No abstract

The ultrasonic-aided co-precipitation method was used to create SnO2-TiO2 nanocomposite particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to characterize the nanocomposite particles. XRD patterns revealed the crystalline structure of particles and the average particle size determined by Debye Scherrer’s equation was found to be 11.355, 4.9577, and 4.333 nm for TiO2 nanoparticles, SnO2 nanoparticles, and SnO2-TiO2 nanocomposites, respectively. The Ti, Sn, and O species were confirmed to exist by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The UV absorption peaks at 288, 305, and 350 nm were attributed to SnO2, TiO2-SnO2, and TiO2 respectively. The photocatalytic aspect was investigated in a model organic contaminant (methyl orange). Data obtained by the above-mentioned characterization methods confirmed the superior photocatalytic activity of SnO2-TiO2 nanostructure than SnO2 or TiO2 alone.

Diabetes is a debilitating disease, which has become a serious concern in Bangladesh. Earlier studies have shown that extracts of fruit skins of various cultivars of banana species can improve glucose tolerance in glucose-loaded mice. The objective of this study was to evaluate through oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of methanol extract of fruit peels of a wild cultivar of Musa acuminata, which can be found in southeast Bangladesh forests. In OGTT, ripe fruit skin methanolic extract of Musa acuminata (MEMA) showed a reduction by 0.04, 19.65, 19.80 and 26.84%, when administered per kg body weight in mice at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg, respectively. A standard glucose lowering drug, glibenclamide decreased blood glucose levels by 21.08 and 37.38% at doses of 2 and 10 mg. Overall, the findings indicate that MEMA can improve glucose tolerance and may be of potential use to diabetic patients.