Research & Reviews in Biotechnology and Biosciences

Paper Title:: Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: An Overview
Author Name:: Monica Mahajan, Mehak Rishi
Author Email:: dr_mcajan@yahoo.com
Country:: India

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Author: Monica Mahajan, Mehak Rishi

Functional foods are the foods that are thought to provide benefits beyond basic nutrition and may play a role in reducing or minimizing the risk of certain diseases and other health conditions. Research has demonstrated that there are many potential health benefits from food components and that, nutrition plays a crucial role in the prevention of chronic diseases, as most of them can be related to diet. Studies have pointed out that not only pre- and probiotics, but also single micronutrients incorporated into functional foods contribute to an enhancement of immunocompetence. These foods include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fortified foods& beverages and some dietary supplements. Some examples of functional components present in foods are Beta-carotene in carrots that neutralize free radicals; Lutein and Zeaxanthin in spinach support maintenance of eye health; beta glucan (in oatmeal), soluble fiber (in citrus fruits) and whole grains may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease; flavonoids (in berries, citrus fruits) for maintenance of healthy brain function and heart health. Minerals, plant sterols, pre and probiotics, soy proteins and vitamins are some other examples. Functional foods/ Nutraceuticals are an important part of an overall healthful life style that includes a balanced diet and physical activity. Nutraceutical is a product isolated or purified from foods that is generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food. Nutraceutical are the substances which are not traditionally recognized nutrients but which have positive physiological effects on the human body. Risk of toxicity or adverse effect of drugs led us to consider safer nutraceutical and functional food based approaches for the health management. However, not all foods on the market today that are claimed to be functional foods are supported by enough solid data to merit such claims. For benefits to be validated and claims to be made a strong and reliable body of credible scientific research is needed to confirm the benefits of any particular food or component. For their potential public health benefits, consumers must be able to rely on the scientific criteria that are used to document health statements and claims of functional foods.

Paper Title:: 14-3-3 protein; Phylogenetic and protein interaction, An Insilico analysis
Author Name:: Priya Sharma, Meenu Khurana, Rupinder jeet kaur
Author Email:: rupindervirk@hotmail.com
Country:: India

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Author: Priya Sharma, Meenu Khurana, Rupinder jeet kaur

14-3-3 proteins are a family of conserved regulatory molecules that have the ability to bind a multitude of functionally diverse signaling proteins, including kinases, phosphatases, and transmembrane receptors.14-3-3 proteins are conserved among many eukaryotic organisms and interact with other target proteins to trigger the transcriptional regulation of genes that generate specific modifications. 14-3-3 proteins are important components in signal transduction pathways affecting multiple plant functions by mediating protein-protein interactions through post-translational modification via phosphorylation .This protein family is involved in a wide range of cellular functions including the regulation of hormonal induction in response to stress stimuli, mediation of symbiotic relationships between the plant host and symbionts, as well as the mediation of functions between cellular components and enzymes. 14-3-3 proteins are an important component in biological pathways involved in the mitigation of biotic and abiotic stresses. This study has been undertaken to study the phylogenetic relationship of the 14-3-3 protein in different plants like Vitis vinifera (Grape), Solanum tuberosum (Potato), Populus tricocarpa (Poplar) and Glycine max (Soyabean). It was observed that 14-3-3 protein is highly conserved across all the different plant species and that the 14-3-3 protein of Solanum tuberosum is closest to Vitis vinifera. The minimum evolutionary distance was observed for Glycine that shows that the14-3-3 protein sequence of Glycine has least diverged from its ancestor. We also studied the protein-protein interactions of the 14-3-3 protein from Solanum tuberosum. The protein is interacting with protein kinases, ATP binding proteins and elongation factors as shown in literature. These interactions are probably helping the protein play a role in combating stress.

Paper Title:: Comparative study of Disinfectant Efficiency against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis
Author Name:: Inderjeet Kaur, Vasvi Prabhakar
Author Email:: kaurinder@lkc.ac.in
Country:: India

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Author: Inderjeet Kaur, Vasvi Prabhakar

The antimicrobial activities of four disinfectants Sodium Chlorite, Iodine, Tetra butyl ammonium hydrogen and Crystal violet against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis were investigated. These microorganisms were selected to test the Bactericidal activity of Disinfectants as these are frequent surface contaminants among the healthcare settings. Their efficacies were determined using Agar well diffusion method and Broth dilution method (for determination of minimum inhibitory concentration- MIC) at different concentrations of the test disinfectants. The results were recorded as diameter of zone of inhibition (mm) in agar well diffusion method and plate counting was performed in Broth dilution method. Different pathogens responded differently to different concentrations of disinfectants. The test disinfectants used in this study has been confirmed to be very effective, but their rate of efficiency varies due to the differences in their chemical composition and mechanism of action. This study revealed that Crystal Violet and Tetra butyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate have an excellent Bactericidal activity against both Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis) and gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria as compared to the others. The use of
Tetra butyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate at 6% and Crystal Violet at 1% against B. subtilis showed strong bactericidal efficacy with a zone of inhibition of 35 mm and 37 mm, respectively as compared to the others. The outcome of this study confirmed that Sodium Chlorite was relatively more effective against both the test organisms than Iodine. The maximum diameter of zone of inhibition observed for Sodium Chlorite against E. coli 40 mm. The least inhibition was seen with Iodine against both bacterial strains. Thus the efficacy of disinfectants in descending order is Crystal Violet ˃Tetra butyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate ˃ Sodium Chlorite ˃ and Iodine for both cultures. The result of Broth dilution method also show that Crystal violet, Tetra butyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate and sodium chlorite are most effective disinfectants on tested microorganisms, while iodine showed least bactericidal activity even at higher concentrations against both organisms. Thus, to ensure disinfectants efficacy, tests should be carried out on new disinfectant products and also further studies should be carried out about disinfectants.

Paper Title:: Kinetics of proline accumulation in response to various stress regimes followed by recovery in different cultivars of wheat
Author Name:: Arun Dev Sharma, Gurmeen Rakhra, Jagjit Singh Nanda, Dilroop Singh
Author Email:: arundevsharma47@gmail.com
Country:: India

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