Determining the speed and acceleration of the separator for grass leaf part in horizontal and vertical directions

Vitamin-grass flour is the main component of mixed fodders intended for all types of livestock and poultry. Earlier and currently, the vitamin-grass flour has been prepared from legumes by a high-temperature drying technique. However, existing techniques have high operating costs and require very expensive technical tools. To reduce the specific operating costs and the price of equipment in the production of VGF, a technique has been proposed that involves the main drying of grass to a moisture content of 30‒35 % on a swath while the post-drying of grass is performed in a small-sized channel under the haystack without air heating. Next, the dried mass is pre-crushed. At the same time, the delicate leaf part of the hay, while falling between the side walls of hammers and counter-hammers, is ground and finely crushed, and the stems are processed into large fractions. From pre-crushed hay, the leaf part is separated and fed into the crusher to produce flour. In this case, the main machine that determines the performance of the line is the separator of the leaf part of the grass. The results of the theoretical research have established the speed and acceleration of hay movement on the surface of the sieve. These values determine the productivity of separation of the leaf part from pre-crushed hay and the reliability of the selected structural and technological scheme of the separator. The production tests have confirmed the reliability and economic efficiency of the proposed technique. Comparing the proposed technique for obtaining vitamin-grass flour by existing high-temperature methods has shown that the carotene content in flour was 1.6 times higher while the specific operating costs and equipment price were 6‒7 times lower

Yellow Sap Contamination on Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) Fruit in Relation to Soil Calcium Contents and Plant Tissue

Yellow sap contamination (YSC) is one of the mangosteen quality constrain in Indonesia. Calcium is the prominent nutrient that influence the incidence of yellow sap contamination. A research with objective to observe the relationship between incidence YSC and Ca availability in soil as well as plant tissue was done in ten locations in West Sumatra, Lampung and West Java provinces. Purposive random sampling method was used to determine the site locations. The plant and soil samples were collected from 10 sites and ten tree per sites. Correlation analysis was used to measure the relationship between incidence YSC and Ca content in fruit endocarp, mesocarp, peel, soil and leaf. The result showed that there was a variation of incidence YSC in site location with range of 8.7%−54.04%; 4.0−51.6%; and 17.7−78.6% for percentage of YSC in fruit flesh, segmentation and peel, respectively. Ca content in soil, endocarp, mesocarp and leaf were given significantly negative correlation toward incidence YSC in fruit flesh and segmentation. Ca content in leaf part correlates significantly to Ca availability in soil, endocarp and mesocarp. Ca content in leaf in the range of 1.40- 1.70% indicates YSC less than 10%.

A Comparative Study on Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Activity of Aqueous Extract from Various Parts of Moringa oleifera

In this work, we reported a comparative study on the phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of aqueous extract from different parts of Moringa oleifera plant, i.e. leaves, twigs, stem barks, and woods. The phytochemical content of each extract was screened through qualitative analysis and followed by quantitative analysis for the determination of total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. The results showed that different parts of Moringa oleifera plant would give different extracted natural products. Either leaf or twig part of Moringa oleifera contained alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, carbohydrates, polyphenols, proteins, amino acids, and phenolics. Meanwhile, only flavonoids, carbohydrates, and phenolics were found in the aqueous extract of the wood part of Moringa oleifera. In agreement to the phytochemical assay, the aqueous extract of leaf part of Moringa oleifera gave the highest total phenolic content (684 ± 16.7 µg GAE mL-1) and the highest flavonoid content (514 ± 26.1 µg CE mL-1) than other parts. Consequently, the leaf extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (64.6 ± 0.69%) which is close to the antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid (71.7 ± 0.56%) as the positive control. This finding is critical for the utilization of Moringa oleifera leaf part as the most potent source of antioxidant agents in the future.

Phytochemical Analysis of Different Parts of Acalypha Indica L.

