Cassava tubers (Manihot esculenta) and maize grains (Zea mays) were steeped for 3 d for the preparation of fufu and ogi. The microflora of the fermenting fufu and ogi were characterized by phenotypic methods. The predominating micro‐organisms isolated from fufu were Streptococcus faecalis, coliforms, Bacillus subtilis, B. polymyxa, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lact. brevis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the fermentation of ogi, B. subtilis, Klebsiella oxytoca, Staphylococcus aureus and Sacch. cerevisiae were isolated.
Background Since outbreak in December 2019, the highly infectious and pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over a million deaths globally. With increasing burden, the novel coronavirus has posed a dire threat to public health, social interaction, and global economy. Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome are moderately evolving which might have contributed to its genome variability, transmission, replication efficiency, and virulence in different regions of the world. Results The present study elucidated the mutational landscape in the SARS-CoV-2 genome among the African populace, which may have contributed to the virulence, spread, and pathogenicity observed in the region. A total of 3045 SARS-CoV-2 complete protein sequences with the reference viral sequence (EPI_ISL_402124) were mined and analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab, spike, ORF3, ORF8, and nucleocapsid proteins were observed as mutational hotspots in the African population and may be of keen interest in understanding the viral host relationship, while there is conservation in the ORF6, ORF7a, ORF7b, ORF10, envelope, and membrane proteins. Conclusions The accumulation of moderate mutations (though slowly), in the SARS-CoV-2 genome as seen in this present study, could be a promising strategy to develop antiviral drugs or vaccines. These antiviral interventions should target viral conserved domains and host cellular proteins and/or receptors involved in viral invasion and replication to avoid a new viral wave due to drug resistance and vaccine evasion.
Loss-of-function mutations in parkin is associated with onset of juvenile Parkinson’s disease (PD). Resveratrol is a polyphenolic stilbene with neuroprotective activity. Here, we evaluated the rescue action of resveratrol in parkin mutant D. melanogaster. The control flies (w1118) received diet-containing 2% ethanol (vehicle), while the PD flies received diets-containing resveratrol (15, 30 and 60 mg/kg diet) for 21 days to assess survival rate. Consequently, similar treatments were carried out for 10 days to evaluate locomotor activity, oxidative stress and antioxidant markers. We also determined mRNA levels of Superoxide dismutase 1 (Sod1, an antioxidant gene) and ple, which encodes tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting step in dopamine synthesis. Our data showed that resveratrol improved survival rate and climbing activity of PD flies compared to untreated PD flies. Additionally, resveratrol protected against decreased activities of acetylcholinesterase and catalase and levels of non-protein thiols and total thiols displayed by PD flies. Moreover, resveratrol mitigated against parkin mutant-induced accumulations of hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and malondialdehyde. Resveratrol attenuated downregulation of ple and Sod1 and reduction in mitochondrial fluorescence intensity displayed by PD flies. Overall, resveratrol alleviated oxidative stress and locomotor deficit associated with parkin loss-of-function mutation and therefore might be useful for the management of PD.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a highly infectious and pathogenic virus has claimed lot of lives globally since its outbreak in December 2019 posing dire threat on public health, global economy, social and human interaction. At moderate rate, mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome are evolving which might have contributed to viral genome variability, transmission, replication efficiency and virulence in different regions of the world. The present study elucidated the mutational landscape in SARS-CoV-2 genome among the African population, which may have contributed to the virulence, pathogenicity and transmission observed in the region. Multiple sequence alignment of the SARS-CoV-2 genome (356 viral protein sequences) was performed using ClustalX version 2.1 and phylogenetic tree was built using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) X software. ORF1ab polyprotein, spike glycoprotein, ORF3, ORF8 and nucleocapsid phosphoprotein were observed as mutational hotspots in the African population and may be of keen interest in the adaptability of SARS-CoV-2 to the human host. While, there is conservation in the envelope protein, membrane glycoprotein, ORF6, ORF7a, ORF7b and ORF10. The accumulation of moderate mutations (though slowly) in the SARS-CoV-2 genome as revealed in our study, could be a promising strategy to develop drugs or vaccines with respect to the viral conserved domains and host cellular proteins and/or receptors involved in viral invasion and replication to avoid a new viral wave due to drug resistance and vaccine evasion.
Sodium metabisulphite and hydrogen peroxide alone or in combination with heat (50-70 degrees C) were found to be effective in degrading aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in lafun and gari. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at a concentration of 3% in the aqueous phase gave a 12.5% degradation of aflatoxin B1 in lafun and at 50 degrees C, degradation levels of 25% and 50% were obtained with 6.0 and 9.0% H2O2, respectively. When sodium metabisulphite was applied during the production of gari (a fermented cassava product heated to 50-70 degrees C during production) AFB1 degradation levels were found to be 65.8%, 60.9%, 41.5% and 36.6%, respectively, for sodium metabisulphite levels of 1.0%, 0.8%, 0.5% and 0.3%.
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