inhibition against studied strains. Methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts demonstrated considerable effect against most of the strains. The zones of inhibition ranged from 2 to 10 mm for the extracts. Methanolic extract of M. acuminata bract exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 2.14±4.17 mg/ml) against DPPH radical. Meanwhile, methanolic extract of the bracts showed iron-chelating ability (2.03±1.48 mg/ml; 2.14±1.46 mg/ml), and FRAP assay (15.36±0.25 mg/ml; 23.09±0.17 mg/ml) for M.acuminata and M. paradisiaca respectively. The presence of polyphenols and essential nutrients present in the bracts showed potential to be exploited as a cradle for feed enhancement, antimicrobial agent, and protective agent against oxidative stress.

In-silico genome-wide identification and characterisation of NBS-LRR gene family in banana Musa acuminata

Various common diseases caused by bacteria and viruses are increasing threats to the production of bananas worldwide. Besides the practical application of cultivation techniques, intensive exploitation of resistant genes, most of which belong to the NBS-LRR(Nucleotide-binding site - Leucine-rich repeat) gene family, in fortifying banana’s disease resistance, has been considered as a sustainable approach. The recently published genome assembly of Musa acuminata, a species of the Musa genus native to Southern Asia, has facilitated the genome-wide identification and characterisation of NBS-LRR genes. In the present study, an in-silicoapproach was employed to identify and characterise 97 NBS-LRR genes and their evolution in M. acuminatagenome. Except Ma_NBS_083 belonging to the RNLsub-family, other identified genes are members of the sub-family CNL and most of them contain only one exon. Sixty-six (66) NBS-LRR genes (68%) were mapped on 11 banana chromosomes, among them 38 genes (39%) located in clusters. Phylogenetic analysis in combination with conserved motif identification classified the banana NBS-LRR genes into seven groups. This study provides novel insight into the NBS-LRR gene family in bananas as a potential resource for further research in functional evaluation and utilisation of resistant genes.

Formulation of Nanoemulgel from Extracts of Musa acuminata: In-Vitro Kinetics and Antimicrobial Studies

The study was intended to formulate nanoemulgel from the leaf extract of Musa acuminata. Ethanol and Chloroform were used as solvents in the ratio of 1:8 (%w/v). DL- alpha-Tocopherol, characterized by GCMS, was identified to be the major component with potential biological activities. Based on a pseudo ternary plot, the 1:1 Smix (Surfactant: Co- Surfactant) ratio was optimized as it posed maximum regions of emulsion. The prepared nanoemulgel was evaluated for physical appearance, pH, spreadability, and swelling index. The appearance was pale yellowish-white, translucent within a pH range of 5-5.8. Antimicrobial studies were performed against dandruff-causing microbes (Staphylococcus epidermidis and Malassezia furfur). Invitro studies were carried out for optimized formulations of EG2, EG4, CG2, and CG3. The drug release of 94.28% after 12 h with Higuchi plot of R2 value as 0.99 was observed for EG2. The kinetically optimized formulation, EG2 was found to have good spreadability of 12.2 (g cm) s−1 and a swelling index of 64%.

PEMANFAATAN LIMBAH KULIT PISANG KEPOK (Musa acuminata × balbisiana) SEBAGAI MEDIA FILTRASI PENINGKATAN KUALITAS AIR (TINGKAT KEJERNIHAN AIR, NILAI pH DAN TDS)

Berdasarkan hasil pendataan oleh Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) bahwa pencemaran terbesar adalah pencemaran air, diikuti pencemaran udara dan tanah. Salah satu penyebab pencemaran air tersebut berasal dari limbah rumah tangga dan limbah industri. Atas dasar permasalahan tersebut penelitian ini bertujuan meningkatkan kualitas fisik air dengan memanfaatkan limbah kulit pisang. Untuk proses penelitian yang dilakukan adalah air limbah difiltrasi menggunakan serbuk simplisia kulit pisang kepok dengan variasi jumlah media filtrasi dan waktu filtrasi. Hasil yang diperoleh terjadi peningkatan tingkat kejernihan air limbah dari warna kecoklatan menjadi bening. Untuk nilai pH dan TDS pada variasi jumlah media filtrasi yaitu dari pH awal 4,9 dan TDS 477 mg/L menjadi pH 5,7 dan TDS 316 mg/L (filtrasi 30 g kulit pisang), pH 6,3 dan TDS 310 mg/L (filtrasi 50 g kulit pisang), pH 6,6 dan TDS 333 mg/L (filtrasi 70 g kulit pisang), pH 6,9 dan TDS 348 mg/L (filtrasi 90 g kulit pisang). Kemudian untuk variasi waktu filtrasi didapatkan hasil yaitu pH 5,3 dan TDS 409 mg/L (filtrasi 3 jam), pH 5,5 dan TDS 342 mg/L (filtrasi 5 jam), pH 6,3 dan TDS 314 mg/L (filtrasi 7 jam), pH 6,6 dan TDS 303 mg/L (filtrasi 9 jam ). Berdasarkan data perubahan pH dan TDS serta tingkat kejernihan air tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa kulit pisang kepok mempunyai efektivitas cukup tinggi dan berpotensi sebagai biosorben ramah lingkungan dan dapat dikembangkan lebih lanjut dengan proses aktivasi dan uji parameter lainnya untuk mengurangi dampak pencemaran lingkungan.

Growth and nitrogen accumulation assessment of banana (Musa acuminata) after exposure to hydroquinone in a charcoal-ultisol mix

The present study investigates plant growth and nitrogen accumulation assessment of young banana plant (Musa acuminata) after exposure to hydroquinone (a mutagen) in a charcoal-ultisol mix. Charcoal was obtained from the wood of Pentaclethra macrophylla aerobically, and was crushed into a smooth powdered form. This was mixed with an ultisol obtained from the University of Benin Botanic garden. Different levels of the soil-charcoal mix were prepared as follows; 100% charcoal, 75% charcoal-25% soil, 50% charcoal-50% soil, 25% charcoal- 75% soil, and 100% sand. The charcoal-ultisol mix was then amended with 5ppm hydroquinone one week before propagating young banana suckers. Results showed that sprouting began fifteen days after propagation. There were also different changes in plant height in the various soil treatments; the lowest was reported in the 75-25 charcoal ultisol mix (10.50cm), compared to 45.83cm in plants sown in 100% charcoals. Foliar yield was lowest in the 75-25 charcoal-ultisol mix (8.55 grams per plant), compared to 29.15 grams per plant in the 100% charcoal. The below ground morphological characteristics test plant revealed that there were significant differences between the growth parameters. Nitrate nitrogen, Ammonia Nitrogen and total nitrogen were significantly accumulated on the leaves of plant. However, higher nitrogen accumulation in the leaves was found in treatment with high charcoal percentage.