The growing public awareness of nutrition and health care research substantiates the potential of phytochem-

A new actinomycete strain, isolated from humus soils in the Western Ghats, was found to be an efficient pigment producer. The strain, designated AAA5, was identified as a putative Streptomyces aurantiacus strain based on cultural properties, morphology, carbon source utilization, and analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. The strain produced a reddish-brown pigmented compound during the secondary metabolites phase. A yellow compound was derived from the extracted pigment and was identified as the quinone-related antibiotic resistomycin based on ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. The AAA5 strain was found to produce large quantities of resistomycin (52.5 mg/L). It showed potent cytotoxic activity against cell lines viz. HepG2 (hepatic carcinoma) and HeLa (cervical carcinoma) in vitro, with growth inhibition (GI(50)) of 0.006 and 0.005 μg/ml, respectively. The strain also exhibited broad antimicrobial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, AAA5 may have great potential as an industrial resistomycin-producing strain.

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Co-fermentation of finger millet with horse gram was carried out to produce inexpensive protein-rich food (dosa-an Indian breakfast food). Natural fermentation of finger millet-horse gram flour blend in different proportions (2:1, 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1) was performed for 24 h. Biochemical analysis showed reasonable drop in pH (6.6-4.2) and starch content (25.52%) with considerable augment in titratable acidity (0.168-1.046%), soluble proteins (1.1-fold) and free amino acids (2.6-fold) at 16 h. Lactic acid bacteria dominated yeast counts throughout the fermentation accompanied by a decrease in total soluble and reducing sugars. Total essential amino acids increased 1.1-fold at 16-h fermentation with protein containing 48.68% of essential amino acids over total amino acids. Lysine increased from 5.87 to 6.73 g of amino acid/100 g of total amino acids. Dosa, prepared from 16-h fermented batter, showed better sensory attributes for 4:1 ratio. The formulated new product might be used to overcome the protein-energy malnutrition problems.

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