Acalypha indica L. is an herbaceous medicinal plant, which is grown abundantly in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi people typically use various parts of this plant for various primary healthcare treatments. The current research was conducted to check and quantify various phytochemicals and mineral components of the assorted parts of Acalypha indica L. The screening analysis shows that studied all phytochemicals were present in the leaf part but not in stem and shoot parts and some were missing or trace amount in root. Total phenol, flavonoid, and tannins content on a dry weight basis ranged from 0.53-0.82 mg GAE/g, 0.02-1.47 mg QE/g and 0.21-0.32 mg TAE/g respectively. Among the phytochemicals the leaf contains the highest amount of flavonoid (1.47 mg QE/g), and lowest in stem (0.02 mg QE/g). Similarly, the amount of minerals like Fe, Zn, K and Pb was 0.23-0.40 mg/kg, 0.01- 0.021 mg/kg, 1.55-2.85 mg/kg and 0.149-0.204 mg/kg respectively. K was the largest volume of mineral for both leaf and stem. Lowest quantity of Zn was observed in most cases. This finding indicates that the studied plant might be good source of phytochemicals. J. Bio-Sci. 29(1): 69-77, 2021 (June)

The Cytotoxic Effect of the Extract of Anchusa strigosa (Him Him) Grown in Jordan Against Different Cancer Cell Lines

Anchusa strigosa - prickly alkanet from Boraginaceae grows in roadsides, and fields of a broad range of habitats from mediterranean woodlands, to steppe vegetation, to true desert. It is commonly known as" him him" or "lisan al thawr". Anchusa can withstand hard weather conditions and hence is widely cultivated. The color of its flowers can range from pure white to deep cobalt blue. Various parts of A. strigosa are used in traditional medicine for treating several diseases or symptoms, such as abdominal pain, bronchitis, cough, and diarrhea. The goal of this study was to examine the cytotoxic effect of the crude extract of A. strigosa roots and leaves and their fractions against various tumor cell lines: adenocarcinoma MCF-7, human breast ductal carcinoma T-47D; human breast carcinoma MDA-MB-231; and colorectal carcinomas Caco-2. In conclusion the antiproliferative effect was assessed by SRB assay where it showed that the phytochemical constituents in the leaf part of the plant (A. strigosa) do have more potential in depressing the proliferation rate of the cell lines than the root part.

Anti-diabetic activity of Erythrina subumbrans (Hassk.) Merr.

α-amylase inhibitors present in pancreatic region has an operative strategy by controlling the breakdown of starch and helps to minimize the post-prandial hyperglycemia levels. In this study, vegetative (leaf) part of herbal plant Erythrina subumbrans (Hassk.) was assessed for anti-diabetic activity. Aqueous ethanol (80 %) extract was prepared in the different concentration (10, 20, 40, 80, 160, and 320 µg/ml). Acarbose was used as a standard and treated in similar way as that of sample. Control samples were also prepared without standard and sample solutions. A known volume of α-amylase solution was added (0.1mg/mL) was added to standard, sample, control solutions which were preincubated at 37 °C for 15 minutes. Further, known volume of starch solution was added and incubated for 60 min to initiate the reaction. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and iodine reagent was added to the test tubes and absorbance was measured at 580 nm in UV-Vis spectrophotometer. A strong pancreatic amylase inhibitory activity (>50 %) was obtained from aqueous ethanolic extract with IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) value of 23 µg/ml against standard acarbose with IC50 value of 27 µg/ml. The values endorse Erythrina subumbrans (Hassk.) for further experiments on their potential for managing Diabetes.

Anthelmintic and Antioxidant activity of Aqueous Ethanolic Extract of Erythrina subumbrans (Hassk.) Merr.

