This study evaluated the antiinflammatory activities of pinitol and glucosamine either alone or in combination against carrageenan- and cotton pellet-induced acute and subacute inflammation in rats. Five groups were included in each of the acute and subacute inflammation studies: the vehicle control group, positive control group (aminopyrine 100 mg/kg), pinitol group (20 mg/kg), glucosamine group (25 mg/kg) and a pinitol (20 mg/kg) and glucosamine (25 mg/kg) combination group. When 20 mg/kg of pinitol was administered to the rats, paw edema induced by the carrageenan injection was significantly suppressed and the level of granuloma formation induced by the cotton pellet implantation was slightly reduced. When 25 mg/kg of glucosamine was administered, paw edema caused by the acute inflammation was slightly reduced and the level of granuloma formation caused by the subacute inflammation was strongly suppressed. Although the combined application of pinitol and glucosamine did not have an additional antiinflammatory effect on the paw edema caused by acute inflammation, it did have an increased antiinflammatory effect on the formation of granuloma induced by subacute inflammation. Therefore, pinitol and glucosamine have an antiinflammatory effect on acute and subacute conditions. Moreover, a synergistic antiinflammatory effect against subacute inflammation was observed when the two chemicals were administered in combination.

Enterobacter intermedium, isolated from grass rhizosphere, exhibited a strong ability to solubilize insoluble phosphate. This bacterium oxidized glucose to gluconic acid and sequentially to 2-ketogluconic acid (2-KGA), which was identified using HPLC and GC-MS. The ability of E. intermedium to solubilize phosphate and produce 2-KGA produce in broth medium containing different components was monitored with air and without air supply. With an air supply, the production of 2-KGA markedly increased to about 110 g/l at day 10 in media containing 0.2 M gluconic acid, while it was about 65 g/l without gluconic acid addition. With an air supply, the concentration of soluble phosphate significantly decreased to 200-250 mg/l in media containing 1% CaCO3, whereas it was about 1000 mg/l without CaCO3 addition. Without an air supply, the concentration of 2-KGA and phosphate were negligible throughout the culture period.

Compost sustaining a multitude of chitinase-producing bacteria was evaluated in a greenhouse study as a soil amendment for the control of late blight (Phytophthora capsici L.) in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Microbial population and exogenous enzyme activity were measured in the rhizosphere and correlated to the growth and health of pepper plant. Rice straw was composted with and without a chitin source, after having been inoculated with an aliquot of coastal area soil containing a known titer of chitinaseproducing bacteria. P. capsici inoculated plants cultivated in chitin compost-amended soil exhibited significantly higher root and shoot weights and lower root mortality than plants grown in pathogen-inoculated control compost. Chitinase and b-1,3-glucanase activities in rhizosphere of plants grown in chitin compost-amended soil were twice that seen in soil amended with control compost. Colony forming units of chitinase-producing bacteria isolated from rhizosphere of plants grown in chitin compost-amended soil were 10 3 times as prevalent as bacteria in control compost. These results indicate that increasing the population of chitinase-producing bacteria and soil enzyme activities in rhizosphere by compost amendment could alleviate pathogenic effects of P. capsici.

Streptomyces cacaoi GY525, isolated from liquid compost containing crab shell powder, produced a secondary metabolite 3-benzyl-1,4-diaza-2,5-dioxobicyclo[4.3.0]nonane (BDDB) and lytic enzymes including chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase. To examine the effect of the bacterial culture filtrate (CF) and BDDB on mortality of second-stage juvenile (J2) and hatch inhibition of Meloidogyne incognita, different concentrations of them were added in 24-well plates containing ca 250 eggs and 250 J2, respectively. With increasing concentrations of CF and BDDB mortality of J2 increased while hatch decreased. In pot trials, tomato plants were treated with the GY525 culture (SC), culture medium (CM), commercial nematicide (5% ethoprophos) (CN) and combination of CN and SC (CN + SC). Tap water (TW) was used as a control. During the experimental periods, growth of tomato plants treated with SC markedly increased compared with TW and CN treatments. After 7 weeks the number of egg masses in TW was over 220, while that in SC was around 40 per plant. Population of J2 in soil and the number of egg masses in plant roots in SC, CN + SC and CN were significantly lower than those in TW and CM. Our results suggest that S. cacaoi GY525 has potential as a biological control agent against root-knot nematodes.

A bacterium, Aeromonas sp. GJ-18, having strong chitinolytic activity was isolated from coastal soil and used for crude enzyme preparations. This enzyme preparation contained N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase and N,N'-diacetylchitobiohydrolase. N-Acetyl-D-glucosaminidase was inactive above 50 degrees C, but N,N'-diacetylchitobiohydrolase was stable at this temperature. Utilizing the temperature sensitivities of the chitin degradation enzymes in crude enzyme preparation, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) and N,N'-diacetylchitobiose [(GlcNAc)(2)] were selectively produced from chitin. At 45 degrees C, GlcNAc was produced as a major hydrolytic product (94% composition) with a yield of 74% in 5 d, meanwhile at 55 degrees C (GlcNAc)(2) was the major product (86%) with a yield of 35% within 5 d.