Aqueous Ethanolic extract of vegetative (leaf) part of herbal plant Erythrina subumbrans (Hassk.) was assessed for Anthelmintic and Antioxidant activity. The obtained crude extract was prepared in different concentration, i.e., 50 and 100 mg/mL, against the standard Piperazine citrate, i.e., 10mg/mL for anthelmintic activity. Pheretima posthuma test worms were used during the study and the anthelmintic activity was evaluated based on Paralysis and Death time. Three groups of the test specimen and freshly prepared solutions were used during the study. The average paralysis and death time of standard is 1.4 & 39.59 min (10mg/mL) compared to sample 5.3 & 65.09 min (50mg/mL); 2.5 & 54.08 min (100mg/mL). From the data, aqueous ethanolic extract possesses promising anthelmintic activity compared to piperazine citrate standard. Similarly, antioxidant activity was evaluated for sample at different concentration ranging from 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, and 320 µg/ml premixed with 2.5mL of 0.0135mM DPPH solution. Ascorbic acid was used as a standard and treated in a similar way as that of a sample. Control samples were also prepared without standard and sample solutions. Prepared solutions were vortexed and kept at benchtop condition for 30 minutes and absorbance was measured at 517 nm in a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The absorbance pattern of the sample is not comparable with that of the standard solution at the same concentration. Aqueous ethanolic extract with IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) value is >320 µg/mL against standard Ascorbic acid with an IC50 value of 15.5 µg/ml. Which witness the crude extract possess less antioxidant activity.

Characterization and Screening of Phytochemical Secondary Metabolite of Seri (Muntingia calabura, L) Leaves which is Potential as an Anti-Diabetic based on Indonesian Herbal Medicine Standard

Indonesia has abundant natural resources, especially plants that can be used as raw material for herbal medicine. One of the plants is seri plant (Muntingia calabura, L.). The potential plant part in this study is the leaf part. The leaves of M. calabura were taken from plants that have produced fruit in fresh conditions, cleaned and dried in an open space protected from direct sunlight. The simplicia was powdered and then quartered, then extracted with ethanol as a solvent. The simplicia powder and extract obtained were screened for phytochemicals using the standard method. The characterization results showed that the simplicia powder and extract met the national standard of quality for Indonesian herbal medicines, both the simplicia powder and the extract contained secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids and steroids, saponins and tannins. The process of preparing and organizing samples from the leaves of this plant met the quality standards of Indonesian national herbal medicine and has the potential to be tested as an anti-diabetic. Keywords: Seri Leaves, characterization, phytochemical screening, quality standards, and anti-diabetic

Phytochemical screening of a therapeutic plant mussaenda luteola delile (rubiaceae)

The contribution of angiosperms to the biodiversity is extremely important since human life totally depends on it. They are of rich in secondary metabolites, vitamins and their derivatives. Mussaenda luteola Delile. is one such angiospermic plant in the family Rubiaceae. The present study emphasis on the preliminary phytochemical analysis of the leaf extracts of M. luteola under various solvent systems viz.,petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and aqueous. The study validates the presence of steroids, triterpenoids, quinone, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, coumarines, glycosides, tannins in all the four solvent systems. The leaves of M. luteola were further investigated for their total flavonoid and steroid content and this plant records decent phenol content under studies. This reveals that the leaves have potential to serve in pharmaceutical industries as significant candidature. Since the leaf part of this plant shows the occurrence of various phytochemicals it could serve as an alternate drug in pharmaceutical industries and as an ideal model for the production and development of new novel herbal drugs as well as in the field of broad spectrum of research

Isolation and Characterization of Oleanolic Acid Benzoate from the Ethylacetate Leaves Extracts of Vernonia ambigua (Kotschy Ex. Peyr)

Vernonia ambigua, an annual herb which belongs to the family Asteraceae/Compositae has been used in ethnomedicine to treat different ailments such as fungal infection, diarrhea and intestinal worm among others. The aim of the study was to isolate and characterize compound(s) from the leaves of V. ambigua. Powdered leaf of the plant were gradiently extracted with n-hexane, ethylacetate and methanol using Soxhlet extractor. The ethyl acetate extract was gradiently eluted in a silica gel column and further purified using preparative thin-layer chromatography which led to the isolation of colourless solid substance identified as Oleanolic acid benzoate via chemical tests, 1D-NMR analysis and by comparison with reference spectral data. After thorough exploration of the leaf extract of V. ambigua, using available techniques, it can be concluded that the leaf part of the plant contains a chemical compound suggested to be oleanolic acid benzoate.